Bohemians 1
Derry City 2
DERRY CITY RETURNED to winning ways on Friday night as first-half goals from Rory Hale and Rory Patterson were enough to secure a vital three points at Dalymount Park.
Kenny Shiels’ side enjoyed an impressive run of form upon returning to the newly-developed Bradywell in mid-March, however had suffered three consecutive defeats heading into Friday night’s game.
Their hopes of making a European spot depended on turning that poor run of form around and Hale gave the visitors the perfect start less than half an hour in.
The 21-year-old scored his first goal for Derry to break the deadlock after 22 minutes, taking advantage of some clever work and brilliant vision from Aaron McEneff before slotting the ball underneath goalkeeper Shane Supple.
Patterson then doubled his side’s lead less than three minutes later to make it a two goal cushion before half-time.
The striker pounced inside the box after a corner crossed into the box was driven back across goal by Hale, with Patterson putting the ball into the back of the net from close range to make it 2-0.
Keith Long’s side halved the deficit late on thanks to a JJ Lunney strike with four minutes remaining.
The young midfielder swept a strike past Ger Doherty on his left foot from the edge of the box, but Derry managed to hold on in the remaining few minutes to snatch all three points and secure their first league win since 21 May.
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