Bohemians 0
Derry City 1
A RESULT TO trigger a shuffling of the top three, and one defined by a card.
The night’s big winners were Shamrock Rovers as their 3-0 win over UCD has returned them to the top of the table, with Bohemians slipping from the summit to third place, behind both Rovers and Derry City.
This game was decided in the space of three first-half minutes: first Grant Horton was given a straight red card in the 14th minute for scything down Michael Duffy as he motored to goal and, three minutes later, Ryan Graydon prodded in Duffy’s cross for what proved to be the winning goal.
Bohs suffered until half-time and were fortunate to go in only a goal down, but they showed admirable resolve in clawing their way into the second-half, but ultimately couldn’t steal an improbable point.
For Bohs’ many improvements this season, one legacy hasn’t been addressed: the sale of Andy Lyons before last season. Having had centre-backs deputise at full-back last year, Declan Devine had to do the same again this evening, with Grant Horton shuttling across to right-back.
It all went wrong in the 14th minute. When Horton clumsily miscontrolled under little pressure on the edge of the box, Michael Duffy pounced. From there, Grant Horton didn’t…audit the situation very well. As Duffy scarpered toward goal, Horton slid in and fouled him. As the last line of defence, Horton was shown a straight red card.
Three minutes later, Bohs were behind. Captain Keith Buckley folded into right-back after Horton’s exit and he was beaten down the flank by Duffy, whose low cross across the box was turned in by the winger on the opposite side, Ryan Graydon.
Derry were utterly dominant with their twin advantage, with Graydon terrorising left-back Paddy Kirk, whose difficult job was complicated by a yellow card after all of 49 seconds.
Ollie O’Neill started centrally as a kind of false nine, dropping off to link play as Will Patching and Adam O’Reilly broke on beyond him. The whirl of Derry’s slick movement was nigh-impossible for Bohs to live with.
Shane McEleney should have scored shortly after Graydon’s goal, heading over unmarked from a corner. O’Neill, meanwhile, saw a saw shot deflect off Krystian Nowak and skid narrowly wide of the post, while McJannett also sent an unmarked header over the crossbar.
Bohs couldn’t keep the ball; lone striker Jonathan Afolabi appearing less isolated than he was entirely excommunicated. A late forward raid by freelance full-back Keith Buckley led to a corner in first-half stoppage time and while it drew the biggest noise of the night, it didn’t bring anything else.
Kirk unsurprisingly didn’t reappear for the second half: he was replaced by James Clarke, with another midfielder, Jordan Flores, going to left-back. Flores dealt better with Graydon’s physicality and offered Bohs better control in possession. He also indulged his penchant for the spectacular, trying to find Brian Maher off his line from midway inside his own half. Maher backpedaled and caught the ball comfortably but the act brought the crowd to life. Shortly after, another half-time sub, Kris Twardek, forced Maher into nervier work as he drove a low cross into his arms as Afolabi lurked.
Bohs ended the game determined to get something from their first-half suffering, and Maher smartly tipped a flicked Afolabi header over the crossbar as the skies deepened overhead. The confidence and pace of Derry’s first-half passing, meanwhile, vanished, and so they hunkered down, as Ruaidhri Higgins sent on Cameron Dummigan and Ronan Boyce.
Dalymont roared a feral roar when Declan McDaid drew a foul on the edge of the box, and then gasped as Maher beat away Flores’ ferocious effort.
Bohs laid siege in five minutes of stoppage time, with McEleney brilliantly heading Twardek’s dangerous cross behind for a corner.
Derry were clinging on in the end, which was a compliment to Bohs.
That Derry did cling on is theirs.
Bohemians: James Talbot; Grant Horton, Kacper Radkowski, Krystian Nowak, Paddy Kirk (James Clarke, HT); Keith Buckley (captain), Jordan Flores; Dylan Connolly (Dean Williams, 70′) Adam McDonnell, Ali Coote (Kris Twardek, HT); Jonathan Afolabi (Declan McDaid, 76′)
Derry City: Brian Maher; Ciaran Coll, Cameron McJannet (captain), Shane McEleney, Ben Doherty; Adam O’Reilly, Sadou Diallo (Ronan Boyce, 80′); Ollie O’Neill (Brandon Kavanagh, 63′), Will Patching (Jordan McEneff 70′), Michael Duffy; Ryan Graydon (Cameron Dummigan, 80′)
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
Attendance: 4,293