Sligo Rovers 1
Derry City 2
Jessica Farry reports from The Showgrounds
Ronan Boyce’s 86th minute strike earned Derry City all three points against a Sligo Rovers side struggling for form in an incredibly dramatic encounter at The Showgrounds.
The visitors went ahead early through Joe Thomson’s goal of the season contender, with Rovers equalising before half-time through Johnny Kenny.
The second-half was end to end and just as it looked as though Sligo would earn their first league points since July 3rd, Boyce struck on 86 minutes to earn Derry a fourth consecutive win.
Rovers’ recent dip in form has been well documented, as the Bit O’Red have now suffered six consecutive defeats in all competitions.
Manager Liam Buckley has struggled to put his finger on what exactly is going wrong, but three league defeats in a row means the gap has widened between his side in third, and St. Patrick’s Athletic and Shamrock Rovers at the top end of the table.
Wow, that's an absolute thunderbolt from Joe Thomson! ⚡️
— SSE Airtricity League (@SSEAirtricityLg) August 21, 2021
The Derry City midfielder has broken the deadlock at the Showgrounds with an arrowed strike in the corner from a free-kick, what a drive!@sligorovers 0-1 @derrycityfc
Sign up 📺 | https://t.co/sVFqVgEguX#LOITV | #LOI pic.twitter.com/JqJSSgO9Jf
The Candystripes, on the other hand, have recovered well from a poor start to the season and came into this game just four points behind Sligo Rovers, level with Bohemians.
City’s last visit to The Showgrounds was a 1-0 victory in manager Ruaidhri Higgins’ first game in charge.
Derry won three games in a row prior to their visit to The Showgrounds, and certainly carried that confidence with them.
Ed McGinty endured a busy opening period, the 21-year-old had to be alert to get behind Jamie McGonigle’s early shot after he danced his way past three opposition players, before the Rovers goalkeeper was beaten by an incredible strike.
The visitors were awarded a free-kick from around 35 yards as Danny Lafferty rolled the ball into the path of Thomson whose thunderous strike fired past McGinty to give Derry a 1-0 lead.
The ever threatening Kenny forced Nathan Gartside into a save five minutes later, before Adam McDonnell’s corner was nudged wide by a couple of Rovers heads.
Thomson’s free on 17 minutes was this time well gathered by McGinty, but Derry’s blistering pace was causing problems for the hosts.
Liam Buckley’s side soon found their feet, taking control of the game half way through the first half.
Kenny fired over, before Ronan Boyce’s miscued backpass allowed the 18-year-old run through on goal. But, as he brought the ball wide, Gartside had sufficient time and room to get in the way to make the save.
It was all Sligo at this stage, as the Bit O’Red were well and truly knocking at the door. A threatening ball from Banks fell invitingly for Kenny, who was just millimetres away from connecting.
Rovers were finally rewarded for their work on 42 minutes when they were back on level terms. Lewis Banks’ run down the right set up Byrne to play the ball into the area, and with Kenny yards from goal there was only going to be one outcome.
The second-half started with the same intensity as the first, and Gartside had to come well off his line to the edge of his box to intercept Kenny’s run.
It was almost 2-1 to the hosts just on the hour mark. Banks’ cross was headed goalwards by Byrne, but a brilliant save from Gartside kept the Kilkelly man’s effort out, but only as far as Kenny who just couldn’t connect right.
The action was end to end at this stage with both sides fighting for their lives to get the win.
A strong challenge from John Mahon prevented Malone from getting the shot away, with the Collooney native forced to foul Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe a minute later to stop his former teammate from getting through on goal.
The drama didn’t stop there, as with four minutes left on the clock, Derry were back in the lead. Boyce started the move himself as he found Will Fitzgerald on the right, the substitute’s cross was deflected back into the path of Boyce who smashed it into the back of the net to earn a late late victory.
Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty, Lewis Banks, John Mahon, Garry Buckley, Colm Horgan, Mark Byrne (David Cawley, 75), Niall Morahan (Romeo Parkes, 80), Adam McDonnell, Walter Figueira, Jordan Gibson, Johnny Kenny.
Derry City: Nathan Gartside, Ciaran Coll, Eoin Toal, Ronan Boyce, Jack Malone (Darren Cole, 88), Ciaron Harkin, Joe Thomson, Evan McLaughlin (Bastien Hery, 61), Danny Lafferty, Jamie McGonigle (Will Fitzgerald, 72), Junior Ogedi Uzokwe.
Referee: Neil Doyle.