League Report: Derry City 4 - 0 Bohemians

Derry City continued their terrific run of league form in emphatic fashion, thumping Bohemians 4-0 at the Brandywell on Friday night.

The result sees Derry jump into fifth position with the task of securing a European spot definitely not out of their reach yet.

The game did start rather scrappily with both teams trying to get a feel for the opposition and the bulk of the play was dictated in the middle of the pitch. It was the visitors that got the first sniff at goal when Steven Beattie got a cross in from the right but the danger was averted by the Derry defence. 

Barry Molloy nearly gave Bohemians the upper hand after 12 minutes as he sliced a clearance towards his own goal but Ger Doherty was there to save his captain's blushes although the Derry keeper knew very little about it.

After 20 minutes of play Michael Duffy was played in behind the Bohs defence and his shot was beating Dean Delany but last week's hat-trick hero was denied by a goal line clearance.

However, Derry City weren't long in breaking the deadlock through Rory Patterson with 25 minutes gone. A corner came in from the left but was cleared as far as Stephen Dooley who played it back in to Patterson who rifled his shot high into the roof of the net. 

Derry cement their position just after the half hour mark when they took a 2-0 lead. Patterson started off the move by winning possession and then playing a pass into Barry McNamee who drifted into a pocket of space before he in turn played in Duffy who went on to slot past Delany.

Bohemians looked shaky after being hit by two quick fire goals and Derry looked dangerous every time they went forward. Just before the half time break Duffy got his fifth goal in as many days. He attacked the Dubliners' defense from the right side of midfield before drilling the ball home to put his side 3-0 to the good, and they looked full value for their lead.

As we progressed through the second half it became evident that we weren't going to be treated to the same abundance of chances and goals as the first half.

Patterson took matters into his own hands and created a chance of his own, the Derry City striker did very well on the right and drove into the box but, after some nice footwork, he shot straight at Delany. The keeper them fumbled the ball and it trickled to Molloy who slotted home but the linesman's flag was raised and the goal was written off.

The fourth goal for the home side came after 69 minutes and it was without doubt the pick of the bunch. Patterson started and finished the move. He linked up well with Barry McNamee in the middle of the park before making his way into the box. McNamee linked well again, this time with Philip Lowry, who sprayed the ball out to Patterson on the left side of the box and he then placed the ball past a helpless Delany.

Derry City, and ultimately the game's, last chance of note came after 75 minutes. Molloy was put in behind the Bohemian defense but failed to loft the ball over the advancing keeper.

The rest of the game was very quiet. Although Derry dominated play they failed to make any more chances and Bohemians continued to fail in their attempts to stamp any authority on a mainly one sided affair. Derry City outplayed their opponents throughout and Bohemians really had a game to forget.

Derry City: Gerard Doherty; Danny Ventre, Ryan McBride, Aaron Barry, Mark Timlin, Stephen Dooley (Joshua Tracey 75), Barry Molloy, Barry McNamee, Patrick McEleney (Philip Lowry 41), Michael Duffy, Rory Patterson (Ryan Curran 70).
Subs not used: Shane McEleney, Shaun Kelly, Ciaran Gallagher, Cliff Byrne.

Bohemians: Dean Delany, Derek Pender, Roberto Lopes, Aidan Price, Dinny Corcoran (Jason Byrne 60), Eoin Warren (Dave Mulcahy 76), Paddy Kavanagh, Dan Byrne, Kevin Devaney, Anto Murphy, Stephen Beattie.  
Subs not used: Aaron Shanahan (gk), Jack Memery, Ryan McEvoy, Keith Buckley, Karl Moore.

Referee: Ben Connolly.

Attendance:

Extratime Man Of The Match: Michael Duffy (Derry City)