League Report: St. Patrick's Athletic 0 - 1 Derry City

Darragh Connolly was present for a big victory by Peter Hutton and his Derry City side over the Saints at Richmond Park.

A first half header from Ciaran O’Connor followed by a battling backs-to-the-wall second half performance proved enough for Derry City to come away from Richmond Park with a vital 1-0 win over St. Patrick’s Athletic on Friday night.

Having taken the lead through O’Connor on 20 minutes, the Brandywell side were reduced to ten men just before the interval with Cillian Morrison being dismissed for a second bookable offence.

They almost had victory snatched from under their noses when Ryan McBride was adjudged to have upended Morgan Langley inside the box four minutes from time.

However, Peter Hutton’s men were to ride their luck as Conan Byrne blasted over the resultant spot-kick to leave the Candystripes making the journey back to the Bogside with all three points which could very well prove to be vital in their quest to avoid the dreaded drop to the First Division.

Pat’s held the upper hand in the early possession stakes but with Barry McNamee and Aaron McEneff providing an impervious two-man shield in front of the visitor’s back four, the Dubliners were finding the task of breaching the opposition rearguard something of an ordeal.

Having settled into the game by establishing a sound defensive structure, the men from the Bogside began to explore the environs of the opposition half with Stephen Dooley looking particularly lively on the right flank.

And the said exploration didn’t take long to yield dividends as Dooley found space deep in Pat’s territory and laid on a perfectly weighted cross for O’Connor to nod home the opener for the Candystrypes.

With their side continuing to struggle to establish any real meaningful fluidity in their play, the home faithful began to grow restless and on 32 minutes they almost had further reason for discontent as Patrick McEleney burst forward from midfield and clipped the post with the outside of his boot from just inside the ‘’D’’.

That close shave seemed to jolt the Inchicore men into life and not long after a neatly worked short free-kick saw Ian Bermingham fizz the ball narrowly over Ger Doherty’s crossbar.

They were given a leg-up in their pursuit of an equaliser as Morrison was shown a second yellow and given his marching orders by referee Tomas Connolly for a rash challenge on Ger O’Brien out on the right-hand touchline with half-time approaching.

Pat’s momentum continued to build after the interval with Aaron Greene and Byrne posing problems out wide.

However, with the exception of half chances that fell the way of Langley and James Chambers, the final killer ball was proving rather elusive for a Saints’ side appearing to be suffering from the absence of a rumoured to be Peterborough United bound Chris Forrester.

A dangerous cross from Byrne provided the recently dethroned FAI Cup holders with their best chance of the night from open play on 84 minutes but Langley just couldn’t quite get the touch required at the back post to level matters.

With the Pat’s attack exerting considerable pressure on them, the Derry defence continued to stand resolute until a momentary lapse of concentration saw McBride take down the American inside the area. That handed the 2013 league winners a golden chance to cancel out O’Connor’s opener after Byrne had swept yet another inviting ball across the box.

Former UCD star Byrne stepped up to take the penalty and snatch a share of the spoils for Pat’s, however lady luck was to shine down on Hutton’s charges as the Dubliner ballooned his spot-kick high into the night’s sky.

St. Patrick’s Atheltic: Brendan Clarke; Ger O’Brien, Sean Hoare, Lee Desmond, Ian Bermingham; Conan Byrne, Greg Bolger (Killian Brennan 77),  James Chambers, Sam Verdon (Jamie McGrath 68), Aaron Greene (Jack Bayly 84); Morgan Langley.

Subs not used: Conor O’Malley, Kenny Browne, Darragh Markey, Jason McGuinness.

Yellow Cards: Bolger (32), Desmond (59), Bermingham (78).

Derry City: Ger Doherty; Rob Cornwall, Aaron Barry, Ryan McBride, Dean Jarvis; Stephen Dooley (Ronan Curtis 87), Patrick McEleney, Aaron McEneff, Barry McNamee, Cillian Morrison; Ciaran O’Connor (Mark Quigley 78).

Subs not used: Shaun Patton, Seamus Sharkey. Patrick McLean, Ryan Curran, Joshua Daniels.

Yellow Cards: Cillian Morrison (15), Cillian Morrison (43) Mark Quigley (86) Ryan McBride (86).

Red Cards: Cillian Morrison (43)

Referee: Tomas Connolly

Attendance: 926.

ExtraTime.ie Man of the Match: Aaron McEneff (Derry Ctiy)