League Report: Derry City 1 - 0 Bohemians

A 14th-minute goal from Rory Patterson sealed all three points for Derry in what was a scrappy affair against Bohemians at the Brandywell.

Derry City's attacking football was evident from the start when Nathan Boyle was put through on goal after two minutes, but the teenager who scored two against Sligo Rovers on Tuesday night couldn't put the ball past Keeper Dean Delany.

Boyle looked energetic in the opening ten minutes, and he beat Lorcan Fitzgerald for pace, but no one could get on the end of a low cross from the Derry man as it became clear Bohemians were struggling with the tempo of Derry's play.

The high press continued and winger Keith Ward guided a lovely weighted pass through to put counterpart Barry McNamee clear on goal but Dean Delany was quick to get off his line.

The two collided on the edge of the area and went to ground but where there is a chance, there is Rory Patterson, and the striker hit the ball into an empty net to make it six in nine games to give Derry the lead.

With five games already played in April you could see the young Derry side was running low on energy, which was reflected in loss of possession throughout the first half.

Bohemians didn’t have much to offer but a flurry of missed chances from Kurtis Byrne was the only offering the Dubliners had.

After half an hour Kurtis Byrne went through again and Derry’s defence appealed for offside that never came. It looked like an equaliser was imminent, but a woeful air-shot by the forward meant an easy save for keeper Gerard Doherty.

Just before half time Derry regained their attacking momentum and Keith Ward again played a ball through to Rory Patterson, who skillfully got past full-back Derek Prendergast, before crossing it into the path of Nathan Boyle, who could only stretch for the effort before it went out of play.

Derry looked sharp at times, and probably deserved to go in at half time with more than a one-goal lead, but they also looked exhausted, something manager Kenny Shiels was concerned about.

“I knew tiredness was going to come, and there was a lot of emphasis in getting the goal in the first 25 minutes,” Shiels said.

“I really wanted them to go in front in the game, because I knew fatigue, when you're behind in a game, it is a gigantic, mammoth task to try and get something from the game because your head knows were it wants to go, but your body won’t go with it.

“And I didn’t want to be in that situation, so getting ourselves in front was a key factor.

“I’m concerned, because having a team to go to Cork after the Sligo game is a tall order. It’s the journey, there and back on a bus, 14 hours, and then we’ve Finn Harps the following Tuesday. “

Bohemians couldn’t play any worse in the second half, but the team from the north side of Dublin started the half brightly before slumping again to Derry’s pressure and they lost possession.

Both sides’ struggled to create any chances for most of the second half, and the game appeared to fall flat.

It was Derry’s worst performance at the Brandywell this year, something Barry McNamee acknowledged, but the young side showed a level of maturity to see out the game and seal all three points at the Brandywell to make it the Candystripes’ first win over Bohemians since August 2014.

“I don’t think we’ve played our best tonight,” McNamee said.

“But the main thing is we got the three points. We had three tough games. We let ourselves down last Saturday against Longford and responded well in the (EA Sports) Cup on Tuesday night.

“We played a bit better. We didn’t play well tonight, but we still got the three points.”

Derry City: Gerard Doherty; Niclas Vemmelund, Ryan McBride, Patrick McClean, Conor McDermott; Conor McCormack, Aaron McEneff; Keith Ward (Ryan Doherty 90) Barry McNamee, Nathan Boyle (Ronan Curtis 84); Rory Patterson.

Subs Not Used: Shaun Patton, Jack Blake, Ronan Wilson, Joshua Daniels, Jordan Allan.

Booked: Niclas Vemmelund (57).

Bohemians: Dean Delany; Lorcan Fitzgerald, Roberto Lopes, Derek Prendergast, Dave Mulcahy; Ayman Ben Mohamed (Jake Kelly 70), Dan Byrne, Eoin Wearen (Mark Quigley 45), Keith Buckley, Paddy Kavanagh; Kurtis Byrne.

Subs Not Used: Lee Stacey, Jason Caffrey, Paul Rooney, Stephen Best.

Booked: Dave Mulcahy (42).

Referee: Paul Tuite.

Attendance: 2,000 (estimate).

Extratime.ie Player of the Match: Keith Ward (Derry City).

You can view John-Paul McGinley's photos from the game here.