Longford Town 1 - 3 Derry City

• Deniese O'Flaherty
• Sun, Apr 04 2010


Goalkeeper Ger Doherty was in inspirational form as he helped Derry City move into third place in the First Division table and inflict a third successive league defeat on Longford Town.

The scoreline may suggest a comfortable win but only for the heroics of Doherty, some bad finishing and sloppy defending by the home side, it would have been different.

The home side dominated the first half and right until Derry got their second goal they were still in the game but as manager Tony Cousins has spoken about before, his side just can’t afford to play catch-up in games. And for yet another game that’s the situation they found themselves in.

Derry started the game well and Town midfielder Ryan McEvoy had to be alert in the fifth minute to put in a fantastic tackle on Vincent Sweeney who was in a good position. Two minutes later and the home side had their first chance on goal. Derek Glynn got down to the endline and played a low ball into Mark Salmon but Candystripes keeper Ger Doherty did well to save and put the ball out for the corner.

Shortly after, Philip Byrne blasted his effort over from a McEvoy left- wing cross. After being outplayed in the opening 20 minutes, Derry came close to opening the scoring in the 23rd minute but Ruairi Harkin’s shot just sailed over.

Two minutes later and against the run of play Derry broke the deadlock. Philip Byrne’s headed clearance fell to striker Patrick McEleney who made no mistake finding the net with a superb strike. That was his first goal for the club.

Doherty was called into action again for Derry in the 29th minute, pulling off a great save to deny JP McDonagh.From the resultant corner defender Chris Deans was hauled down in the box in the scramble for the ball but referee Jim McKell turned the Town’s penalty appeals away. The Tipperary whistle-blower had also failed to see Derek Glynn being hacked down in the box earlier in the game. They were big decisions that went against the home side.

It was all Longford at this stage as they tried to get back into the game. Kevin Cronin should have done better with his header in the 34th minute after some good play involving Glynn and Deans. The home side continued to press as half-time approached. Minutes before the break John Lester’s powerful free-kick from about 25yards out had the Derry netminder beaten but it clipped the butt of the post and went wide.

Eight minutes after the restart Derry doubled their advantage. Emmet Friars crossed for David McDaid and he deftly lobbed the ball over Town keeper Aaron Shanahan.

Victor Ekanem was unlucky not to bring Town back into the game minutes later but Doherty once again produced a stunning save, this time pushing the defender’s close range header out for a corner. Striker Glynn had a glorious opportunity in the 69th minute but, after weaving his way into the box, he dragged his shot wide with only Doherty to beat.

After soaking up all the pressure, Derry got their third of the night in the 77th minute. Philip Byrne’s attempted backpass was intercepted by McDaid, and while Shanahan did well to palm the danger away, it fell to Ruairi Harkin and he shot into an empty net. The home side pulled a goal back five minutes from time when substitute Fiachra McArdle shot home from the edge of the box after good work from Glynn.

Longford Town: Aaron Shanahan, Victor Ekanem, Chris Deans, Philip Byrne, Kevin Cronin (Gary Cronin HT), Ryan McEvoy, John Lester, Mark Salmon, JP McDonagh (Cathal Brady 57’), Peter Hynes, Derek Glynn.

Derry City: Ger Doherty, Eddie McCallion, Emmet Friars, Barry Molloy, Mark McChrystal, Ruairi Harkin (Shane McEleney 90’), David McDaid, Patrick McEleney (Kevin Deery 54’), James McClean, Vincent Sweeney (Darren Cassidy 89’), Mark Scotlock.

Referee: Jim McKell (Tipperary)