- Dave Donnelly
- Sat, Aug 05 2017
Second-half strikes from Aaron McEneff and Barry McNamee earned Derry City a vital 2-0 win and an eight-point lead over Shamrock Rovers in the race for third place and European football.
McEneff gave Derry the lead against the run of play midway through the first half and, as the home side huffed and puffed, McNamee sealed the job on the counter in injury time with a delightful lob.
The game took a while to get going as the Candystripes, as they tend to do, dominated possession and forced Rovers to defend in the opening stages.
Rovers registered the first couple of shots on goal as Graham Burke saw two efforts run wide and Brandon Miele sliced over after playing a remarkable – and unintentional – one-two with himself.
The better-quality play in the early stages was coming from Kenny Shiels' visitors, however, and they were nearly rewarded with the game's first goal at the midway point in the half.
Ronan Curtis found a pocket of space wide on the right and floated in an inviting cross that Rory Patterson wasn't far away from nodding in at the back post.
Curtis was the creator again moments later, this time catching Simon Madden in possession on the opposite side and digging out a powerful shot that Tomer Chencinski did well to hold.
The final three minutes of the half then offered more drama than the 42 previous minutes, with Aaron McEneff's quickly-taken free kick first requiring an excellent save from Chencinski.
Rovers broke quickly and Dave McAllister shot just wide before a lovely inside pass from Burke to Finn saw the captain poke the ball millimetres past the upright.
The Hoops dominated the early stages of the second half but had little to show for it in terms of shots, with efforts by Miele and Burke on the hour that whistled past the post the closest they came.
They paid for it just before the midway point in the half as Ronan Finn was badly caught in possession outside his own box.
Derry worked the ball quickly into the centre for McEneff, who had acres of space to stride into and shoot past a helpless Chencinski.
Patterson had a half-chance to double the lead shortly after when McEneff's free kick ping-ponged in the box, and Luke Byrne bravely threw himself in front of the shot.
Rovers continued to probe as Trevor Clarke went close after being played in by Miele, but again his radar was off and his shot creeped past the post.
The Hoops ran out of steam in the closing stages, although Gary Shaw did manage to hit the post from close range, and there was an inevitability about the clinching goal.
Chencinski came forward for a corner and, while retreating, his careless clearance found McNamee, who lobbed him from wide on the right to seal the win.
Shamrock Rovers: Tomer Chencinski; Simon Madden, David Webster, Lee Grace, Luke Byrne (Sean Boyd 83); David McAllister (Michael O'Connor 87), Ronan Finn, Brandon Miele, Trevor Clarke; Graham Burke, Gary Shaw.
Subs not used: Kevin Horgan (gk), Dean Carpenter, James Doona, Ryan Connolly, Aaron Bolger, Sean Boyd, Michael O'Connor.
Booked: Graham Burke (45+1).
Derry City: Ger Doherty; Conor McDermott, Darren Cole, Aaron Barry, Ben Doherty (Harry Monaghan 65); Aaron McEneff, Barry McNamee, Lukas Schubert (Nathan Boyle 81); Rory Holden (Dean Jarvis 57), Ronan Curtis, Rory Patterson.
Subs not used: Eric Grimes (gk), Harry Monaghan, Eoin Toal, Cathal Farren, Josef Dolny, Nathan Boyle.
Booked: Barry McNamee (35).
Referee: Graham Kelly.
Attendance: 2,872 (official).
