Derry capitalise on red card with strike from former Bohs attacker
Bohemians 0 Derry City 1
Daire Walsh at Dalymount Park
Ryan Graydon came back to haunt his former club at Dalymount Park on Friday night as his first half goal was enough to give Derry City victory over 10-man Bohemians in the Premier Division.
A product of the Phibsborough outfit’s youth system before leaving for pastures new in 2020, Graydon found the net in the aftermath of Grant Horton’s sending off on 14 minutes. There were some nervy moments for Derry in the second period, but this win moves them up to second in the top-flight table.
Having found themselves in pole position for a number of weeks, Bohs now drop down to third spot in the Premier Division standings courtesy of this result and Shamrock Rovers’ comfortable triumph against UCD.
This was a poignant game for the managers of both teams, who previously had a foot in the opposing camps. Whereas Bohs boss Declan Devine had two stints at the Derry helm (winning the FAI Cup in 2012), Candystripes manager Ruaidhri Higgins claimed the Setanta Sports Cup in his single season as a Gypsies player in 2010.
While they were seeking to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat to defending champions Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght seven days earlier, Bohs suffered a double blow in the early stages of this contest.
After he lost possession deep inside his own half, Gypsies right-back Horton fouled Derry winger Michael Duffy just outside the box and was subsequently issued with a straight red card by referee Paul McLaughlin. Although the hosts dealt with the resulting free-kick, the Candystripes swiftly opened the scoring in the 16th-minute when ex-Bohs attacker Graydon got in front of Patrick Kirk to flick a Duffy cross from the left-flank beyond the reach of opposition netminder James Talbot.
Falling behind to an opening quarter goal wasn’t ideal for them, but being reduced to 10 men was arguably an even bigger issue for the Gypsies in their quest to remain at the top-flight summit.
Nevertheless – despite Derry largely controlling the play for the remainder of the half – the north Dubliners dug deep to keep their deficit at a single goal during the interval.
Candystripes striker Oliver John O’Neill had an early sighting of their goal on the resumption, but Bohs continued to persevere as half-time substitutes Kris Twardek and James Clarke brought plenty of energy in the middle-third of the pitch.
They started to find space inside the Derry half as the action progressed and former Republic of Ireland Under-21 goalkeeper Brian Maher had to be at his best to ensure Jonathan Afolabi didn’t get on the end of a Twardek delivery on 57 minutes.
The Candystripes were struggling to make the most of their numerical advantage at the far end and Maher was forced to claw away an elaborate Jordan Flores free-kick inside the final-quarter. Yet in spite of their endeavours, Bohs lacked a clinical edge in this tie and ultimately fell to their fifth defeat of the campaign.
BOHEMIANS: Talbot; Horton, Nowak, Radkowski, Kirk (Clarke, 46 mins); Flores, Buckley; Coote (Twardek, 46 mins), McDonnell, Connolly (Williams, 70 mins); Afolabi (McDaid, 77 mins).
DERRY CITY: Maher; Coll, McEleney, McJannet, Doherty; Diallo (Boyce, 79 mins), O’Reilly, Patching (McEneff, 70 mins); Graydon (Dummigan, 79 mins), O’Neill (Kavanagh, 64 mins), Duffy.
Referee: P McLaughlin (Monaghan)