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Gary Ferry, 23 Aug
Waterford 0
Derry City 1
A bizarre own goal by Waterford goalkeeper Louis Jones gifted Derry
City the win which takes them top of the Premier Division with eight
games to go.
The goalkeeper was under no pressure to collect a header from Ben
Doherty, but somehow spilled the ball just over the line to hand the
Candystripes a goal which proved to be enough to claim all three
points.
With Shelbourne dropping points at home to Bohemians, it means that
Derry City are now leading the way at the top of the Premier Division
on goal difference having played a game more.
It is now successive clean sheets and successive 1-0 away wins for
Ruaidhri Higgins and his players, who were far from their best on the
night.
The Candystripes announced two brand new signings just an hour before
kick-off, with defender Duncan Idehan and winger Sean Robertsson
becoming the second and third new faces to arrive at the Brandywell
this week. Former Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom was named in the
starting eleven just two days after joining the club.
It took half an hour for either team to threaten, but it was Derry who
came close. Adam O’Reilly fed a forward pass to winger Paul McMullan,
who took a touch before drilling it hard past Jones and onto the base
of the post.
Waterford could well have taken the lead right on the stroke of half
time when Barry Baggley’s free kick into the area saw Grant Horton try
an overhead kick, but his miscue sent the ball right into the path of
Darragh Leahy, whose snapshot from six yards was brilliantly saved by
Brian Maher.
Waterford came so close to taking the lead in spectacular fashion 10
minutes into the second half. A long punt forward by Jones, was chested
down by Padraig Amond into the path of strike partner Christie
Pattison, who turned sharply onto his left foot and sent a brilliant
effort from 20 yards past the despairing dive of Maher, with the post
saving Derry City.
The Candystripes then took the lead in those bizarre circumstances on
the hour when Camron Dummigan’s high cross was headed back across goal
by Doherty, and while it looked an easy catch for Jones, the goalkeeper
let the ball slip through his grasp with the referee’s assistant
signalling that the ball had crossed the line.
The goal, as strange as it was, put some spark into Derry’s play
thereafter and they looked suddenly eager for a second, and they almost
had it when Pat Hoban whipped the ball right across the face of goal to
the back post, with Michale Duffy just inches from connecting.
Six minutes of added time gave Waterford some hope and they had the
ball in the net when Darragh Power fired in from close range, but an
offside flag denied the Blues a late point.
Elsewhere in the Premier Division, Drogheda United produced the result
of the night as they hammered Sligo Rovers 7-0 to boost their chances
of survival.
Teams
Waterford: Jones, Power, Burke, Horton, McDonald, Baggley, Amond,
Leahy, Glenfield (McMenemy 78’), Pattison (Arubi 83’), Radkowski.
Derry City: Maher, Coll, Connolly, Doherty (S McEleney 86’), Wisdom,
O’Reilly, Patching, Dummigan (Diallo 65’), McMullan (Robertson 78’),
Duffy, Hoban (Mullen 78’) .
Referee: Neil Doyle.