Sligo Rovers 0-4 Derry City

Sligo Rovers dropped deeper into relegation trouble as Derry scored four second half goals at The Showgrounds to pick up their first win in six league games.

David Scullion opened the scoring ten minutes into the second half, when he found himself unmarked at the back post to turn in Steven Gray’s deep cross from the left.

And they doubled that lead ten minutes later, when Rovers failed to deal with a Scullion cross and Peter Hutton was unmarked at the far post to stab the ball to the net.

Substitute Mark Farren piled the misery on Rovers by claiming a third on 74 minutes, when he capitalised on howler by Richard Brush to chip the ball over the stranded netminder.

The striker then added a fourth with seven minutes left, after shooting home from the right hand side.

Sligo Rovers were without injured captain Conor O’Grady and Romuald Boco, who is on international duty with Benin, but welcomed back Danny Ventre and Martin Camano from suspension, and paired them at centre-back.

Derry boss Stephen Kenny left Mark Farren and Barry Molloy on the bench, as Scullion and Gareth McGlynn earned recalls.

Derry got the breakthrough early in the second period, when Scullion claimed his second goal in two games.

But Rovers still had a bit of fight in them and went close on three occasions in the next eight minutes. First, Raffaele Cretaro swung in a dangerous cross from the right, that Clive Delaney did well to deal with.

Former Derry player Owen Morrison also picked out the run of Eoin Doyle on 59 minutes, but the winger headed wide. Morrison then went close himself with a dipping left-foot shot from the right that Gerard Doherty got behind.

But the game swung firmly back in Derry’s favour when Hutton fired home the second.

Rovers handed a debut to another new signing, midfielder Darren Meenan, after this, but it was Derry substitute Farren that made the impact, scoring twice and seeing another ruled out for offside in the closing stages.

Sligo Rovers: 1 Richard Brush; 2 Alan Keane, 5 Martin Camano, 4 Danny Ventre (captain), 3 Joe Kendrick; 7 Owen Morrison, 6 Richie Ryan (13 Darren Meenan 67), 8 Michael McGrath (12 Rob Turner 79), 11 Eoin Doyle (14 Dean Marshall 78); 10 Raffaele Cretaro, 9 Matthew Blinkhorn.

Substitutes not used: 15 Brian Cash, 17 Ciaran Kelly.

Booked: Kendrick (35), Blinkhorn (45), Meenan (89).

Derry City: 1 Gerard Doherty; 12 Ger O’Brien, 3 Clive Delaney (19 James McClean 81), 4 Peter Hutton, 6 Steven Gray; 14 Gareth McGlynn, 7 Ruaidhri Higgins, 15 Kevin Deery (17 Barry Molloy 78), 20 David Scullion; 23 Tam McManus (18 Mark Farren 68), 10 Thomas Stewart.

Substitutes not used: 8 Ciaran Martyn, 16 Patrick Jennings.
Booked: Hutton (5), Deery 22), Delaney (70).

Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin).