Bohemians stood tall to the challenge of the biggest week of their season with a confident, proficient display to regain their five point lead at the top of the table.
It was just the stimulus manager Pat Fenlon would have demanded ahead of Wednesday’s return with Salzburg in the Champions League qualifiers and the visit of second in the table Shamrock Rovers next Sunday.
A third league defeat in succession sees Derry, regarded at the start of the season as the prime challengers to Bohemians title, drop ten points behind the champions and surely out of contention now.
Derry came to contain with five men across midfielder and Tam McManus, their goalscorer against Skonto Riga in the Europa League midweek, the lone striker.
That plan needed revision as early as the 19th minute when Bohemians, oozing confidence after their performance in Austria, all too easily got their matchwinning goal from a set-piece.
If the marking four minutes earlier from a Killian Brennan corner that allowed Paddy Madden blaze over the top was poor, it was utterly negligent as Bohemians’ captain Paul Keegan floated a free-kick from the stand side to the far area of the box.
Scarcely believing the space he found himself in, midfielder Anto Murphy had ample time to pick out Jason Byrne with a header and the in-form striker swivelled to volley home from eight yards for his 16th league goal of the season.
Derry did offer a response within five minutes with Kevin Deery, who’d earlier tested Brian Murphy from 40-odd yards, bringing a far more demanding save from the home keeper with a crisp shot from closer in.
Within three minutes, though, Bohemians might have punished further neglectful defending to double their lead.
Byrne lost his marker all too easily once again, but his connection to Mark Rossiter’s diagonal ball wasn’t clean and the shot was off target.
Derry’s defensive problems continued on 35 minutes with Madden getting a touch to Murphy’s long throw forcing keeper Ger Doherty to touch the ball onto the crossbar.
Bohemians exposed their visitors again two minutes later with Murphy’s deep cross from the right finding Byrne, whose header was hacked off the line by Ger O’Brien.
Derry manager Stephen Kenny, having been forced to substitute Steven Gray just before half-time, made tactical changes at the break, bringing in Sammy Morrow and Thomas Stewart and reverting to a 4-4-2 line-up with Mark Farren and Morrow spearheading the attack.
But it never worked as Derry failed to create a chance throughout the second half.
Not that Bohemians created a great deal in front of goal either, with Madden's hoof over the bar two minutes in and Keegan's flick a Joseph Ndo corner wide midway through the half their sole opportunities.
Bohemians: B. Murphy; Rossiter, Shelley, Oman, Powell; A. Murphy (Fenn, 90), keegan, Deegan, Brennan (Ndo, 75); J. Byrne (Crowe, 82), Madden.
Derry City: Doherty; McCallion, O’Brien, Hutton, Gray (McClean, 40); McGlynn, Molloy, Higgins (Stewart, h/t), Deery, Farren; McManus (Morrow, h/t).
Referee: Alan Kelly (Cork)
