Derry City 3-1 Bray Wanderers
Derry City all-but guaranteed their Premier Division status with this deserved win over Bray Wanderers at the Brandywell.
Mark Timlin and Dean Jarvis goals in the opening ten minutes ensured they got off to the perfect start, before Graham Kelly pulled one back for Bray on 54 minutes.
Then Patrick McEleney fired home City’s third goal just after the hour mark to ensure a badly-needed victory.
Derry started the game in a blistering pace and had a few half chances in the opening couple of minutes, but they did take the lead on four minutes after Timlin netted his eleventh goal of the season, blasting home from the edge of the box.
The home side netted a second on ten minutes, this time defender Jarvis headed home from close range after Stephen Dooley’s left-wing corner picked him out.
Wanderers pushed forward in search of a way back into this game but David Cassidy’s stinging drive from the edge of the box was turned around his right hand post by a full stretched Gerard Doherty.
Minutes later Ciaran O’Connor should have added a third, but after breaking the offside trap his close range strike was saved by an out-rushing Wanderers goalkeeper Peter Cherrie.
Wanderers surprisingly pulled one back on 54 minutes when Graham Kelly took full of advantage of a shocking pass from City’s Ben McLaughlin’s by slotting the ball home past Doherty.
The Candystripes scored a third just after the hour mark when Patrick McEleney fired a goal of the month contender, blasting high into Cherrie’s left hand corner.
Moments later the woodwork came to Derry’s rescue when substitute David Scully seen his close range side footed effort, which had Doherty beaten, rattled the post.
Derry City: Doherty, McLaughlin, Cornwall, Sharkey, Jarvis; Dooley (McEneff 64), McCormack, McNamee, McEleney (Curtis 90); Timlin, O’Connor (Quigley 58).
Bray Wanderers: Cherrie, Baker, McNally, Cassidy, McEvoy, Hanlon (Onwubiko 78), Cooney, Sullivan, Lyons (Scully 65), Douglas, Kelly (Fitzpatrick 65).
Referee: Paul Tuite (Dublin).
