The faithful will have had some story to tell the doubters when they got back home after seeing their side beat Shels 2-1 with a first away win of the season. Sub Dipo Akinyemi supplied the key moment in the game when he scored on 61 minutes, a stunning strike, and with his first touch of the ball as well.
The win for Derry will ease pressure on manager Tiernan Lynch and as City prepare to move into their temporary home of Celtic Park, just up the road from a Brandywell undergoing redevelopment work, the mood will be a lot better after this win as they now gear up for a visit by league leaders Shamrock Rovers.
For a stuttering Shels, it’s more questions than answers. This was a third successive loss and while the Reds did look better for a spell in the second half, after a dismal first 45 minutes from them, there is a long way to go back to the top for Joey O’Brien’s outfit.
Derry came to Dublin for what was a fourth successive away game with a record that did not inspire confidence, that battered morale evident in the small travelling support, many Derry fans having been let down too often this season to justify a trip to Dublin.
But something in the air seemed to inspire a City side missing the suspended James McClean as they grew in confidence while Shels struggled to get into gear.
The opening spell was a lot of nothing, maybe nerves showing in two sides lacking confidence of late but City took a grip on the game in the 19th minute. Shels were unconvincing in dealing with a corner from Ben Doherty and when Wessel Speel’s clearance was knocked back into the box by Adam O’Reilly. It landed just right for Cotter to score his first goal for the club.
Shels did try and respond but the stout three-man City defence had set up well to deal with any threats. On 26 minutes Evan Caffrey did well to get in a cross from deep but John Martin couldn’t connect. Shortly after Kerr McInroy blazed well over the bar from another corner while Eddie Beach was able to deal with a potentially dangerous Caffrey cross on 31 minutes.
Barry Cotter of Derry City, right, celebrates scoring his side’s first goal at Tolka Park. Photo: Sportsfile
Shels were way off the pace as the game progressed as City started to bare their teeth, Speel with saves from decent attempts by Doherty and Josh Thomas.
The home side needed something different so manager O’Brien looked to his bench, Will Jarvis asked to make a contribution as a half-time sub. And four minutes after the restart, Shels were indeed level. Cotter, scorer of Derry’s goal, was at fault as his poor pass gifted possession to Kameron Ledwidge and the City defence were asleep as John Martin got on the end of the cross from Ledwidge.
Shels were now in the ascendancy, Derry needing a strong save from Beach to deny Wood a goal on 58 minutes. City boss Lynch spotted something was off as he made a triple substitition on the hour mark and it worked as Akinyemi scored with his first touch.
It was a self-inflicted wound for Shels as they dithered at the back, Ledwidge with a clumsy clearance that cannoned off sub Darragh Markey and a striker’s instinct saw Dipo take full advantage with a stunning shot.
That goal put Shels back into their box as they struggled to find a foothold in a game that looked winnable but just slid from their grasp, with subs like Rodrigo Freitas and Ali Coote unable to make the same impact that Dipo had on the game.
Deep into injury-time Shels had a free on the edge of the box and while Barrett did make contact, Beach was there to make the save, with the final whistle coming seconds later to send the hardy Derry support back up the N2 in a better mood than the one they travelled with.
Shelbourne: Speel; Caffrey (Gannon 74), Barrett, Bone, Ledwidge; Henry-Francis (Freitas 74), Lunney, McInroy (Coote 60), Kelly (Jarvis 46); Wood; Martin (Boyd 80).
Derry City: Beach; P McClean, Stott, Barr; Cotter (Rylah 74), O’Reilly (Olayinka 60), Winchester, Fleming, Doherty (Dummigan 60), Clarke, (Markey 60) Thomas (Dipo 65).
Referee: A O’Dowd