| Derry take all three points in Showgrounds |
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| Saturday, 17 March 2007 | |
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Sligo Rovers first home game of the season ended in defeat at the hands of a Derry City side that took their first half chances and held on to what they had. Rovers won the second half on points without really threatening the Candystripes goal but with the visitors having the lions share of the first half chances, their clinical finishing ultimately was the difference between the sides.
Eircom League of Ireland Premier Division Sat 17 Mar, 3.30pm, The Showgrounds Attednd (est) 1900 Sponsors: Paul, Hilary and Adam Hynes Man of the Match (sponsored by Johnny Chadda): Raffaele Cretaro The Bit O’Red had only one change from the victory over Galway last week, with Steve Manson coming in for the suspended Adam Hughes, and Richard Brush continuing in goals, despite having a heavily bandaged knee. Derry pressed early on searching for the early goal whilst Rovers looked to stretch the Candystipes down the flanks to take advantage of Cretaro’s pace and Kudovovic’s trickery. The first real chance of the match fell to the visitors on eight minutes when McGlynn went down very quickly inside the box from a McCartney challenge, However, Farren’s shot low to Brush’s left was brilliantly saved, Richard getting down low to push the ball around the post. The home side countered and four minutes later, Cretaro rose above Pat Jennings to get on the end of a Foy cross, headed the ball goalward, but Kelly was on hand to clear. On the half hour, Cretaro was there again latching on to clever Kudozivic through ball but Rogers was on hand to deny the Tubbercurry man with a perfectly timed tackle. Derry without really penetrating were looking more dangerous and on thirty three minutes they edged ahead. An in-swinging Deery corner caused mayhem for the Bit O’Red before Chris Turner cleared off the line. However, the ball fell to Barry Molloy who fired a shot from twenty five yards, taking a slight deflection before beating Brush in the top right hand corner. McHugh extended the lead on thirty nine minutes when he found space on the edge of the box picked out his spot, lobbing over Brush and although Foy guarding the post got a head to it, he couldn’t keep it out. The second half opened with a nasty Kelly tackle on Gary Curran that forced a change for Rovers, with Curran’s departure pushing Turner into the centre of midfield. The resultant free kick by Foy hit the wall but there was enough power to force Jennings to push it wide. The Derry keeper looked uncomfortable with the corner that followed, but the danger was averted for the visitors. Rovers were more lively in the second forty five but other than a couple of Foy set-pieces, failed to find a way through, whilst Derry were restricted to pot-shots from distance for Farren and Molloy. It was scrappy stuff with the only notable shot in anger coming from Farren midway though the half, but Brush was equal to the effort. After Choice Aisien made his entrance shortly afterwards and Rovers switched to a four three three formation, the game opened up somewhat with both teams finding their passes. Clearcut chances were at a premium though with Cretaro and Kudozovic looking dangerous on the break and Seamus Coleman raiding down the right but Jennings was never really troubled. The game was marred somewhat five minutes from time by an awful tackle by Dave Rogers on Chris Turner, that led to his dismissal for a two-footed tackle on the Northern Ireland under 21 international. With Rovers failing to make an impact in the final third, the result was almost inevitable as really there was no time to take advantage of the numeric advantage caused by Rogers absence. Sligo Rovers Richard Brush, Chris Turner, Jamie McKenzie, Gavin Peers, Keith Foy (Sean Kelly 78 mins), Conor O’Grady, Raffaele Cretaro, Gary Curran (Seamus Coleman 46 mins), Fahrudin Kudozovic, Stephen Manson (Choice Aisien 70 min), Jason McCartney Subs: Kevin Julian, Tomislay Arcaba Derry City Pat Jennings, Eddie McCallion, Dave Rogers, Ken Oman, Darren Kelly, Ciaran Martyn, Gareth McGlynn, Kevin Deery, Barry Molloy, Kevin McHugh (Gary Beckett 77 mins), Mark Farrren (Greg O’Halloran 87 min) Subs Eugene Ferry (GK), Ruairdhi Higgins, Neil McCafferty, Ref: Dave McKeon Assistants D McGrath, T Moyne, N Doyle Bookings Sligo Rovers: Stephen Manson, Keith Foy Derry City: Barry Molloy, Darren Kelly, Dave Rogers (red card) |
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