Bohemians 1 Derry City 2: Another sinking feeling for the hosts. A fortnight ago manager Gareth Farrelly said game nights at Dalymount resembled Groundhog Day, and he will feel deeply agitated having relived the scenario so soon.
He can have little complaint; his side's indiscipline in the second half cost them.
Bohemians' early application was admirable, Farrelly and Lillestrom-target John Paul Kelly outstanding. But they suffered a familiar set-back when, having grafted hard, they went behind on 21 minutes. While Bohs were busy arranging a wall, Barry Molloy found space on the edge of the area and, once Kevin Deery nonchalantly rolled the free to him, finished low past Stephen O'Brien.
Bohemians pressed for an equaliser. And it was the persistence of Farrelly, as dominant tracking back as surging forward, that paid off. When Seán Hargan grounded Kelly five minutes before the interval, Farrelly drilled the free through a maze of legs. David Forde was unsighted by Vinny Arkins, and an innocuous ball trickled over the line.
Derry restored their lead seven minutes into the second half. Referee Alan Kelly - who later dismissed Thomas Heary for dissent - adjudged Barry Ferguson to have fouled in a crowded box, and Mark Farren dispatched the ensuing penalty.
BOHEMIANS: O'Brien; Rice (Devlin 77), Ferguson, McGuinness, Byrne; Harkin (Hunt 57), Heary, Farrelly, Kelly; Arkins, Ward. Booked: Ferguson (52), Farrelly (52). Sent off: Heary (55)
DERRY CITY: Forde; McCallion, Kelly, Hutton, Hargan; Deery, Higgins, Molloy, Brennan; Beckett (O'Flynn 86), Farren (McHugh 68).
Referee: A Kelly (Cork)
