Derry defeat Dublin in stoppage time

Brendan Rogers was the Derry hero after he kicked a dramatic 75th-minute winning point to inflict Dublin's first Division 2 defeat of the season in front of 12,000 fans at Celtic Park.

The dramatic finale also saw Michael Fitzsimons dismissed on a second yellow card as Derry fought back from a poor second half to claim the victory that made it five from five and outright top spot in the table for Rory Gallagher's men.

The result means Derry only need a point next week to be promoted and it would take a brave man to back against them on this display, with every man in red and white standing up in a second half to remember

Derry named the same 15 that cantered to an easy victory in Newbridge six days earlier, while for Dublin there was a first start for Eoin Murchan and the welcome sight of Brian Howard among the substitutes, his first appearance of 2023.

Not that it looked like Dessie Farrell's men would need their All Star after a first half which the visitors dominated against a strangely passive Oak Leaf 15, whose first half lacked its normal aggression.

The tone was set only 49 seconds in, when Cormac Costello took possession and split the posts inside the opening minute.

The score was illustrative of a low Derry block which was meeting Dublin too deep, allowing men too far inside the scoring zone before they were being engaged, and with Brian Fenton bossing the game, Dublin should have been further ahead than their 0-06 to 0-02 half-time lead.

Dublin mirrored Derry's defensive shape but crucially engaged further up the field, while they visitors kick-outs into space were finding blue too easily compared to a home kick-out that invariably became contested ball.

The flip side to that was Derry left an easy 1-06 behind them