Kavanagh strike hands Derry victory in tetchy showdown with Pat's

A sublime second half strike from substitute Cian Kavanagh saw Derry City take all three points in a hard fought 1-0 victory over St Pat's this evening in Inchicore.

With St. Pats in such red hot form coming into tonight’s game with five wins in their last five, Derry City manager Ruaidhri Higgins will be delighted to take maximum points back up the road this evening as it leaves his side two points behind Shamrock Rovers, the title race notching up a gear once more.

The defeat for St. Pat's, coupled with a Louth Derby win for Dundalk, means they trail the Lilywhites by five points in the battle for third spot - but with a game in hand.

Derry almost had themselves a dream start to the game with Michael Duffy showing Barry Cotter the pace that he would be up against for the duration of the game.

An inch perfect ball down the line from Ciaran Coll fell straight to the feet of Michael Duffy. Duffy showed blistering pace to ease past Cotter and on towards the edge of the box before flashing a ball right across the face of goal. McGonigle was the target but was inches away from the touch it needed. Warning signs from the visitors.

In a packed and blustery Richmond Park, the home fans had to be content with watching their side in defensive mode for much of the early stages with Michael Duffy, in particular, putting the Pat’s defence under huge pressure.

Despite Derry enjoying much of the early possession, it was Pat's who should have had the lead on fifteen minutes only to be denied by a heroic double save from Ireland U21 goalkeeper Brian Maher.

A fortunate deflection off the back of Coll fell kindly for Sam Curtis who flicked the ball towards goal just yards from the line.

Maher at full stretch pulled off an acrobatic last ditch