Derry City recorded a 3-2 victory in a thrilling game over north-west Rivals Finn Harps at Finn Park. The early talking point of the match was the red card shown to Colm Deasy for a horrible tackle on former Finn Harps player Ciaran Coll. His repl
Derry City recorded a 3-2 victory in a thrilling game over north-west Rivals Finn Harps at Finn Park.
The early talking point of the match was the red card shown to Colm Deasy for a horrible tackle on former Finn Harps player Ciaran Coll.
His replacement Aidy Delap gave Derry an early lead in the second half with Harps levelling via former Derry player Nathan Boyle. David Parkhouse scored a late brace to seal the points before the hosts second came from the spot courtesy of Mikey Place.
Eoghan Stokes came on as a late substitute and he said his first taste of the north-west derby was certainly a interesting one.
“Yeah it was interesting wasn’t it? I had the Dublin Derby last year and that was a big occasion.” he said.
“Not knowing what it was like up here but I think I realised pretty quick that it’s a very big deal up here and I enjoyed the experience.” he added.
“Coming up here, it’s a different sort of game, you’re playing in an atmosphere that’s very hostile and we are their biggest rivals and we are very happy to come away with the three points.”
The match was level leading into the interval, but Harps had been reduced to 10-men after Colm Deasy’s tackle on Ciaran Coll in the 37th minute, a tackle which Stokes labelled ‘Horrific’.
“From where I was looking from, Deasy just seemed to forget about the ball and just go and try to kick Ciaran, hopefully Ciaran is alright,” he said.
“Definitely a straight red.”
Nathan Boyle levelled for Finn Harps in the 74th minute, a period followed with the hosts on the front foot but a great header from David Parkhouse in the 83rd minute and a late goal sealed the points.
“Great header from Parkhouse, I’m delighted for him and hopefully now he can kick on, get a few more goals for us,” added the former Leeds United player.
The result moves Derry up to third in the table, level on points with Bohemians with a game more played and the former Bohs man hopes his current side can put a good run together.
“We will take every game as it comes, we are going well and hopefully we can get a nice run going, you never know where we’ll be at the end of the season.
“It’s still early days, we’re a new group and hopefully the more we gel together, the better performances will follow, more wins, more three points,” he concluded.
