Derry City showed no mercy to their rivals, Finn Harps, as they won 3-0 in emphatic fashion in their penultimate game at Maginn Park. A brace for Rory Patterson and a tidy finish by Ronan Curtis helped secure the three points and moved the Candystri
Derry City showed no mercy to their rivals, Finn Harps, as they won 3-0 in emphatic fashion in their penultimate game at Maginn Park.
A brace for Rory Patterson and a tidy finish by Ronan Curtis helped secure the three points and moved the Candystripes to within one point of a European place.
It was a difficult task for Finn Harps, who dared not lose in Buncrana, but their defence was all over the place and the occasion proved too much for most.
In fear of losing, Harps set up very defensively and Derry City didn't take long in applying plenty of pressure and eventually delivered the first goal. Damien McNulty dallied on the ball and Curtis intercepted before using his pace to get in one on one with Ciarán Gallagher.
The Republic of Ireland U21 international tucked his effort beyond the Harps goalkeeper to open the scoring. The Ballybofey side looked like they may cause some problems just before the interval, but their lack of quality without Paddy McCourt was evident.
In the second half, the Red and White Army secured the points through a Rory Patterson double.
Ronan Curtis showed everyone again why Noel King continues to select the forward for the Republic of Ireland, as he set Patterson on his way to secure his second goal of the season.
It didn't take long for the Strabane man to get his third of the campaign. A beautiful delivery by Ben Doherty found Patterson, who connected perfectly with a diving header, and he got his second of the fixture.
3-0 didn't flatter the Candystripes whatsoever, and now Harps find themselves in deep trouble riding towards the First Division for another spell. With two games to go for Horgan and his side, they will need six points and plenty of favours to retain their Premier Division status in 2018.
