Derry City secured a narrow 1-0 win over St Patrick's Athletic in the SSE Airtricity League of Ireland Premier Division on Monday. Kevin Dos Santos scored the only goal of the game in the 62nd minute to lift his side to sixth in the table with 41 points from 33 matches, a record of nine wins, fourteen draws, and ten losses this season.
The decisive moment came from a Darragh Burns cross from the left wing. Dos Santos held off his marker at the back post to nod the ball home with his head for his fifth goal of the season. The victory was built on a solid defensive display, with Patrick McClean playing a key role at centre-back. McClean made a superb block to deny Kian Leavy in the 16th minute and produced two more key tackles to stop Ryan Edmondson in the second half.
Manager Ruaidhrí Higgins made two changes from the side that lost 2-0 to Drogheda United last Friday. Brooklyn Lyons-Foster and Kevin Dos Santos came into the starting eleven, replacing Conor Barr and the absent Michael Duffy. It was Duffy's first missed match for the club since July, and his absence is notable as he is the team's top scorer this season with 12 goals. Lyons-Foster was substituted at half-time for Barr, who later cleared a Sean Hoare header off the line in the dying moments. St Patrick's Athletic manager Stephen Kenny made one initial change, with Anto Breslin starting, before introducing David McClelland and Ryan Edmondson just before the hour mark.
The three points are vital for Derry City's ambitions. They now sit in sixth place in the Premier Division, just one point behind their next opponents, fifth-placed Dundalk, who they host on Friday 23 October. The win extends their recent form to three wins, one draw, and one loss from their last five outings, a sequence that includes a 2-0 defeat at Drogheda and a 2-2 draw at Waterford. This 1-0 result also means the team has now scored 45 goals and conceded 44 this campaign. Goalkeeper Tom Norcott ensured the clean sheet by saving a late Romal Palmer strike in stoppage time. Off the pitch, Derry fans displayed a banner reading 'it’s not weak to speak' in support of mental health awareness. The team's focus now shifts to the Dundalk clash, a fixture that could define their push for a higher finish, though they remain 24 points adrift of league leaders Shamrock Rovers.
