Athlone push all the way but Derry come out on top

Derry City 3
Athlone Town 2



Derry City will be happy to have recorded their second win of the season on home soil, but they really did make hard work of putting basement side Athlone Town to the sword.

The lively midland side actually silenced the Brandywell when James O'Brien swept the ball home in the 14th minute to break the deadlock as Derry failed to get into their stride.

Draw level
However, facing the side he led to the First Division title last season, Roddy Collins will have been happy to see Derry draw level just eight minutes later.

Enda Curran broke on the right and while his centre proved too strong for Rory Patterson, the ball was returned into the danger area and Curran got a slight touch when heading the ball home.

And the home side moved into the driving seat on the half-hour mark when Rory Patterson opened his account for the season with a tidy finish.

Derry made it 3-1 on the hour but Michael Duffy's superb goal failed to kill off the game as Athlone bounced back again when substitute Jason Marks curled a 75th minute free-kick past Derry goalkeeper Ger Doherty to ensure what was a nervous finish for the home side.

DERRY CITY : Doherty; Collins, Byrne, S. McEleney, Jarvis; Ventre; McGovern (Stewart, 68), P McEleney, Duffy; Patterson, E Curran.
ATHLONE TOWN: Sexton; Quigley, McMahon, A Byrne, S Byrne; Dillon (Sweeney, 64), Hughes, O'Brien (Clancy, 59), Brennan (Marks, 64); Rusk; Gorman.
Referee: R Harvey (Dublin).