Sligo Rovers 1 Derry City 0
Sligo Rovers boosted their European ambitions with a dramatic win at home to Derry City at the Showgrounds on Tuesday.
Ryan de Vries proved the hero, benefitting from some hesitancy in the Derry backline with four minutes left to flick the ball to the net.
In wet and windy conditions, the game was littered with sloppy passing, and de Vries was particularly sharp to capitalise on Derry mistakes as he twice turned over possession to create first half chances for Jesse Devers before claiming the late winner.
The best chance featured some lovely link up play to put Devers through, only for keeper Peter Cherrie to make a superb double-save – the first to deny the winger, and the second to prevent Ronan Coughlan netting the follow-up.
Derry threatened after the hour-mark, as captain Conor McCormack released substitute Steven Mallon into the box, but he pulled his shot across the face of goal and wide.
And they should have plundered the opening goal with 10 minutes left, as substitute Ibrahim Meite crossed for Figueira in front of the posts, but somehow the ball rebounded off the post.
SLIGO: McGinty, Noone, Buckley, Penninkangas, Donelon (Cooper 81), Seymore, Morahan, Devers (Banks 84), de Vries, Ogedi-Uzokwe, Coughlan.
DERRY: Cherrie, Cole, Toal, McJannett, Coll, McCormack, Dunwoody (Harkin 84), Hammil, Malone (Mallon 60), Figueira, Akintunde (Meite 73).
Referee: N Doyle.
