Devine thrilled with win

Derry City striker Rory Patterson continued his goalscoring run at Cork City, on Sunday.

Rory Patterson’s 89th minute goal was enough for the Brandywell men to secure their first league victory in 17 attempts at Turner’s Cross.

For boss Devine he was over the moon that his patched up side managed to claim the points and in doing so moved into second spot in the Airtricity League Premier Division table.

“It’s 13 years since we have won down here in the league and went up the road with three points, so I’m absolutely delighted,” stated Devine.

“To be down the players that we were down on Sunday I think the effort, commitment, the desire to win and the also the ability in the group to keep going, was great.

“I’m delighted and I’m over the moon and I’m very, very proud of the bunch of players who came to Turner’s Cross and won.

“When you go through our team at Cork, (Simon) Madden, (Ryan) McBride and (Thomas) Crawley are under 22 years of age, then you look at the midfield (Sean) Houston and (Michael) Rafter are 21 and 22, while up front Michael Duffy was given his first start for the club and he did well, so it all bodes well for the future.

“To be down so many senior players coming to Turner’s Cross and to play the way we did with no fear, was great to see.”

Devine also heaped praise on his senior players Gerard Doherty, Barry Molloy, Ruaidhri Higgins and Patterson, who all played a major role in securing the victory.

“The weight of the world was on our senior players on Sunday,” he added.

“When you have so many young players in the group, you are looking for your experience players like Molloy, Doherty, Higgins and Patterson to stand up and be counted and I think right throughout the team, the work effort was super.

“Barry Molloy was inspirational, as he always is. Ruaidhri Higgins I thought was outstanding throughout the game and Rory Patterson worked tirelessly up front on his own for long periods.

“I think winning at Cork will mean a lot to those experience players, because they have suffered so many set-backs at Turner’s Cross over the years.”

The Candy Stripes in truth created had the better chances in the game with Cork goalkeeper Mark McNulty the busier of the two keepers.

However neither side created any clear cut chances in the first half, with Rafter firing wide with a few efforts, while Danny Murphy and Daryl Horgan went close for the home side.

It was Patterson who created the first real chance of the game in the second half, but after holding off defender Kevin Murray inside the Cork box, his clever shot on the turn was saved by McNulty.

The all important winning goal came late on when Cork susbitiute Adam Rundle handled just inside the box and the referee’s assistant Damien Klier waved his flag immediately to signal for a penalty and referee Paul Tuite rightfully pointed to the spot.

Patterson’s low right footed spot-kick was saved by McNulty diving to his left, but the Northern Ireland international made no mistake firing home the rebound.

In the closing stages Mark Griffin should have grabbed a second but after breaking the offside trap, his tame left footed close range shot was straight at McNulty.