Colm Whelan makes instant impact on Derry City debut as Candy Stripes return to winning ways in Cork

COLM Whelan made an instant impact on his Derry City debut with a stunning finish to put the gloss on an impressive victory over Cork City at Turner's Cross which moved the Brandywell club back into second spot.

The Ireland U21 international returned to action as a 74th minute substitute after almost 12 months on the sidelines with an ACL injury and needed just four minutes to seal a much needed win for Ruaidhri Higgins' charges.

The Candy Stripes had a new face in the dugout with newly appointed assistant boss Paddy McLaughlin making a winning start on his return to the club.

Derry went into the match on the back of a three game winless run and struggling for goals. Indeed, Derry netted just four times in their previous six matches and registered just 13 goals in the opening 10 but they were clinical on the night.

Ronan Boyce opened the scoring on 38 minutes when he glanced his header from Michael Duffy's corner into the far corner of the net for his 11th goal in a Derry shirt.

Duffy got in on the goalscoring act himself on the hour mark when Ben Doherty did brilliantly to keep the ball in play before finding the Galliagh man who fired powerfully under the body of Cork keeper Jimmy Corcoran.

Brian Maher kept Cork at bay with a stunning save to deny the Rebels top scorer Ruairi Keating on 69 minutes and the City keeper was again in the thick of the action when he was struck by a bottle thrown from the Cork fans in the Shed End which resulted in a lengthy delay in play.

Cue the return of Whelan who needed just those four minutes to ensure the win when he played an outstanding pass to play Ryan Graydon through on goal in a move which resulted in his fantastic strike to open his City account.

Tunde Owalabi pulled one back for Cork late on controversially after seemingly pushing Cameron McJannet when the pair were in a race for the ball.

Take nothing away from the Belgian's finish as he fired into the far corner from a tight angle but it was merely a consolation strike.

Cork started on the frontfoot and Derry were under sustained pressure and forced to defend a succession of corners with Brian Maher needing to get his fingertips to a cross towards the front post to avert the danger.

That was the closest the home side came to opening the scoring although Cameron McJannet was well placed to block Matt Healy's effort on the volley from just outside the penalty area following a searching run from Ruairi Keating.

Boyce looked lively and when he cut inside from the right, he showed Jonas Häkkinen a clean pair of heels before firing a low strike past the far post on 23 minutes.

Derry had a big shout for a penalty when the ball bounced off the pitch and appeared to strike the outstretched arm of Cian Murphy who was shepherding Michael Duffy away from goal but referee Rob Harvey was well placed and waved play on.

The Candy Stripes broke the deadlock seven minutes before the half-time break when Duffy's inswinging corner kick was met by the head of Boyce who ran towards the front post before glancing his header into the bottom corner for his 11th goal in the City shirt.

Cork went searching for the equaliser early in the second half and after a decent move the ball fell to Murphy whose first time strike was saved comfortably by Maher.

Derry doubled their advantage on the hour mark when Ben Doherty did superbly to keep the ball in play before playing the ball to the feet of Duffy. The winger took a couple of touches before drilling a shot from 25 yards under the arms of Corcoran and into the net for his second goal of the season.

There was a flashpoint on the halfway line when Bolger took exception to Adam O'Reilly's challenge and after an exchange between the pair, the Cork midfielder fell to the ground holding his head. Match referee, Mr Harvey felt O'Reilly's actions justified a yellow card and awarded a free kick to Cork.

From the resultant setplay Healy whipped in the ball towards a packed penalty area and Keating rose above Duffy and forced a stunning save from Maher who palmed away the Cork striker's header at full stretch with 69 minutes on the clock.

Cork came so close moments later to reducing the deficit when Häkkinen clipped the ball into the area and when it shaved off the head of Shane McEleney it fell to Barry Coffey who headed it narrowly over the net.

There was a long delay after Maher was struck on the arm by a bottle thrown from the Shed End when the City goalkeeper was on the ground injured. Several more bottles and projectiles rained down on the pitch from the Cork fans towards Maher who was being attended to by physio Michael Hegarty. It was announced that the match “would be abandoned if any more missiles were thrown onto the pitch” before Mr Harvey signalled the resumption of the game.

Ruaidhri Higgins introduced Whelan from the substitutes bench on 74 minutes and after 11 months out with an ACL injury, the former UCD man needed just four minutes to make an impact on his first appearance for Derry.

The Kilkenny man latched onto the ball in his own half and played a sublime defence splitting pass to set Ryan Graydon scampering free down the right. The winger's shot was blocked well by Corcoran but Graydon was first to the rebound and laid it back into the path of Ollie O'Neill. O'Neill's shot was charged down but the ball fell to Whelan who fired clinically into the roof of the net with a stunning finish to make it 3-0 on 78 minutes.

It was an incredible start to his Derry career. Cork sub Owalabi tried his luck with a curling effort from the edge of the box but Maher again did brilliantly to parry it clear of danger on 83 minutes.

Owalabi did find the net in the 93rd minute when he beat McJannet to the ball, raced towards the near post and fired past Maher into the far corner from a tight angle to make it 3-1.

It was a contentious end to what was an eventful match but Higgins will be delighted to see his team get back to winning ways ahead of a mouthwatering double header against St Pat's and Shamrock Rovers next week.

CORK CITY: J Corcoran; J Honohan, C Coleman, A Gilchrist, J Häkkinen; A Bolger, M Healy; C Murphy (D Krezic 51), B Coffey (T Olowabi 78), E Varian (J O’Brien-Whitmarsh 76); R Keating.

DERRY CITY: B Maher; R Boyce, S McEleney, C McJannet, B Doherty; A O’Reilly, S Diallo; R Graydon (B Kavanagh 85), O O’Neill (M Ward 85), M Duffy (C Whelan 74); C Kavanagh (C Coll 74).

Referee: R Harvey.