Derry City skipper Eoin Toal wants repeat display at Bohemians

The skipper knows the Brandywell men are going to have a tough encounter against the Gypsies, who themselves will be looking to bounce back after their controversial Dublin derby loss to Shamrock Rovers, but Toal is hopeful the win at the Showgrounds will get Derry’s season up and running.

“Hopefully that’s the kick-start we need, I think we definitely needed the win,” he insisted.

“I felt it was going to come sooner rather than later, because we were champing at the bit and were looking forward to the Sligo game.

“Every game as people see is so hard in this league this year, it always has been, but we just have to take the same mentality that we had at Sligo onto Bohs and hopefully we’ll get the result.”

The big Armagh man felt Derry were slowly but surely starting to find a bit of form but he was pleased the Candy Stripes finally got that first victory.

“Coming down here was always going to be a tough task but I thought the boys were brilliant,” he stated.

“We really needed that win and I honestly thought it was coming, because we have been improving every week.

“I know the points on the board is what everyone talks about, so that’s the first three points for us but I felt we were improving every week and hopefully there’s more to come from this group of players.”

Will Patching’s second half penalty was enough for Ruaidhri Higgins to mark his first game in charge with a win and the 22-year-old admitted that while the Limavady man only had one training session, he has told the squad what he’s looking for this season.

“Ruaidhri has had only one session but I think it’s down to the players as well, we are all professional players. Everyone came in and trained really well on Friday and were looking forward to the game,” he added.

“We knew it was going to be a tough task but thankfully we got the three points.

“Ruaidhri only came in on Friday and came in at very short notice and he just briefly said a few things and what he wants from the squad and has faith in the group, so I’m looking forward to working with him and I know all the boys are too.”

The former Northern Ireland U21 international also praised young defender Ronan Boyce who again produced a top drawer display at right-back, to help Derry secure their first clean-sheet of the campaign.

“We had conceded 10 goals before today and it just wasn’t good enough, it wasn’t good enough from our point of view, but I felt we were getting better defensively and as I said I feel there’s more to come,” he added.

“Ronan has been absolutely brilliant for us, he has been our best player since he has come in over the last few games he has played in. He was brilliant against Dundalk as well and he’s just going to get better and better.

“If I can do anything to help him on his way I’ll do that and to be honest I know he’s definitely going to help me, playing in that position, so look, we are here for each other and looking forward to the Bohs game.”