Ruaidhri Higgins hails 'fantastic return' on the road for Derry City

Ronan Boyce's fourth minute header was enough to seal the win and Derry's 10th point from a possible 12 away from home under Higgins.

That run includes trips to Sligo, Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and now Waterford but the City boss will be determined to finally get off the mark with his first Brandywell win next Monday when they meet high flying St Patrick's Athletic.

Derry can take huge confidence from their first half display which Higgins described as 'pleasing on the eye' and he was pleased with how his team also grinded out the result as they held firm against late Waterford pressure in the second half.

"It's a brilliant win to come away from home and beat anyone is huge," said Higgins. "First half I thought we were very good, and dominated the ball. I really liked the way we played. Second half we showed a different side to us where they didn't create many chances at all but we still had to show a bit of fight and see the game out. It was more professional than pleasing on the eye in the second half.

"I was disappointed (not to be further ahead), we created a few chances and got into good areas of the pitch at times and our final ball let us down at times. But we created chances and dominated the ball. Listen, the players have been brilliant to work with and we're delighted with three points.

"They flooded bodies forward in the second half. They sent both their full backs on and pinned us back. In saying that theft didn't create any chances. You have to win football matches in different ways. We were pleasing on the eye in the first half and we scrapped it out in the second.

"It's a fantastic return on the road and they've all been at difficult venues so it's a fantastic return. They're giving me absolutely everything and there's a real good spirit in the group and that's evident. They're just really good lads and a pleasure to work with."

Higgins knows his side face a stern test against his old pal Stephen O'Donnell's side next Monday but he's confident going into that crunch clash.

"St Pat's are a very good side. I know them very well and know the manager very well, They've a lot of good players and are at the top end of the league for a reason. For me they're one of the best teams in the country and we have to be prepared and we will be. We need to try and get a good result on Monday."