Bradley steers 14-man Derry past Sligo

Sligo 0-08 Derry 0-11

It was a tale of two Bradley brothers at Markievicz Park this afternoon where 14-man Derry got the better of Sligo.

Eoin Bradley was sent-off for lashing out at Sligo's Neil Ewing in the 25th minute, but Paddy Bradley was in man-of-the-match form.

Three quick-fire points from Bradley, coming up to half-time, had Derry 0-07 to 0-03 ahead.

Enda Muldoon kickstarted Derry's scoring with a first minute point after he was found unmarked. Paddy Bradley doubled the Oak Leafers' tally with a lovely left-footed score.

Defender David Rooney broke through for Sligo's opener, splitting the posts from a difficult angle on the left. But with Derry cleaning up at midfield, Martin Donaghy claimed the visitors' third point.

Bradley's dismissal hit Derry's hopes, however Sligo, who played into the rain and sleet, lacked the firepower to get back on terms. Marren and Breheny reduced the arrears to four points, but there were a number of shots that fell short and wide of Danny Devlin's goal.

The newly-crowned Dr McKenna Cup champions had a timely hat-trick of points from Paddy Bradley who finished the opening half with 0-05 to his name.

Adrian Marren (0-05, 0-04f) and Mark Breheny (0-02, 0-01f) kept Sligo in the hunt with some well-taken scores, but the visitors proved too strong in the rain and snow.

Donaghy and Bradley had pushed Derry's lead out to 0-09 to 0-05 by the 49th minute and the Yeats men could not use the extra man to their advantage.

The win has Derry in third place in Division 2 and level on six points with Donegal and leaders Laois. Sligo remain bottom of the table, with their only point to date coming from their opening night draw with Donegal.