Magic Duffy grabs hat-trick to carry Derry past Blues

Michael Duffy of Derry City with the match ball after scoring a hat-trick. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Premier Division: Derry City 4 (Duffy 58, 75, 94, Akinyemi 91) Waterford 2 (Voilas 19, Lonergan pen 51) 

MICHAEL Duffy bagged a second-half hat-trick to spare Derry City's blushes against Waterford at Brandywell.

It was the Derry man's first treble for his hometown since his first spell at the club in 2014 when he hit three against UCD.

Tiernan Lynch's side trailed by a 2-0 deficit after a first-half tap-in from Jorgen Voilas and a 51st-minute penalty from Tommy Lonergan.

The Foylesiders looked devoid of ideas until last season's PFAI Player of the Year came to the rescue, scoring a downward header at the back post just before the hour mark.

The skipper volleyed into the net from Henry Rylah's cross for the equaliser on 75 minutes as Lynch's substitutes made the difference.

Dipo Akinyemi headed emphatically into the net in the 91st minute to put Derry in front before Duffy completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot three minutes later after John Mahon handled in the area.

Waterford broke the deadlock in the 19th minute following a mix-up involving Fleming and Beach in the Derry defence. 

Conan Noonan played a clever ball over the top, and Fleming attempted a cushioned header back to his keeper. Beach misjudged his run and the ball sailed over his head, leaving Voilas with an easy tap-in.

It was a comedy of errors and it could've been worse two minutes later when Beach gathered Padraig Amond's wide effort from the left at the second attempt.

Blues' keeper Stephen McMullan produced a smart one-handed save at full stretch to deny Whyte's low strike from just inside the penalty area on 41 minutes.

It went from bad to worse for Derry as Adam O'Reilly brought down Lonergan for a penalty kick six minutes after the break. The former Fleetwood Town player stepped up to take the spot-kick himself and fired into the net off the inside of the post.

Derry needed a lifeline and who else but Duffy stepped up to head Thomas' cross past McMullan, reducing the deficit in the 58th minute.

Moments later, Duffy stepped inside and curled a blistering strike goalwards, forcing McMullan to turn the ball over the crossbar with another superb save in the 63rd minute.

Lynch went to his bench and made a triple substitution, bringing on ex-Waterford man James Olayinka, Alex Bannon, and Henry Rylah for James McClean, Whyte, and Cotter.

Rylah immediately made an impact, crossing from the right towards Duffy at the back post. The winger then chested the ball down before rifling it into the far corner on the volley with 15 minutes remaining.

With five minutes of additional time signalled, Akinyemi needed just one to give Derry a stoppage-time lead with an emphatic header from Duffy's inswinging free-kick.

O'Reilly's strike was charged down by Mahon inside the area and match referee Paul Norton pointed to the spot. Duffy tucked away the resultant spot-kick to complete the comeback.

Derry City: Beach 5; Cotter 6 (Bannon 7, 71), P. McClean 6, Stott 6, Fleming 7; Whyte 7 (Rylah 8, 71), Winchester 6 (O'Reilly 8, 39), J. McClean 6 (Olayinka 6, 71), Duffy 9; Clarke 6 (Akinyemi 8, 54); Thomas 6.

Waterford: McMullan 8; Couto 6, Mahon 7, Cann 6, Barrett 7; Violas 7 (McMenamy 6, 66), Heeney 7, Noonan 8, Coyle 6 (Carty 7, 76); Lonergan 8 (Faria 6, 79), Amond 7.

Referee: Paul Norton.