Shelbourne defeat struggling Derry at Brandywell
· Yahoo Sports
Irish Premier Division
Derry City 1 - 2 Shelbourne FT
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Derry City suffered their third defeat in four Premier Division games as they lost 2-1 to Shelbourne at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.
A superb strike from Shels midfielder Jack Henry-Francis opened the scoring on eight minutes.
Moments later, Henry Rylah made it 1-1 when he unleashed a strong effort past Wessel Speel from outside the area.
The visitors restored their lead in the 34th minute when Daniel Kelly pounced in the six-yard box to fire home.
The Candystripes never threatened an equaliser in the second half, with the full-time whistle met by some boos from the home support as pressure mounts on Derry manager Tiernan Lynch.
Derry now slip to sixth position in the Premier Division, nine points off the top of the table, ahead of a difficult trip to face an in-form St.Patrick's Athletic on Monday night.
Derry suffer second straight defeat
Lynch made four changes to tonight's starting XI in an attempt to put things right following last week's lacklustre display during a 1-0 loss to Shamrock Rovers.
The former Larne manager was expecting a response but, for the sixth time in as many games, Derry again conceded the first goal.
Henry-Francis netted brilliantly in the early stages when the midfielder dragged the ball back onto his left foot and cracked an effort in off the post, leaving Eddie Beach in the City goal beaten all ends up.
The Candystripes did respond quickly, though, as Rylah drove in from the right-hand side and let fly into the bottom left-hand corner in front of the new North Stand end.
Shels have fond memories of the Brandywell, having clinched the Premier Division title at the venue back in 2024 with a 1-0 win, and it wasn't long before they celebrated again.
James Norris bolted down the left and into the box and sent the ball across the face of the goal. Brandon Flemming couldn't sort his feet to get it away and Kelly was on hand to finish to the net.
Failing to make any inroads after the interval, Lynch made a triple change before the hour mark, but still the home side couldn't fashion an opportunity to level.
Shelbourne stood firm to win for just the second time in nine attempts on Foyleside since 2022.
Joey O'Brien's men, who had won just one of their first five games, moved up to fourth, leapfrogging Derry in the process.
Meanwhile, pressure will be growing on Lynch in what is a huge week for the former Larne boss, ahead of a tough ask against Pat's at Inchicore, followed by a home fixture against Drogheda.