At a rampant Richmond Park, St Pats’ transformed the top of the table standings as they blitzed Derry City aside 4-1 in a pulsating encounter.

Manager Jon Daly has transformed St Pats’ into unlikely title challengers in recent weeks and with pulsating performances like this, why not for the Inchicore men?! They overtake Derry who drop to fourth place and possess much more momentum, now with six wins in seven.

Here, the game swung on its head in an insane six-minute spell where St Pats’ restored a two-goal advantage, Ruaidhri Higgins wit much to ponder after this, his heaviest defeat as Derry manager.

In a cagey start under the sunlit Richmond Park, Patrick McEleney and Conor McCormack exchanged half-chance, well-struck shots that both weren’t far away.

The first clearcut opportunity though took until twenty-eight minutes to arrive, the pacy Eoin Doyle freed in behind by Jay McGrath’s pass and with Mark Connolly left behind, Doyle lifted his shot marginally high and wide under pressure from the onrushing Derry goalkeeper, Brian Maher.

McGrath though sent the South Dublin faithful into delirium before the half ended. 

On loan from Coventry City, the youngster collected possession from Adam Murphy, drove forward purposefully, and unleashed a screamer that Maher’s scrambling hands couldn’t keep out, his first senior goal and what a way to get it as Richmond roared!

Doyle was proving a constant thorn in Derry’s side, and he scampered in again, this time Conor Carty’s brilliant pass opening Derry up but Maher stood tall and saved strongly with his feet.

The experienced Doyle kept hounding a jittery Derry defence and struck a volley sweetly from the edge of the area, but it just looped too high.

Half time arrived as a welcome relief for the visitors, Pats’ momentum stifled but the atmosphere thunderously buoyant.

Michael Duffy’s half hadn’t gone well, and he was forced off with injury with Ollie O’Neill on earlier than anticipated.

Chris Forrester drilled down Maher’s throat as the home side kept their foot to the throttle before Patrick McEleney was forced off stricken, Derry’s night only getting worse.

That was part of a triple Ruaidhri Higgins change and to their credit, the Candystripes gradually asserted themselves, former Saint Adam O’Reilly sparking the midfield with fresh zip.

Yet, as is the cruelty of the game, Derry then suffered a sucker punch. 

Again, their lack of mobility was exposed as Doyle darted through and this time, the striker beat Maher to cue pandemonium, his fourth goal this season.

However, the visitors weren’t lying down, and Cian Kavanagh immediately halved the deficit, reacting quickest to the rebound from Jordan McEneff’s effort.

But in a head-dizzying matter of minutes, the two-goal home advantage was restored instantaneously, Forrester ferrying in the box and heading home from a corner, 3-1 up!

Derry were rocked and Murphy almost capped a fine showing with a goal but his cross scurried past the post. 

The porous away defence were punished again before the end though as replacement Mark Doyle crafted a carbon copy run of namesake Eoin’s and only needed one chance, with a little luck, to beat Maher courtesy of the post!

Tommy Lonergan and Doyle almost combined for a fifth, but Maher kept focused to keep it at four.

With the international break looming, the in-form Inchicore men travel to Drogheda United on Friday, belief sky high. 

Derry host a similarly faltering Bohemians in a crunch encounter but many will feel this unforeseen collapse tonight, three games winless now, has shifted the title momentum decisively away from the Candystripes’ control.