Derry City secured their second win in four days as they breezed past Dundalk 3-0 at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.
Jordan McEneff’s low drive gave City the lead after 19 minutes.
On the hour Brandon Kavanagh added a second from outside the area while Michael Duffy made sure of all three points tapping in from close range.
Derry remain second, two points behind Shamrock Rovers with their fifth win in their last six matches.
Derry manager Ruaidhri Higgins said it was “an excellent performance from start to finish” from his side.
“Dundalk have been on a brilliant run, credit to them, but tonight we put in a comprehensive display and deserved our win.
“It was brilliant. Our players have come under a lot of criticism at times, from people, and rightly so to a certain extent, but I thought a lot of it was over the top.
“There is only one way to respond to that and it is by winning football matches, keeping clean sheets and fighting for each other.
“This group don’t surprise me with their fight and their hunger. I’m delighted for them but we have to go and finish the week off with three points on Friday [against UCD].”
Derry dominant in win
Having only won one of their last six home fixtures Derry came out and asserted their authority early on the night and eventually took a deserved lead.
McEneff raced on to Cian Kavanagh’s flick on surged into the area and slid the ball low beyond the reach of Dundalk keeper Nathan Shepperd.
After the opener, however, the Candystripes failed to kick on before half-time with the visitors beginning to get more of a foothold in the game.
Derry had failed to win any of their last six meetings with the Lilywhites but, after the break, it seemed like a matter of time before their lead was doubled.
McEneff saw his header cleared off the line by Paul Doyle minutes before Kavanagh landed the second goal of the night.
He gained control outside the area, dribbled towards the box and unleashed a fearsome drive into the far top right-hand corner.
Kavanagh had a golden opportunity to make it three in a one-on-one situation but Shepperd was equal to the task.
A mix-up at the back opened the door for Dundalk to pull one back but Cameron Elliot couldn’t keep his composure and blazed his shot high and wide.
On 84 minutes Duffy had the easiest of tasks to round out the win after Adam O’Reilly’s dazzling run through the visitors’ defence.
A late Richie Towell penalty gave Shamrock Rovers a dramatic 3-2 victory over St Pat’s Athletic as Stephen Bradley’s side stayed top of the table.
