League of Ireland: St Pat’s Athletic 5-2 Derry City

Former Plymouth Argyle striker Rory Patterson gave Derry City an early lead at Richmond Park

Derry City suffered their second successive Premier Division defeat as they lost 5-2 away to St Pat's Athletic on Friday night.

The Candystripes twice took the lead in the first half through Rory Patterson and Darren Cole.

However, the home side struck back with a goal byJake Keegan and a Conan Byrne penalty.

Further efforts from Kevin Toner, Thomas Byrne and Darragh Markey secured St Pat's the three points.

The result follows Derry's 4-1 defeat to Dundalk on Monday, a result which saw Kenny Shiels' men lose their unbeaten home record.

Patterson's opener came after a mix-up in the home defence on six minutes, but the lead only lasted 90 seconds before Keegan's equaliser.

The visitors regained the lead through a deflected shot from Cole, but Byrne levelled with a spot-kick after Derry goalkeeper Gerard Doherty was adjudged to have pushed Ryan Brennan.

St Pat's then took a crucial half-time lead through Toner before second-half goals from Byrne and Markey made it four wins in a row for the Richmond Park side.

The result sees St Pat's overtake the Candystripes into fourth place in the league table, with Derry dropping to fifth.