League of Ireland: Waterford 4-0 Derry City

Ronan Curtis played the full game for Derry ahead of his move to Portsmouth on 9 June

Derry City have missed out on a chance to climb up to third place in the Premier Division after a heavy four-nil defeat by Waterford at the RSC.

The home side surged into an early lead with two goals in a two-minute spell that Derry never recovered from.

Rory Feely put the Blues ahead before Izzy Akinade quickly added a second.

Sander Puri scored with a powerful 35-yard strike just before half time and substitute Stanley Aborah wrapped-up the scoring in injury time.

The win for Waterford has helped open up a six-point gap between themselves and Kenny Shiels' men, who are now involved in a battle for fourth place with St Patrick's Athletic and Shamrock Rovers.

The Candystripes have now won just twice in their last seven matches and will aim to recover when they face relegation battlers Sligo Rovers at the Brandywell on 1 June.

• Institute to play at the Brandywell

Derry's Aaron McEneff had the opening chance of the game as he broke onto a pass by Ronan Curtis but the midfielder's failure to hit the target with his effort was punished within minutes.

Waterford took advantage of some slack Derry defending at set-pieces to score a stunning brace that effectively settled the match.

Full-back Feely's deflected strike put them ahead with just 12 minutes on the clock when Derry failed the deal with a corner by Faysel Kasmi.

The visitors were still reeling two minutes later when Akinade bundled the ball over the line from another superb Kasmi delivery.

Ronan Patterson attempted to get his side back into the game but his shot from an acute angle hit the post and Waterford responded by getting their third goal thanks to a stunning effort by Puri that left Ger Doherty with no chance.

In a low-key second half, Derry's best chance fell to Nicky Low but the midfielder was off target from inside the penalty area.

Aborah rounded off the scoring in stoppage time after good work from fellow substitute John Martin before the Belgian midfielder scored with a curling left-footed shot from 25 yards that flew into the corner.