Dundalk warmed up for Thursday night’s opening Europa League group stage game against Molde with a deserved win at a soaked Brandywell.
It took just seven minutes for the visitors to open the scoring.
Midfielder Greg Sloggett weaved his way into the box before setting up the unmarked Sean Murray to hammer the ball high into the net from 12 yards.
Dundalk doubled their lead in the 15th minute when taking advantage of a Derry defensive error.
Conor Clifford seemed to slice his pass and the ball dropped to Jordan Flores, who took control before giving Peter Cherrie no chance.
Clearly frustrated at their poor start, Derry reduced the deficit within three minutes.
Following an Adam Hammill free, Cameron McJannet’s header cannoned off David McMillan. The loose ball broke to Darren Cole and the Derry defender neatly guided the ball home.
Walter Figueira also tested Aaron McCarey in the 40th minute, the keeper doing well to parry the shot.
Throughout the second half, Dundalk sought to dictate the pace of the game but Derry forced their way forward at every available opportunity.
McCarey produced a brace of top drawer stops during the latter stages to deny Clifford and Jack Malone.
At the other end, Dundalk sub Patrick McEleney was denied by Cherrie, who got down well to turn a low free-kick around his post.
