Derry City 0-2 St Patrick’s Athletic
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC ended a 53-year wait to get their hands on the FAI Cup by claiming a 2-0 win over Derry City at the Aviva Stadium this evening.
The 2013 Premier Division champions last tasted success in the competition back in 1961 and manager Liam Buckley said earlier this week that he wouldn’t be able to rest easy until that barren spell was over.
Bucko will sleep well tonight then (once the celebrations are over) as his side claimed victory against the club which handed them their last final defeat back in 2012.
Saints striker Christy Fagan will go down as the hero after his brace and would admit himself that he could have had at least double that.
It is fitting that Fagan, who scored on 52 and 93 minutes, would vanquish Pats’ cup hoodoo a week after becoming the first Pat’s player to score 20 league goals for 50 years.
The match was just two minutes old when referee Padraigh Sutton went to his book to issue the first of seven yellow cards in total when Sean Hoare was guilty of holding onto Rory Patterson.
Ryan McBride had the first effort of the game from the resulting free-kick but his header wasn’t accurate enough to trouble Brendan Clarke.
Fagan, who finished joint top scorer in the Premier Division, was involved in the majority of Pats’ attacking play throughout the game. The 25-year-old was a constant threat whether dropping deep or running off the shoulder of the last Derry defender and goalkeeper Ger Doherty had to be alert on several occasions to keep him at bay in the opening 45 minutes.
Seven minutes after the break, Keith Fahey, who was excellent throughout alongside man-of-the-match Greg Bolger in midfield, broke clear down the right flank and cut the ball back to the six-yard box where Fagan swiveled and squeezed a shot into the bottom corner with Danny Ventre unable to clear.
The Candystripes pushed for an equaliser in the final half hour and Rory Patterson and Barry McNamee both should have done better with efforts but it was the Dubliners who added a second in injury time.
Barry Molloy got caught in possession and allowed Fagan to race clear before tucking his low shot beyond Doherty to confirm the FAI Cup’s overdue return to Inchicore.
Derry City: Doherty, Jarvis, Molloy (c), McBride (McNamee 65′), Ventre, McEleney (Houston 90′), Patterson, Duffy, Lowry, Dooley, Barry.
St Patrick’s Athletic: Clarke, O’Brien (c) (McCormack 75′), Bermingham, Bolger, Byrne, Fahey (Chambers 90′), Fagan, Brennan, Browne, Forrester (Fitzgerald 90′), Hoare.
Referee: Padraigh Sutton.
Official attendance: 17,038
