St. Pat’s 1-0 Dundalk
CHRISTY FAGAN’S GOAL earned St Patrick’s Athletic a very impressive win over league leaders Dundalk tonight, in a game that was highly entertaining from start to finish.
Eight yellow cards, goal-line clearances and contested decisions made up just some of the talking points on a night when the action began after just two minutes.
Ger O’Brien found Conan Byrne on the right, and Brian Gartland failed to deal with his cross, which allowed Fagan to net his 17th league goal of the season
That early strike set the tone for what was a thrilling opening half of football, and Byrne was a real handful as he delivered more often than a postman in the first 15 minutes.
Patrick Hoban had whistled a shot past the St Pat’s post by then, and Richie Towell came close soon after that, but Kenny Browne was on point to block his effort.
Five minutes later, Towell blazed over a difficult volley after Greg Bolger had cleared off his own line, and the frenetic action continued, with Fagan and Chris Forrester testing Peter Cherrie.
This was always going to be one of the toughest tests of Dundalk’s resolve, and the current champions looked in no mood to hand over their crown without a fight.
However, they were made defend for their lives inside the first 20 minutes of the second half as the visitors launched wave after wave of attack.
Sean Gannon was superb from the right-back position as he pushed up the wing, and the introduction of David McMillan and Donal McDermott further enhanced their attacking prowess.
But for all their gusto, they never really forced Brendan Clarke into a save. Kenny Browne and Sean Hoare dominated the aerial battle, and Bolger and Brennan impressively broke up the play through the middle.
Forrester and Byrne also offered them an out with their pace, and both had late surges forward, which eased the pressure on their defence.
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Clarke, O’Brien, Bermingham, Bolger, Byrne, Fahey, Fagan (Quigley 73), Brennan (McCormack 79), Browne, Forrester, Hoare. Substitutes: Jennings, Oman, Fitzgerald, Chambers, Greene (Greene 88), McCormack, Jennings.
DUNDALK FC: Cherrie, Gannon, Gartland, Boyle, Shields Horgan, Mountney (McDermott 56), Hoban (Byrne 84), Higgins (McMillan 56), Massey, Towell. Substitutes: Sava, Byrne, Griffin, McMillan, Rossiter, McDermott, Meenan.
