Athlone Town 0-2 St Patrick’s Athletic
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC closed the gap at the top of the SSE Airtricty Premier Division, putting further misery on Athlone Town’s already difficult position at the foot of the table. Goals in each half from Sean Hoare and Chris Forrester separated the teams at the final whistle.
The Saints took the lead early on in proceedings when the Athlone defence were caught off-guard. Ian Bermingham assisted Chris Forrester with the easiest of tap-ins, leaving Derek Prendergast and Neil Harney none the wiser as to what had occurred.
There were shouts for a penalty before the break when Philip Gorman was wrestled to the ground by Derek Foran. Referee Anthony Buttimer dismissed the claims, to the chagrin of the home fans.
The home side came close to equalising as the second half got underway when Eric Foley had a free-kick on the edge of the box. However, the acrobatics of Brendan Clarke stopped the shot from curling into the top corner.
As Athlone pressed for an equaliser, Liam Buckley’s men took advantage of the space created. They capitalised in the closing stages when Sean Hoare doubled their advantage with a well-placed header from Conor Bryne’s corner.
Athlone remain bottom of the table as the Saints recovered well from their Champions League humbling at the hands of Legia Warsaw.
ATHLONE TOWN: Coulter, Prendergast (c), Dillon, Hughes, Gorman, Clancy, Harney, O’Brien (Brennan 37m) , Mulroy, Foley (Mulroney 80m), Doyle.
Substitutes not used: Mahon, Dunne, Byrne, Brennan, Sweeney, Ebbe, Mulroney
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Clarke, Bermingham (c) (Fitzgerald 85m), Foran, Hoare, McCormack, Bolger (Leynch 77m), Chambers, Forrester, Byrne, Fagan, Quigley (Kavangh 73m).
Substitutes not used: Gilmartin, Verdon, Durrad.