St Pat’s 1-0 Sligo
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC kept their hopes of retaining the Airtricity League title alive tonight with a 1-0 win over Sligo Rovers in Richmond Park.
With league leaders Dundalk beating second placed Cork City, Liam Buckley’s men can now overtake the Leesiders if they win in Turner’s Cross next week.
Tonight, Chris Forrester scored the only goal of the game 18 minutes into the first-half, and the champions have now won their last eight home games, scoring 26 goals in that time.
Sligo arrived in Inchicore having won just four away games all season, and they provided little in the opening half to indicate that that record will change greatly.
However, they were a much more attacking threat in the second half, with new loan-signing, Eamon Zayed coming off the bench to add to their attack at half-time.
But any chance of drawing level was wiped out late on, when Danny North was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Conor McCormack.
Mark Quigley and James Chambers engineered much of the Saints’ creative play in the opening period, and a sweeping move from back to front led to the goal.
Kenny Browne fed the ball to Forrester and he helped it on to Christy Fagan wide out on the left. The striker drove inside, and past Gavin Peers, before setting up Forrester to shoot low into the bottom corner.
Liam Buckley’s men should have increased their advantage when Fagan was played through on goal by Forrester on the stroke of half-time, but the league’s top-scorer dragged his strike just wide of the post.
Zayed was introduced for Danny Ledwith at the interval, and Sligo, now playing two up front, dominated the opening minutes of the second half.
Sean Maguire, who was looking to add to his goal against Limerick last time out, forced Clarke into a smart save at the near post, before shooting inches wide, and North then somehow shot wide from six yards.
Forrester really should have doubled the Saints’ lead with 20 minutes to go when he played a neat one-two with Fagan, but, having created space for himself, smashed his effort past the Sligo post.
Fagan forced Rogers into a spectacular save with nine minutes remaining, and Zayed was then handed the opportunity to become the Sligo hero in injury-time, but he was denied by Clarke
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Clarke, McCormack, Bermingham (c), Chambers, Byrne, Browne, Fagan, Forrester, Hoare, Bolger, Quigley. Substitutes: Gilmartin, O’Neill, Foran, Fitzgerald, Durrad, Verdon, Bayly.
SLIGO ROVERS: Rogers, Keane, Conneely Russell, Cawley, North, Maguire, Davoreen, Ledwith (Zayed 45), Peers (McMillan 60), Spillane. Substitutes: Brush, Donelon, Odhiambo, McMillan, Keating, Zayed, O’Conor.
Referee: Rob Rodgers
Attendance: 1,289
Aitricity League results in full:
- Cork City 1 – 2 Dundalk
- Bray 1 – 1 Athlone Town
- Derry 4 – 0 Bohs
- Drogheda 4 – 0 UCD
- Limerick 4 – 1 Shamrock Rovers
- St Patrick’s Athletic 1 – 0 Sligo
