St Patrick’s Athletic 4
Cork City 0
Ronan MacNamara reports from Richmond Park
‘JAKE MULRANEY ON the wing’ rang around Richmond Park for most of the evening and he proved the difference as Saint Patrick’s Athletic continued their recovery in the Premier Division.
Mulraney swept home a first-half effort to give the Saints the lead before he provided an expert assist for Jamie Lennon after Jason McClelland had doubled the advantage after the break.
Mark Doyle came off the bench to add a well taken fourth as the hosts pulled away in the second half.
The visitors started brightly and should have been ahead through Daniel Krezic but he headed straight at the grateful Dean Lyness.
St Pat’s had a purple patch either side of a stoppage in play for a head injury and after Jamie Lennon hit the side netting, Mulraney made no mistake moments later as he swept home Eoin Doyle’s cross in the 15th minute.
Doyle will wonder how he didn’t double Pat’s advantage after he misread Jimmy Corcoran’s parry from a Vladislav Kreida effort.
The hosts remained on top for the remainder of the half but were fortunate to have the advantage at the interval after Ruairi Keating’s looping lob grazed the underside of the bar.
While Cork were unable to make some early second half pressure pay, Tim Clancy’s charges struck a killer second goal just after the hour through McClelland’s long-range effort which bamboozled Corcoran in goal.
It was a strike that awoke the atmosphere in Inchicore after the crowd had grown restless following the Saints sluggish start to the second period.
Mulraney capped an outstanding performance with a beautiful left-footed cross to the back post for local lad Lennon who nodded home with fifteen minutes to go.
The wind was taken out of Cork’s sails, and a silky individual goal from substitute Doyle on the 90 put the icing on the cake.
The Saints march on while the Rebel Army are now without a win in five games and must brace themselves for a relegation fight.
St Patrick’s Athletic: Dean Lyness, Anthony Breslin, Joseph Redmond, Jamie Lennon (Carty 83), Chris Forrester (M.Doyle 78), Eoin Doyle (Lonergan 70), Jason McClelland (Murphy), Vladislav Kreida, Jake Mulraney (Timmermans 78), Sam Curtis, Jay McGrath
Cork City: Jimmy Corcoran, Alex Gilchrist, Aaron Bolger, Ruairi Keating, Cian Bargery (Whitmarsh 75), Albin Winbo (Varian 75), Daniel Krezic (Murphy 56), Darragh Crowley, Joshua Honohan, Kevin Custovic, Jonas Hakkinen