St Patrick’s Athletic 3
Longford Town 0
Dave Donnelly reports from Richmond Park
A TRADEMARK Chris Forrester worldie lit up an otherwise dismal and workmanlike St Patrick’s Athletic victory as Stephen O’Donnell’s side remain top of the pile in the Premier Division.
The silky-skilled Smithfield man picked out the top corner with a stunning 25-yard drive early in the second half after substitute Rónán Coughlan had opened the scoring minutes earlier.
And the Saints talisman capped off an influential performance with a fine solo goal in injury time to give the scoreline a gloss that was harsh on a competitive Town side.
Forrester looks well and truly back to his best as the anchorman in an exciting Saints side but they had to grind this one out against a well-drilled and committed Longford side.
The midlanders scored two late goals to snatch a draw when they visited Bohemians earlier in the season, and a last-minute goal cost them a point at Shamrock Rovers.
On the evidence of the first half, they appeared to be well set-up to take something from their third trip to the capital but they were caught by two early goals after the break.
The first half passed by with little incident, the Athletic looking reticent to play their usual quick-passing game against a Longford side playing with two banks of four sitting deep.
Their only half-chances in the first half came from distance, with Darragh Burns curling a shot harmlessly over from the right before Forrester aimed a tame effort at Michael Kelly.
O’Donnell took swift action at the break, withdrawing Shane Griffin and Jamie Lennon for more attacking options in John Mountney and Coughlan.
The changes reaped dividends barely a minute after the restart as Burns’ cross was only half cut out by Aaron O’Driscoll, and Coughlan had the simple task of stabbing home from two yards.
Town could have equalised almost immediately, however, as Dylan Grimes dug out a cross from the right and Aaron Dobbs met the ball flush, but he couldn’t keep his header down.
They’d pay for the missed opportunity as, two minutes later, they found themselves two goals in arrears and, this time, there was little they could do to stop it.
Coughlan was the provider as he held the ball up well wide on the left and cut inside before picking out Forrester arriving late to the edge of the box.
The former Peterborough United midfielder took one touch to steady himself before knuckling the ball into the ground and arrowing a shot into the top corner.
Longford continued to fight in search of a route back into the game but the Athletic were comfortable, and Forrester wrapped things up in injury time.
Like his first, it was a goal entirely of his own making, as he won the ball on the edge of the box and danced through three defenders before coolly slotting it past Kelly from close range.
St Patrick’s Athletic: Vitezslav Jaros; Sam Bone, Paddy Barrett, Lee Desmond; Darragh Bus (Ian Bermingham 56), Jamie Lennon (Rónán Coughlan 46), Chris Forrester, Shane Griffin (John Mountney 46); Billy King (Ben McCormack 85), Alfie Lewis, Matty Smith.
Longford Town: Michael Kelly; Joe Manley, Aaron O’Driscoll, Joe Gorman, Paddy Kirk (Sam Verdon 56); Aodh Dervin, Aaron Robinson, Aaron Bolger (Callum Thompson 77); Dylan Grimes (Dean Byrne 77), Karl Chambers, Aaron Dobbs (Rob Manley 70).