Draw gives no cause for complaint

On the face of it this was an opportunity missed for Stephen O'Brien's Longford Town side. But then given their league record against St Patrick's so far this season, surviving at home against the Dubliners is quite a result and Richmond Park, where they will visit tomorrow night, is the place to go for the kill.

With approximately 5,000 people there to see if the league's surprise package could make it through to the last eight of the Harp Lager FAI Cup, O'Brien admitted afterwards to being disappointed his players hadn't managed to produce a goal as a reward for their supporters.

Worse, the large crowd were treated to a game that, though reasonably uncluttered by stoppages throughout, produced just one half-decent save from either goalkeeper over the 90 minutes. Over the course of the game both Shay Kelly and Stephen O'Brien were, on the other hand, required to make their presences felt but with both sets of strikers guilty of poor finishing neither side had any real cause for complaint regarding the draw.

"I'm proud of the effort the lads put in tonight," said O'Brien afterwards. "They battled hard, showed tremendous aggression. Fair aggression, though - I don't believe we saw one bad tackle out there tonight."

Certainly it was mild mannered stuff by comparison with Dalymount's fare on Friday night but even in a generally clean contest Longford's less experienced players proved too hesitant at key moments around their quicker thinking visitors and were much too easily shrugged off the ball by the more physical amongst the Dubliners.

Keith O'Connor, in particular, might have profited had he been a little sharper when a couple of good chances came his way, although he did do well to upset Kelly under a high ball late on, only to see Niall Byrne blast the loose ball over from a dozen yards out.

At the other end, Stephen McGuinness clattered the ball off the underside of the crossbar shortly before the break and was unlucky it stayed the wrong side of the goal line but Ugandan international Charles Livingstone Mbabazi, with a poorly directed second half strike, was another to pass up a clear chance to finish the tie on the night.

"I thought it was very much 50-50 out there tonight and I'm sure it will be again on Tuesday night," observed Pat Dolan before starting for home. "It was always going to be tough to win against Longford and nothing's changed but now Tuesday is the second part of the task and we'll be ready."

His side's home form, notwithstanding the 4-2 defeat by O'Brien's side back in September, suggests they'll be good enough to come through at the second attempt.

Last year's replay defeat by Galway United when Sean Malee's late winner gave the then struggling United a 3-2 victory in extra time might, however, serve as a useful warning to the Dubliners that it's still very much there for the taking.

LONGFORD TOWN: O'Brien; Murphy, Smith, McNally, W Byrne (Prunty, 27 mins); Gavin (Holt, 86 mins), V Perth, S Byrne, Zellor; N Byrne (78 mins), O'Connor.

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Kelly; Croly, Foley, S McGuinness, Croly; R McGuinness (Osam, 63 mins), Mbabazi (Harris, 81 mins), Griffin, Russell; Kelly (Holt, 86 mins), McCarthy.

Referee: D O'Hanlon (Waterford).