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Bohemians 3 UCD 0
Bohemians moved back up to second in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division table with a commanding win over UCD at Dalymount Park.
Dinny Corcoran and Conor Levingston goals either side of the break served to deflate the challenge of the Students, before Danny Grant’s 55th-minute strike ensured the Gypsies issued an immediate response to last Monday’s agonising defeat in Dundalk.
Buoyed by their own dramatic comeback victory over Cork City in Belfield last Monday, it was UCD who played the brighter football during the opening exchanges. After midfielder Richie O’Farrell headed a Gary O’Neill corner against the crossbar, Yoyo Mahdy produced a superb save from Bohemians goalkeeper James Talbot.
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Having weathered this initial storm, Keith Long’s side started to grow in confidence. Their most potent attacking threat came down the right flank, where Andy Lyons and the recalled Grant were combining to telling effect.
When UCD’s Mark Dignam collided with the latter just shy of the interval, referee Paul Tuite immediately pointed to the spot. Bohs centre forward Corcoran coolly dispatched the resulting penalty past Conor Kearns for his fifth goal of the campaign.
While UCD could consider themselves unfortunate to be trailing their Dublin rivals, they were ruthlessly exposed on the resumption. Grant picked out an unmarked Levingston in the 51st minute and the industrious midfielder fired home in clinical fashion.
An off-season recruit from Brighton & Hove Albion, Danny Mandroiu was exerting a major influence in the Bohs attack. Though his subsequent long-range shot crashed off the woodwork, Grant was on hand to finish off the ensuing rebound.
Ahead of their visit to league leaders Shamrock Rovers next Tuesday, it was understandable that Bohs eased off in the closing stages. Despite their admirable endeavours throughout, UCD consequently remain second-from-bottom in the top flight.
BOHEMIANS: Talbot; Lyons, Finnerty, Barry, Leahy; Buckley (McCourt, 76 mins), Levingston; Grant (Reghba, 73 mins), Mandroiu, Devaney (Graydon, 69 mins); Corcoran.
UCD: Kearns; Tobin, Collins, Scales, Dignam (Davis, 64 mins); Farrugia, Doyle, O'Neill, O'Farrell, McClelland (Molloy, 64 mins); Mahdy (McDonald, 64 mins).
Referee: P Tuite (Dublin).
Dundalk 3 Finn Harps 0
Daniel Kelly bagged the first hat-trick of his career as Dundalk made light work of struggling Finn Harps at Oriel Park.
A stop-start first half saw Dundalk skipper Brian Gartland and Harps goalkeeper Ciarán Gallagher leave the pitch with serious looking injuries.
Dundalk made the breakthrough in the second of nine additional minutes when Michael Duffy’s cutback was rifled home by Kelly’s left foot from 18 yards.
The 22-year-old repeated the dose just 99 seconds after the restart, smacking an unstoppable right-footed effort into substitute goalkeeper Peter Burke’s top corner.
Harps, who went close through Robert O’Reilly and Mikey Place in the first half, never really recovered from the setback of conceding so early in the half.
And Kelly completed his hat-trick with eight minutes to go when he swept the ball across Burke to put the cap on a good team move involving Patrick Hoban and Seán Gannon.
DUNDALK: Rogers; Gannon, Hoare, Gartland (Cleary, 12 mins), Massey; Shields, McEleney (McKee, 71 mins); D Kelly, McGrath, Duffy (Mountney, 80 mins), Hoban.
FINN HARPS: C Gallagher (Burke, 28 mins); Kavanagh, Cowan, Todd, O'Reilly; Coyle (M Gallagher, 74 mins), McNamee; McAleer, Cretaro (Boyd, 56 mins), Boyle; Place.
Referee: Robert Harvey.
Attendance: 2,616.
St Patrick’s Athletic 2 Sligo Rovers 1
A week that began with abject defeat to Derry City, ended sweetly for St Patrick’s Athletic as they capped the news that they look likely to be playing in the Europa League this summer with this deserved victory.
A moment of opportunism from Chris Forrester sparked the game to life on 15 minutes as there was to be no happy return for Sligo boss Liam Buckley to Inchicore.
Pouncing on a mistake by Sligo defender John Mahon, Forrester nonchalantly lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Mitchell Beeney for his first goal for the club since his cross channel return.
Mikey Drennan, back from a three-match suspension, worked Beeney after bustling past the sluggish Lewis Banks from the right before further sloppy defending cost Sligo a second goal on 24 minutes.
Drennan again got away to cut past Mahon only for the young defender to clumsily bring him down inside the area.
Drennan calmly sent Beeney the wrong way from 12 yards for his fourth goal of the season.
Though St Pat’s remained on top throughout the second half, they had to endure a nervous finish when Sligo skipper David Cawley drilled home from close range from Lewis Banks’s assist on 88 minutes for the visitors’ consolation.
ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: B Clarke; Webster, Kelly, Desmond; Madden, Forrester (Coleman, 79 mins), McCabe, Clifford, Bermingham; Drennan, Shaw (Walker, 90+2 mins).
SLIGO ROVERS: Beeney; Dunleavy, Leverock, Mahon, Banks; Morahan (Twardeck, h/t), Cawley; Keaney (Warde, 76 mins), Fordyce (Kerrigan, 69 mins), Coughlan; Parkes.
Referee: Rob Hennessy
Waterford 2 Cork City 0
Alan Reynolds insists Waterford will bounce back from their shock Europa League expulsion.
Second-half goals from Shane Duggan and Zack Elbouzedi at the RSC to beat Cork City at least temporarily lifted the sense of gloom.
“I still can’t believe the decision but this city was forgotten in the recession and we’ll be back,” said a defiant Reynolds afterwards.
Garry Buckley had a goal disallowed for offside on the half hour but Cork were second best thereafter.
Elbouzedi blazed a sitter over the crossbar and Bastien Héry drove a ferocious 25-yard drive wide of the near post.
With Cork retreating, Duggan was given too much time 20 yards out to shimmy past his marker and unleash a shot which zipped beyond McNulty with 15 minutes left.
Elbouzedi then showed his pace in stoppage time by darting all the way up the pitch to stroke the ball past the advancing McNulty.
WATERFORD: M Connor; A Simpson (G Poynton, 73 mins), R Feely, D Delaney, K Lynch (K Chvedukas, 56 mins); Z Elbouzedi, B Héry, JJ Lunney, S Duggan, A Drinan; I Akinade (D Walsh 90+2 mins).
CORK CITY: M McNulty; C McCarthy, D Casey, S McLoughlin, S Griffin; C McCormack (D O'Connor, 76 mins), G Morrissey; J Tilley, G Buckley, G Cummins (D Rainsford, 82 mins); D Crowley (D Smith, 67 mins).
Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin).
Attendance: 2,604.
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