St Patrick’s Athletic 1 Sligo Rovers 1
The fact that they came from behind after trailing at the break will have done little to make this feel like a victory for St Patrick’s Athletic. After the scale of the setback against Dundalk, Sligo would have been seen as at least affording the opportunity for Liam Buckley’s side to get things back on track.
Instead, the visitors must have felt at the end the that they had done more to earn the extra two points. Certainly the naming of Brendan Clarke as Man of the Match gave a pretty good idea of which goalkeeper had had the busier night.
Rovers came into this game without a league win since their visit here at the tail-end of last season and with more red cards (three) to show for their efforts in the early part of this one than goals (two). Manager Dave Robertson had acknowledged the need for his men to be a little more menacing around the opposition area and he was probably pleased with the steady supply of chances they created over the course of a game in which the visitors comfortably held their own for the most part.
The team’s striker, Jaanai Gordon, was contained too easily, though, and a close range header he did very well to turn goalwards aside, he made little impact against a central defensive partnership who read things well enough to ensure that he rarely got the opportunity to make his pace tell. On the one occasion he did get free early on, he delayed his shot and ended up making it a little too easy for Clarke to smother his effort as the narrow angled.
Clarke was rather less effective for the opening goal. Kieran Sadlier earned his side a free kick just outside the area three minutes short of the break then stepped up to take it and while the low drive that followed was looked to be too close to the goalkeeper to cause any real problem, Clarke spilled it badly and Gary Boylan was onto it more quickly than his marker, Mark Timlin.
The setback should have been enough to prompt the hosts into adding a bit of edge to their game through the second half but it took quite a while for them to provide any evidence that they possessed another gear. Individually, the likes of Timlin, Billy Dennehy and David Cawley all chipped in well enough here and Keith Treacy certainly knows how to pick out a pass but Christy Fagan was receiving precious little service and it took until a little over an hour in before they strung together the sort of passing move that seriously stretched their opponents.
At least then they made it count, with Ian Berminhgam’s cross from the left headed home by Fagan for his fifth goal in six games. A push for victory should have followed as Liam Buckley brought on Conan Byrne and shifted Billy Dennehy in behind Fagan but Rovers were not for shutting up shop. They continued to move the ball well and occasionally open their opponents up. Jimmy Keohane was denied first by Clarke and then by Darren Dennehy and the Dubliners rode their luck more than once in goalmouth scrambles. All in all it was not delayed reaction that would have been wanted after that heft defeat by Dundalk a couple of weeks back.
For Sligo, on the other hand, it all looked like another solid step in the right direction. The win they need to boost collective confidence still eludes them but there was much more spirit shown here than on their last visit to Dublin when they lost so tamely at Dalymount. Late on, there was even a competitive debut for Mikey Place on the day before his 18th birthday, evidence that Robertson is looking to the future even as he gets to grips with the present.
St Patrick's Athletic: Clarke; O'Brien (Barker, 50 mins), McEleney, D Dennehy, Bermingham; Cawley, Treacy (Verdon, 87 mins); Timlin, Kelly (Byrne, 78 mins), B Dennehy; Fagan.
Sligo Rovers: Schlingermann; Adebayo-Rowling, Leahy, Boylan, Donelon; Roddan, Russell (Richards, 70 mins); Keohane, Sadlier (Place, 87 mins), Martin; Gordon (Cretaro, 70 mins).
Referee: N Doyle (Dublin).
