St Patrick's turn on the style

After seeing his side complete what had looked like a smash and grab mission in Tolka Park last week, St Patrick's Athletic manager Liam Buckley would hardly have been blamed if he had settled for the points and placed the performance a distant second on the list of priorities this week.

However, in the build up to this game the recently-arrived manager made it clear that he, like the rest of us, would like to see an improvement.

The return of Colin Hawkins from international duty was a positive sign in itself, but the transformation in the home side's performance was clearly due to a good deal more than that. In every area of the pitch they looked a far more accomplished side than the one that had limped lifelessly towards the final whistle last Sunday.

With the exception of the opening stages, it was always a fairly entertaining game, but it was the closing 15 minutes that made it memorable. Sligo came from behind to equalise when it seemed that they had blown their chance and St Patrick's then polished them off with a superb display of football.

The winners produced two outstanding goals - Hawkins, who had threatened to head home on several occasions, almost took the crossbar off with a spectacular 20-yard drive and Eddie Gormley lofted the ball over Matt Boswell from far out on the stand side of the halfway line.

Martin Reilly's effort, his side's fourth, scored on the stroke of full-time might have won him some admirers too but for the fact that it came only 60 seconds after Gormley's. By the time Reilly's had hit the back of the net, needless to say, Sligo were in disarray. This hadn't looked likely through the opening exchanges when, despite some poor results of late, their game had been promising enough.

They produced the contest's only real attempts on goal early on and they might have opened the scoring midway through the half when Sean Flannery's header bounced a little fortunately for Trevor Wood, who gathered at Glen Shannon's feet after an initial scare.

It didn't last, though. The home side gradually began to dominate, Hawkins producing the first of several good chances before the interval which might have given them the lead. After the break the hosts mastered the tempo of the Rovers' game and the visitors, in turn, came to rely ever more on long hoofed balls towards the area and a willingness to mix it in the follow-up. Against this defence, the tactic served them poorly.

What it did, in fact, was provide Buckley's side with a steady supply of ball with which they could build from the back. As the champions began to find their best form, this was always going to spell trouble for the visitors.

The Sligo defence did their best but they were in almost constant difficulty with the locals making matters worse for them by consistently varying their approach work - Molloy's through runs and Croly's work down the right looking to be the most promising routes to goal.

Good movement by Molloy after a quickly-taken Gormley free set up an easy first goal for Ian Gilzean and though an Flannery punished a mistake at the other end to make it 1-1 20 minutes later the Dubliners' growing confidence told.

By the end Boswell had made a couple of terrific saves and Gilzean missed a sitter. Still, though, Buckley was left beaming. "The players are delighted, the fans are delighted and I'm delighted. Now Cork have to beat (Finn) Harps to keep their lead and that won't be easy."

St Patrick's Athletic: Wood; McGuinness, Lynch, Hawkins; Croly, Gormley, Osam, Russell, Campbell; Molloy, Gilzean. Subs: Long for Campbell (67 mins); Reilly for Gilzean (85 mins).

Sligo Rovers: Boswell; Callaghan, Hare, Sheridan, Hutchinson; Jones, Hetherston, Ogden, Rowlands; Shannon, Flannery. Subs: Hallows for Shannon (73 mins).

Referee: P McKeon (Dublin).