St Patrick’s Athletic 2
Galway United 1
THERE WAS ANGER and tension and no little recrimination, but at the end of this fantastically fractious night it was two moments of Chris Forrester brilliance that mattered most.
Even if the goal of the game was actually a 30-yard thunderbolt from Galway United substitute Ed McCarthy.
It was a stunning strike that smashed off the post and flew into the opposite corner six minutes into the second half, but it couldn’t break St Patrick’s Athletic’s resolve as a brace from Aidan Keena proved decisive.
A seventh win in succession for Stephen Kenny’s side means they have edged three points clear of John Caulfield’s men in fourth place.
Victories for the three teams above them means European qualification is now almost certainly the best St Pat’s can hope for. They would have taken that during the summer when they laboured in seventh.
Delicate dreams of the most dramatic surge to a Premier Division title look to have been ended.
St Pat’s started the night in fourth and ended it in fourth.
Forrester’s two defence-splitting passes were the difference either side of that McCarthy equaliser, creating both goals for Keena.
Brandon Kavanagh will get the assist for the second, squaring across the six-yard box for the striker to tap in with 20 minutes remaining.
But it was Forrester’s vision that opened up the possibility.
After 10 minutes it was goalless here and in the other games around the Premier Division.
But 60 seconds later Galway should have taken the lead when Robert Burns’ long pass from the back exposed the home side’s defence.
Francely Lomboto got between Joe Redmond and Tom Grivosti, headed the ball towards goal on the run and continued it into the box leaving the latter defender in his wake.
His finish had none of the same conviction as the touch and stride and the ball sailed high over the bar.
The Galway bench knew it was a missed opportunity and the temperature began to rise.
St Pat’s, though, remained composed amid the increasing tension, even after they were dealt a blow on 27 minutes when Zac Elbouzedi was forced off with a hamstring injury.
That could prove costly with only two games left but here and now it was about finding a way through to earn that seventh win on the spin.
The broke the deadlock on 32 minutes courtesy of Keena’s precise low finish from Chris Forrester’s equally pin-point defence-splitting pass.
Left-sided centre back Garry Buckley was enticed towards the ball but the pace beat him and the striker’s touch gave him the perfect angle to bury it low and hard and across Brendan Clarke.
Tempers flared in first-half injury time when a tackle Ryan McLaughlin on Burns led to a yellow for the defender followed by a booking apiece for Forrester and Lomboto for their part in the melee that ensued.
Galway assistant boss Ollie Horgan and Pat’s coach Brian Gartland were also cautioned, and red cards followed as the sides left the pitch and the grief was shared around – Galway coach Chris Collopy and St Pat’s S&C coach Graham Byrne dismissed by referee Neil Doyle.
The half-time break only inspired more drama.
Caulfield made a triple substitution and introduced David Hurley, Stephen Walsh and Ed McCarthy.
Within six minutes of the re-start the latter was sprinting towards the travelling Galway fans celebrating a thunderous 30-yard strike the rifled high off the right post and into the far corner.
He had dipped into space centrally between the St Pat’s midfield and defence and then delivered that stunning equaliser.
To compound matters, Jake Mulraney limped off before the game re-started and the visitors sensed blood.
Rather than go for the kill they retreated, and Pat’s eventually punished them after Kian Leavy first struck the post with a curler from the edge of the box.
The second came on 69 minutes, Forrester picking a marvellous pass for Brandon Kavanagh through a couple of bodies as if he had the freedom of the Phoenix Park.
He then squared for Keena who had an easy tap in as the Saints did what Galway couldn’t by properly punishing them while on top.
Leavy almost made it three with four minutes to go only to be denied by a brave point-blank save by Brendan Clarke.
Derry City are two points clear of St Pat’s in second and visit Richmond Park next week for the fun to start all over again.
St Patrick’s Athletic: Joseph Anang; Ryan McLaughlin (Axel Sjoberg 80), Joe Redmond, Tom Grivosti, Anto Breslin; Jamie Lennon, Chris Forrester; Zac Elbouzedi (Kian Leavy 28), Brandon Kavanagh (Romal Palmer 80), Jake Mulraney (Jason McClelland 52); Aidan Keena.
Galway United: Brendan Clarke; Colm Horgan, Garry Buckley, Killian Brouder, Robert Burns (Regan Donelon 66); Conor McCormack (Stephen Walsh HT), Vincent Borden (Cillian Tollett 86); Jimmy Keohane, Patrick Hickey, Frankly Lomboto (Ed McCarthy half-time); Karl O’Sullivan (David Hurley).
Reference: Neil Doyle (Dublin).
Attendance: 4,851.
