O pass Ferbane test
before Johnson caught above O’Keane before rifling home and Maher completed the rib-cracking shot with a fine point, 2-3 to 0-3, 13 gone.
While referee Seamus Mulhare might have given Pat’s two frees out for the goals, he certainly wasn’t harming Pat’s in other areas.
Casey O’Brien’s men began their recovery when Tommy Kelly grabbed his opener and Stephen Duffy sailed over a free.
A foul by Paul O’Brien and subsequent lip cost Pat’s another score as Joe Maher looked very decent from placed balls but Pat’s finished strong with two wides and a point from a free from Stephen Duffy to go in trailing by four but looking more than capable of causing the Ferbane men serious trouble in the second half.
And that they did. Ferocious work-rate and belief brought them rampaging back into this game and pulled them to within a point shortly after Stephen Duffy’s black card which left Casey O’Brien scratching his head.
‘He (the ref) said it was for a trip. I don’t know how he tripped him because Stephen was on the ground, he was tripped first. I thought it was a free in.
‘Stephen was a loss. He was playing well, he kicked some great points, but look at the lads you brought in.
‘Jack Dunne came in and got two great interceptions, Luca Rampersaud came in and won ball after ball up and down the line, Bryan Doyle was excellent when he came in, Conor O’Brien came in for Jordan, I just can’t speak highly enough of the whole panel, I really can’t,’ he added.
Points from Paudge McWalter, Tommy Kelly and Stephen Duffy prior to his dismissal and a wicked Tommy Kelly goal made by the genius of McWalter left the score reading 1-9 to 2-7 after Joe Maher, David Kelly and Cian Johnson had raised white flags for Ferbane.
Bryan Doyle announced his arrival with a superb score to level the game and you could feel the tide turning big time.
Pat’s needed the lead, they needed to make that big step, break through that barrier and who better than the bulldozing Dean Healy who stromed through and fisted over the lead score.
Bryan Doyle increased the lead to two before a Tommy Kelly free extended before Maher pulled one back.
Ferbane were attacking for all they were worth, and they were gaining traction in midfield but the Pat’s defence were savage, with
Conor Ffrench conducting and Wayne Doyle working tirelessly.
Casey O’Brien called on Luca Rampersaud, Conor O’Brien and Jack Dunne in that second half and with the score reading 1-14 to 2-9 it fell to Jack Dunne to make two telling contributions to clear dangerous ball from within reach of the Pat’s posts before that sweet final whistle sounded and this wonderful journey for Pat’s was allowed continue.
‘We don’t want this journey to stop,’ gasped Casey O’Brien. ‘We’re going to have two weeks now and we’ll enjoy tonight and we’ll enjoy tomorrow but we’ll get back in the field again, or back into spinning or whatever we’ll do during the week with Gary Dempsey, but we’ll get back in and do that and hopefully we’ll get everybody in Wicklow to come and get behind us against Portlaoise in two weeks’ time,’ he added.
Scorers – St Patrick’s: Tommy Kelly 1-4 (1f), Stephen Duffy 0-4 (2f), Bryan Doyle 0-2, Dean Healy 0-2, Paudge McWalter 0-2.
Ferbane: Joe Maher 0-5 (1f), Cian Johnson 1-1, Cathal Flynn 1-0, Jack Clancy 0-1, David Kelly 0-1, Kieran McManus 0-1.