PAT’S ON TOP
ST Patrick’s Athletic laid out their ambitious plans for the future last week and this tight 1-0 win over Waterford is sure to maintain the positive vibes around Inchicore.
However, even though this clash had two red cards, a missed penalty and a fine goal to seal all three points, it is unlikely to be remembered as one of the classics.
There was joy for the home fans with Ryan Brennan’s 15th minute winner, pain as they watched Jake Keegan blast a penalty wide soon after and plenty of anguish as numerous chances were missed to finish off nineman Waterford.
Luckily the weren’t made to pay for their profligacy as the visitors’ indiscipline came back to haunt them. Fresh from the free-for-all brawl at the end of their 1-0 win over champions Cork recently, which resulted in manager Alan Reynolds watching from the stands last night and the key midfield duo of Bastien Hery and Stanley Aborah also absent due to suspension, the Blues had another two men sent off.
Sander Puri was dismissed for two yellow cards and Gavan Holahan was shown a straight red card for a horror tackle on Darragh Markey with just over 20 minutes remaining.
On the basis of this performance Waterford will need Hery and Aborah back as soon as possible if they are to stay in touch with leaders Dundalk and Cork, who are hot on their heels.
Hery was hit with a four-game ban while Aborah was handed six for their part in the unsavoury scenes at the RSC and the club confirmed prior to kick-off that an appeal will be heard at FAI headquarters on Thursday.
St Pat’s were worth their win here, even if they made things difficult for themselves by missing that penalty and being sloppy at the back.
Goalkeeper Barry Murphy was hesitant in possession and when he was closed down early he was lucky the block didn’t result in a fortunate ricochet for striker Courtney Duffus.
And just a few seconds before Brennan broke the deadlock for the hosts, he gifted Waterford a superb chance to take the lead by playing a bad pass across the his own 18-yard box which landed at Ismahil Akinade.
Luckily for Brennan, though, the striker’s through ball for partner Duffus was poor and nothing came off it.
Moments later and the Saints midfielder was jumping for joy after rising highest in the box to head a glancing header into the corner from Darragh Markey’s perfectly-flighted cross.
Pat’s were in control but their fans still had plenty to complain about with referee Graham Kelly the source of their ire.
He booked Dean Clarke for diving in the fifth minute when the left winger looked to have been taken down in the box by a clumsy Garry Comerford tackle.
Then, just past the midway point of the half, Kelly was again the villain when he awarded Pat’s a penalty for Puri’s push on Jake Keegan, ignoring the advantage at the back post where Brennan hit the net.
The drama continued in the second half when Puri was booked for a dive and while there some complaints about that decision, there were none when Kelly flashed a red to Holohan. ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Murphy (Farago HT); Madden, Desmond, Toner, Bermingham (c); Doona (Byrne 87), Lennon, Markey (Garvan 86), R Brennan, Clarke; Keegan. Scorer: R Brennan 15 Booked: Clarke 5 WATERFORD: Vigouroux; Feely (Kavanagh HT), Webster, Comerford, Barnett; Puri, Keegan (c), Holohan; Kasmi (O’Halloran 71); Akinade (Martin 71), Duffus. Booked: Puri 25, 50 Sent off: Puri 50, Holahan 73 Referee: G Kelly (Cork).