Shopping local pays off Pender and Douglas bag goals for Seagulls
at Inchichore Lunney sat as the youngster had also warmed the bench for the Republic of Ireland U-19’s earlier that same day.
It was almost a nightmare start for the visitors as Rory Feely’s second minute cross was met by Conan Byrne but the wideman guided his header over.
Dylan Connolly issued Pat’s with an early warning as he almost broke free in the sixth minute but up the other end Hugh Douglas cut-out a pass for Mark Timlin that would have left him with a facile finish.
The left foot of Kevin Lynch has earned many fans since he signed for the Seagulls in the summer and it almost grabbed an assist as his searching pass down the left flank worked kindly for Ger Pender but he was denied by Brendan Clarke.
Clarke probably feared the worst moments later as Connolly escaped his defence and bore down on his goal but his shot was too central and allowed Clarke to repel it.
A rare mistake from Conor Kenna saw Christy Fagan think he was clean through on goal but the Bray captain atoned for his error as he recovered and eventually forced possession from Fagan.
With Pat’s defence not learning from their mistakes and Connolly only too happy to stretch his legs, he found himself with only Clarke to beat again on 39 minutes but he had to settle for a corner after another Clarke save.
From the ensuing corner, Clarke was alert to prevent Douglas from opening the scoring.
A goal seemed inevitable and it arrived two minutes before the break from the right boot of Graham Kelly.
Timlin rolled it back to the former Bray midfielder and he harpooned it to the top corner for his first goal as a Saint.
Wanderers did not deserve to trail at the break and they restored parity 13 minutes into the second half.
Clarke thought he’d got away with spilling an easy cross but after some pinball, Pender lashed to the net from 10 yards.
There was no time for Pat’s to come to terms with conceding the leveller before they were behind.
Michael Barker and Ian Bermingham were guilty of poor defending and Douglas didn’t let them away with it as he pounced, romped into the danger zone and applied an emphatic finish.
Having already been upstaged five times at home this season, Liam Buckley’s charges were adamant that they wouldn’t be overturned. They knocked at the door but found a stubborn defence on the other side of the frame waiting to repel them.
The result could have been wrapped up in style late on by Chris Lyons as he skied over when clear of the defence but enough had already been done to secure a seventh win of the campaign.
St. Patrick’s Athletic: 1. Brendan Clarke; 2. Ger O’Brien, 13. Rory Feely, 22. Michael Barker, 3. Ian Bermingham; 12. Lee Desmond, 14. Graham Kelly; 7. Conan Byrne, 19. Jamie McGrath, 11. Mark Timlin; 9. Christy Fagan. Subs: Billy Dennehy for Timlin (73); Darragh Markey for McGrath (85). Not used: Patrick Jennings, Steven Kinsella, Jonathan Lunney, Dinny Corcoran.
Bray Wanderers: 1. Peter Cherrie; 2. Hugh Douglas, 21. Tim Clancy, 4. Conor Kenna, 19. Kevin Lynch; 3. John Sullivan; 10. Karl Moore, 8. Mark Salmon, 22. Darragh Noone, 16. Dylan Connolly; 17. Ger Pender. Subs: Chris Lyons for Pender (78); Jason Marks for Connolly (86); Alan McNally for Sullivan (90+2). Not used: Lee Steacy, Alan Kehoe, Sean Harding, Gareth McDonagh. Referee: Derek Tomney. Venue: Richmond Park, Inchicore.