St Patrick's Athletic boss Liam Buckley: 'We're not out of it yet'

St Patricks Athletic gave their hopes of being a Premier Division team a massive boost as they beat the Champions Cork City 4-2 on Friday night.

Buckley was keen to speak on his side’s poor start to the game as they went two down inside the first 20 minutes.

“The first goal was sloppy for our point of view,” he told reporters after the game.

“The second one was a worldie we couldn’t do much about. I thought after the first 20-25 minutes we created chances, worked the play and we deserved at least a goal or two.

“I was delighted to come in at 2-2. We knew the importance of getting a result today.”

The win over Cork has put the Saints in a fantastic position to secure survival, only needing a point away to Derry in their last game.

“I thought we kept better possession of it in the latter stages of the first half. We just needed to continue to keep the ball because [then] they can’t score.

“We did keep it better in the second half, we sat back at 4-2 a small bit, and from a half-time perspective it was just to keep the ball better.

“There was a bit of nervousness. I think everyone knew beforehand the consequences of losing and that can be a distraction, we really needed to focus on our performance.

“Goals do change games. It was important that we got a third goal. I was happy at 3-2 but 4-2 was great. We had a bit of a comfort zone then.

“Bermingham was fantastic for us tonight. I was delighted for him to score him and the team all played well tonight.

“We are not out of it yet. We have a game to look at tomorrow (Sligo vs Derry) and we have to wait and see if we have to go and get something next week.”

A win for Sligo tomorrow will put the Bit o’ Red level on points with Pats coming into the final game of the season with both sides needing at least a point to keep themselves up at Galway United's expense.