- Tom O'Connor
- Sun, May 22 2016
This was an afternoon to forget for Liam Burns’ youngsters as they succumbed to a heavy defeat at home to St Patrick’s Athletic on Sunday in Oriel Park.
In truth, the away side dominated the match but the scoreline wasn’t a true reflection of how the young Lilywhites played at times. The team lined up with Adam Finnegan captaining from right back, Andrew Mooney and James Prendergast as centre backs and Jack Reid at left full. Thomas Martin and Mark Kilgallon anchored the middle with Shane Gregory, Jack O’Keefe and Scott Prendergast supporting lone front man Jordan Kelly. Luke Murphy continued between the sticks.
Right from the kick off, Jordan Kelly almost scored with a header before having a shot cleared off the line by Lee Rock in the 19th minute following an excellent delivery from Shane Gregory. In the next attack Scott Prendergast shot into the side netting before Josh Hogan raced upfield and grazed the Dundalk post with a shot from the edge of the box.
In the 25th minute, ex-Lilywhite Seán O’Hanlon opened the scoring for the away side when he capitalized on a defensive mix up to slam the ball home. In the next attack, John Martin thumped the Dundalk crossbar but he wasn’t to be denied for long as he poked the ball into the net following a quickly taken corner. Ten minutes later, Lee Rock headed over from a corner as the half drifted to a conclusion with the Inchicore outfit taking a two nil advantage into the break.
The second half opened with a flourish as John Martin set his sights twenty five yards out and his rocket of a shot flew into the net. However, despite being rocked at conceding such an early goal, the young Lilywhites refused to give up and Jordan Kelly was unlucky not to get a better connection on Scott Prendergast’s fine cross. Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch, Luke Murphy saved well from a Grouse scorcher.
St Pat’s made a triple substitution in the 60th minute and it was one of the replacements, Evan Casey, who made it four as he finished calmly past Murphy in the 63rd minute. Again, the home side came roaring back and Jack Reid’s powerful run earned a corner for the home side while minutes later Murphy produced another fine stop from Byrne. The forward wasn’t to be denied for long though and in the 76th minute he coolly slotted the ball past the keeper to make it five. A sixth arrived soon after as Casey tapped home Mc Ginley’s cross from close range while Casey completed his hat trick when pouncing on a fine Murphy save to score St Pat’s seventh of the afternoon. A harsh scoreline but a deserved victory for the away side who arrived at Oriel Park with a reputation as one of the best sides in the country.
Dundalk FC: Luke Murphy, Adam Finnegan (Capt), James Prendergast, Andrew Mooney, Jack Reid, Thomas Martin, Mark Kilgallon, Shane Gregory, Jack O’Keefe, Scott Prendergast, Jordan Kelly
Subs Used: Tauvydas Semelivicius, Gavin Smith, Ryan Kavanagh, Luke Gorham
Jack Mc Kenna (Unused)
St. Patrick’s Athletic: Ethan Farrell, Mark Mc Ginley, Conor Fowler, Lee Rock, Paul Cleary, Luke Nolan, Seán O’Hanlon, John Martin, Jason Grouse, Josh Hogan, Neill Byrne.
Subs Used: Brian Mc Givern, Cian Mc Mullen, Evan Casey. Unused- Paul Martin
