St Patrick's Athletic 1 Longford Town 0
St Patrick's Athletic claimed their first piece of silverware of the season with a dramatic smash and grab raid in the League Cup final at Richmond Park tonight.
Opponents Longford Town dominated over the 90 minutes but could not find a way through the St Pat's defence.
That inability to breakthrough was punished cruelly four minutes from time when David Freeman pounced on a loose ball in the Longford box to steal the cup from under the noses of the midlanders.
Longford were still afforded the opportunity to equalise with an injury-time penalty but they were unable to convert, sending the effort wide.
Longford enjoyed the greater share of possession in the opening period but the Midlanders struggled to force goalscoring opportunities.In this period it was the Inchicore side who came closest to breaking the deadlock with Keith Fahy's long-range effort after five minutes among the highlights. His shot flew just over with Longford 'keeper Stephen O'Brien stranded.
Longford began to create chances after the break, forcing saves on three occasions in the first 15 minutes of the half. However, they were kept out by a blend of stout defending and poor finishing on their part.
The match appeared destined for extra-time until Freeman's intervention in the 86th minute. Paul Osam's floated free-kick came back of the upright and when it dropped to Freeman, he made no mistake.
