AIRTRICITY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION/St Patrick's Ath 1 Dundalk 0:ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC moved back to the top of the Premier Division table on goal difference thanks to an early Paul Byrne goal at Richmond Park last night.
They did it the hard way though as they had David McAllister sent off on 37 minutes and saw captain Damian Lynch limp off with a hamstring injury.
St Patrick’s took the lead on four minutes when Byrne netted his third league goal of the campaign. An Ian Bermingham cross was knocked down by Ryan Guy for Derek Doyle who saw his shot blocked by Dundalk goalkeeper Peter Cherrie.
The Dundalk defence failed to clear the ball and it fell neatly for Byrne who curled a crisp shot to Cherrie’s right and into the bottom corner of the net.
Dundalk were clearly rattled by the early setback and it was the home side who enjoyed the majority of possession and chances as the half progressed.
A good move along the right wing on 20 minutes saw Stuart Byrne find Lynch with a perfectly weighted pass but Lynch’s subsequent shot went high over the bar.
St Patrick’s had shouts for a penalty on 25 minutes when Dundalk’s Liam Burns appeared to handle the ball in the penalty area. Vinny Faherty played on and smashed a shot off the post but referee Declan Hanney awarded a free out for a push on Burns in the build-up.
Paul Byrne had a chance to put St Patrick’s further ahead on 26 minutes when he took possession on the right, inside the area, but shot wide when it looked easier to hit the target.
The home side were forced into making an unexpected change on 34 minutes when the influential Lynch picked up a hamstring injury and was replaced by Derek Pender.
It got worse for St Patrick’s on 37 minutes when they were reduced to 10 men. McAllister was given a straight red card after confronting Stephen Maher after a foul by the Dundalk man on him had gone unpunished by Hanney.
That led to St Patrick’s boss Pete Mahon reshuffling his pack and he opted to replace Faherty with David Mulcahy before the break.
A man down, Mahon decided to go with a 4-4-1 formation after the break with Paul Byrne as a lone striker. This proved successful as Dundalk found it hard to break down a resilient St Patrick’s midfield and defence.
Indeed St Patrick’s went close to adding to their tally with chances coming for Paul Byrne and Stuart Byrne while Guy went close with a dipping shot on 70 minutes.
Cherrie then saved a Paul Byrne shot with his feet on 72 minutes at his left post after excellent build- up play involving Guy and Gareth Coughlan.
Dundalk created several chances of their own but they could not find an equaliser. Faz Kuduzovic hammered a rasping shot on 75 minutes but sent his effort wide while St Patrick’s goalkeeper Gary Rogers saved a Maher header on 78 minutes.
ST PATRICK’S ATH: Rogers; Lynch (Pender 34), Bermingham, Kenna, Guthrie; McAllister, S Byrne, Doyle (Coughlan 67), Guy; P Byrne, Faherty (Mulcahy 42).
DUNDALK: Cherrie; Kelly (J Breen 73), Hatswell, Miller (Cawley 65), G Breen; Burns, Maher, Gaynor (Mulvenna 90), Melligan; Fenn, Kuduzovic.
Referee: D Hanney.
