Fahey in form as leaders pull away

St Patrick's Athletic 3 Cork City 2: MEMORIES OF the mid-season jitters suffered by St Patrick's Athletic last year are bound to provide plenty of encouragement to the chasing pack in the weeks, perhaps in the months, ahead.

But after a fourth successive win moved them six points clear at the top of the table, the Dubliners ended what felt like the first day of summer with growing confidence.

The home side were not vastly superior here but they just about deserved their win by the dramatic end of a good and open game.

While City made life difficult for themselves defensively and could force only a couple of notable saves from Barry Ryan, St Patrick's looked more consistently threatening and might not have had to endure a nervous closing spell had the league's leading scorer, Mark Quigley, not looked out of sorts.

Quigley's wildly erratic performances must baffle even his manager, but of course it doesn't matter too much when the likes of Gary O'Neill and Keith Fahey are on hand to score the goals required for victory.

Fahey's was the critical contribution on this occasion, the midfielder teeing up the first goal with a nicely floated free then scoring two, the latter of which came at a stage - three minutes from time - when it seemed the hosts might have to settle for a draw after blowing a two-goal lead.

Ironically, John McDonnell had only the other day hailed his side's ability to successfully defend slender advantages, citing the fact they had posted four one-nil wins in their opening eight games.

City then, must have been keenly aware as they arrived that a solitary lapse might end up costing them the game, but it still took them just 70 seconds to concede, O'Neill emerging from a cluster of defenders to head home Fahey's free-kick.

Mooney looked the most likely source of an equaliser for the visitors but his first chance, also a header from a free, flew straight into the arms of Ryan, after which the goalkeeper had to cope with a threat from longer range.

Liam Kearney and George O'Callaghan, from a curling free-kick, both forced saves, while Pat Sullivan saw his effort come crashing back off the crossbar with Ryan well beaten.

Kearney always looked lively going forward but O'Callaghan posed a depleted St Patrick's defence few real problems; indeed the midfielder came close to handing the opposition their second goal, as the break approached, with a misplaced back pass that Quigley pounced on only to hopelessly rush his shot.

McDonnell's men still looked to have wrapped things up when Fahey bundled the ball home after a fine exchange of passes with Gary Dempsey with about 30 minutes remaining.

City's problems were compounded by Danny Murphy's sending-off for a second yellow but they were invigorated by the introduction of John O'Flynn, who helped them wrest the initiative.

Mooney came close to halving the deficit with a shot from a tight angle that Ryan pushed wide, but O'Flynn did find the net a minute later when O'Callaghan fed Colin Healy, whose cross was headed home from eight yards.

When O'Flynn struck again four minutes from time, this time beating Ryan to Cillian Lordan's long high ball upfield, it appeared the visitors had pulled off a remarkable comeback.

But almost from the kick-off Healy fouled Kirby on the edge of the Cork City area and Fahey stepped up to bag a dramatic winner with a deflected free-kick that beat Michael Devine at the near post.

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Ryan; Lynch (Haverty, 28 mins), Brennan, Paisley, Byrne; Guy, Fahey, Dempsey, Kirby; O'Neill, Quigley (Ryan, 90 mins).

CORK CITY: Devine; Horgan, Lordan, Murray, Danny Murphy; Sullivan, O'Callaghan, Healy, Kearney; Behan (O'Flynn, 73 mins), Mooney.

Referee: D Hancock (Dublin).