St Patrick's fail to hold on as Sligo pounce

St Patrick's Ath 2 Sligo Rovers 2:GOALS AND GUTS aren't the only two things that St Patrick's Athletic could be accused of lacking in some of their games these past few weeks but seeing a bit of both would have been high on the average home supporter's wish list on arrival at Richmond Park ahead of last night's game.

For a while it seemed like the players might actually do enough between them to send their fans home happy with an improved performance looking set – before Alan Keane’s headed equaliser in the last minute of normal time – to deliver a narrow but welcome win.

Instead, St Patrick’s manager Jeff Kenna, minus his assistant Paul Peschisolido who resigned after the match, gets to spend another week wondering why his team can’t defend even the most straightforward of set-pieces and Sligo Rovers get to reflect on a point earned that, at the final whistle, must have felt a little like three.

The home side had started shakily with Dave Partridge looking, more than once, as if he was going to have a tough night looking after Rafael Cretaro. Almost immediately, though, there were signs that they were at least more likely to pose a threat up front that they had in last week’s rather miserable defeat by Cork.

Mark Quigley, in particular, looked much more lively this time out with the striker, still looking for his first goal from play of the season, almost catching Danny Ventre in possession early on when there was nothing behind the left back but green space and Richard Brush in goal.

That chance came moments after Quigley had unleashed a terrific long-range effort on the turn. Brush must have been a little relieved to see it fly just the wrong side of the angle but in the stand, there was already a sense that the home side might provide more to cheer about this time than they had when Galway, Derry or, most recently, Cork had come to Inchicore.

In last week’s defeat, the home side’s heads went down almost from the moment the first goal hit the back of their net. This time around, the problem was somewhat different with the Dubliners taking the lead twice but then giving away hopelessly sloppy goals when really they should have been able to take control.

Sligo, to be fair, had their moments with Shaun Holmes down the left and Romauld Boco in the centre causing the occasional problem but really they posed very little threat other than on the two occasions – the first a corner, the second a long free – when they scored.

Garreth O’Connor got the first for the home side three minutes before the break with an effort that he may have viewed as a cross when he hit it after it had evaded everybody’s touch and crept in by the foot of the far post.

Gavin Peers struck back, getting an easy header to Shaun Holmes’s cross after a short corner out on the right but the locals edged in front again when Alan Cawley rounded off a decent performance in midfield with a sweetly struck long-range goal well worthy of Keith Fahey, who was looking on from the stand.

At that stage there was almost half an hour to go and while it was generally scrappy, the hosts had the better of it until, seconds after Cawley left to a standing ovation, his replacement, John Lester, was beaten in the air, as Richie Ryan’s long free was flicked on for Keane to turn home.

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Rogers; Maher (Harris, 66 mins), Partridge, Gavin, Ryan; O’Connor, Cawley (Lester, 89 mins), Stevens; Guy, Quigley, Moran (Haran, 78 mins).

SLIGO ROVERS: Brush; Keane, Peers, Almeida (Keohane, 78 mins), Ventre; Cash (McLoughlin, 74 mins), Boco, Ryan, Holmes; Cretaro (Feeney, half-time), Parkhouse.

Referee: D Tomney (Dublin).