St Patrick's still five clear despite Swan hat trick

ANOTHER three all thriller! Yawn. Some grounds are blessed by one of them every decade or so but for the St Patrick's Athletic faithful this was the third since returning to Richmond Park. No wonder the refurbished old ground keeps on rockin'.

The majority of the estimated 4,800 crowd will have gone away well sated and perhaps content enough with a draw which maintains St Patrick's Athletic five point lead at the top. Though it may sound bizarre to suggest it, if the truth be told the 90 minutes were not without its longeurs. Indeed this was probably the poor relation of the trio of three all thrillers and both sides will probably feel they could have played a good deal better.

Though they played the brighter football - in smaller doses - St Patrick's Athletic certainly produced more concerted spells of vibrant, attacking football on their own patch than they did last night. Bohemians made no secret of their intentions to nullify the home side at source by employing Mick Moody to shadow Eddie Gormley all night, alongside another of the five ex St Patrick's men in the visitors' ranks, Maurice O'Driscoll, in a central midfield designed primarily to destroy rather than create.

For all that, St Patrick's scored three cracking goals, and will have felt more than a mite peeved at the manner of at least two of the softish goals they conceded. By the same token, Bohemians had the supreme marksman in Derek Swan, who poached a sharply taken hat trick. Indeed, they arguably had the livelier front line, and were pouring through mid field in a strong running second half display when the battle was joined at two all courtesy of Swan's second.

Aside from experiencing a sense of deja vu over three all thrillers, the St Patrick's faithful have become accustomed to well rehearsed set piece goals, especially at corners. Hence the stunned response when the biter was bitten exactly two minutes into the game.

John McDonnell sliced the ball out for a corner which Tony O'Connor delivered to the edge of the six yard area. Amazingly, Swan rose unchallenged to head home.

Attacking their favoured Shed end, St Patrick's responded measuredly and without recourse to the panic button; Gormley's array of set piece deliveries, with either foot, extending the Bohemians' defence. On nine minutes he threaded a ball past Moody for Paul Campbell and what followed was the first of three contenders for Goal of the Month, perhaps even the season.

The largely unsung but invaluable utility player, reverting to the right side of midfield in light of Peter Carpenter's return to the side, ran through two defenders, checked and steered a stunning 25 yard strike into the top right corner.

There followed a longeur, Gareth Byrne reviving the game unintentionally after 27 minutes with one of several unconvincing forays from his line to punch skyward for Brian Mooney to volley Just over. But five minutes later came another stunner.

This time John Byrne played a through ball to Ricky O'Flaherty, 25 yards out with his back to goal and James Coll breathing down his neck. With two touches the hall was stretching the top left corner of the net, as the ex Galway man swivelled onto his left foot and unleashed a fair old humdinger. Again Dave Henderson, hardly had time to move.

Swan gave note of his intent when nipping in to lob the stranded Byrne after 34 minutes, only to see the ball drift wide, but Bohemians could hardly get into the game at this point. Mooney was again bypassed with monotonous regularity, especially by Donal Broughan, and plaintively, responded to his bench at one point: "I can't get it."

Only when Tony O'Connor drifted inside from an ill suited; left sided role in the second period did Bohemians come into it. St Patrick's facilitated their comeback by lying back a tad too deep, as is their wont when ahead this season, and on the hour Swan punished them.

Racing on to Mooney's speculative long ball, Swan held off Dave Campbell, turned deftly and lobbed Byrne with a dipping 25 yard shot.

The new man, Johnny Glynn, was the link between Paul Campbell and O'Flaherty, for the latter to thread a lovely through ball for the lively Morrisroe to run past Broughan and beat Henderson - with a fierce right footed drive. Though the least striking, arguably it was the pick of their three goals.

But surprisingly two minutes later St Patrick's lapsed defensively once more. Coll headed O'Connor's diagonal free into the area where Swan pounced to loop a header over the stranded Byrne. St Patrick's continued to play the brighter football and a Gormley dummy was the prelude to a superb Morrisroe cross which cried out for a final decisive touch. But no one was seriously quibbling with 3-3. Deja vu.