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Chris Forrester turned the years back with an impressive long-range shot to help St Patrick’s Athletic achieve a comfortable 2-0 victory over city rivals Shelbourne at Richmond Park.
A resounding header from Rory Feely early in the second half sealed a vital victory for Stephen O’Donnell’s team, which is tied with Sligo Rovers for fifth place, seven danger points.
The result was a bit harsh for a Shelbourne team that was competitive throughout, but must now be eagerly looking at Finn Harps and Cork City, who will meet at Ballybofey tomorrow.
Rory Feely put the icing on the cake for @stpatsfc in the second half as they took all three points #rtesoccer #WatchLOI pic.twitter.com/hETNJCiD2Y
– Soccer Republic (@SoccRepublic) September 26, 2020
Shels had the best of a tight opening minute when Dayle Rooney was turned off by a fine tackle from Lee Desmond before a Sean Quinn header forced Brendan Clarke to save himself.
The Saints soon began to create their own opportunities, and Jason McClelland had skipped an effort before Forrester opened the scoring in dramatic flair.
The midfielder (27) compiled a standout roll as long as his leg was filled with spectacular goals during his first spell with the club and his first match in the 17th minute remained on the inside.
A quick shot from Jason McClelland put the former international squad into space. He took a step, opened his body, and unleashed a wonderful punch that sailed into the top corner from 20 yards.
Shelbourne continued to compete though, and a good solo run from the speedy Denzil Fernandes could have given more, but Clarke quickly came out to block his path.
Forrester fired another long shot over the bar at halftime, as did Georgie Kelly shortly after the restart.
Captain Robbie Benson was the next to see the goal, but a strong touch sent Georgie Poynton closing the gap and going for a corner.
That was a lucky moment when Benson placed the set piece on Feely’s head, the right-back beat Dan Byrne at the near post and drove a header home.
Kelly should have made it 3-0 moments later when Oscar Brennan mishandled a long kick from Clarke, but the loaned forward couldn’t beat Colin McCabe.
Athletic closed the game comfortably, however, and there was even time for O’Donnell to introduce the highly rated 16-year-old Ben McCormack at the end of his league debut.
Athletic of San Patricio: Brendan Clarke; Rory Feely, Luke McNally, Lee Desmond, Shane Griffin; Chris Forrester, Darragh Markey (Ben McCormack 76), Robbie Benson; Jason McClelland (Darragh Burns 65), Jordan Gibson, Georgie Kelly (Martin Rennie 76).
Shelbourne: Colin McCabe; Georgie Poynton, Dan Byrne, Oscar Brennan, Alex O’Hanlon; Gary Deegan, Sean Quinn, Mark Byrne; Denzil Fernandes (Jaze Kabia 46), Dayle Rooney (Shane Farrell 65), Aaron Dobbs (Ciaran Kilduff 65).
Referee: Rob hennessy
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