Details

Date Time League Season
12 June 2021 7:30 pm LOI Men's Premier Division 2021

Match Report

Trio on target for Saints in Longford

St. Pat’s started the second half of the SSE Airtricity Premier Division in the best possible fashion, by beating Longford 3-1 at Bishopsgate, thanks to Robbie Benson, Matty Smith, and Ronan Coughlan goals.

Aaron Dobbs set the equaliser early in the second-half before Smith and Coughlan confirm all three points for the away side.

This was a disappointing result for the Town and their fans who returned to the stands after more than a year, as they are now anchored to the very bottom of the league after Waterford’s win over Dundalk.

A refreshing return for the Saints by confirming a five-point win; while they took all three points out of the game, they come closer to Shamrock Rovers who split the spoils with Finn Harps.

The visitors dominated the first half entirely, completely suffocating the Town by keeping the ball and moving it around with pace.

Paddy Barrett brought two early attempts, both denied by Lee Steacy as he pushed the nil-nil until the late stages of the first 45 minutes.

A good build-up from the Saints ended up with Alfie Lewis trying his luck, sending a dangerous curveball slightly off the post.

Steacy had to fly once again in the 11th minute to stop a powerful Chris Forrester shot from a freekick.

Pat’s kept stretching the field as much as possible looking to capitalise early in the game. On the other side, Longford never found a way to stop the opponent’s several options to attack Steacy’s goal.

Ultimately, Pat’s changed the score before the break; as Robbie Benson headed in John Mountney’s cross coming in from a corner, putting justice in the score.

The second time started practically with Longford’s goal. Jaros’ huge mistake forced Alfie Lewis to commit a penalty; Aaron Dobbs didn’t miss from the spot.

However, the equaliser didn’t change the run of the play, as the visitors kept coming with solid opportunities.

The 53rd minute saw Coughlan and Forrester share a clear chance to put Pat’s back in the lead inside of the box; Longford denied it throwing bodies to keep the ball away from the goal.

Shortly after, another individual mistake put the Dubliners back in front; as Matty Smith scored from a rebound resulting from Forrester's first shot blocked by Steacy.

The negative score brought Longford up forward looking for one of their strongest weapons in 2021, a late goal, the check-mate came in the 81st minute.

An amazing job by the substitute Darragh in the right-wing found Ronan Coughlan inside the box as he headed home with a nice finish.

The final whistle confirmed Pat’s win with one of their best performances of the season.

Longford Town

1Lee Steacy Goalkeeper
3Paddy Kirk Defender
4Aaron Robinson 20 Midfielder 25'
5Michael McDonnell Midfielder
6Dean Zambra Midfielder
7Dylan Grimes 11 Midfielder
8Rob Manley 15 Forward
9Aaron Dobbs 25 Forward 47'
12Aaron O’Driscoll Defender 10'
16Aodh Dervin Midfielder 42'
21Aaron McNally Defender
11Callum Thompson 7 Midfielder
15Aaron McCabe 8 Midfielder
17Matthew O’Brien Midfielder
19Karl Chambers Forward
20Dean Byrne 4 Midfielder
22Joseph Manley Defender
23Ben Lynch Midfielder
25Conor Davis 9 Forward
30Michael Kelly Goalkeeper

St. Pat's Ath

1Vitezslav Jaros Goalkeeper
2John Mountney Midfielder
3Ian Bermingham Defender 37'
5Lee Desmond Defender
7Robbie Benson Midfielder 41'
8Chris Forrester 18 Midfielder
10Ronan Coughlan Forward 81'
12Matty Smith 11 Forward 63'
15Billy King 17 Forward
16Alfie Lewis Midfielder 47'
29Paddy Barrett Defender 49'
11Jason McClelland 12 Forward
17Darragh Burns 15 Forward
18Ben McCormack 8 Midfielder
21Barry Murphy Goalkeeper
25Josh Keeley Goalkeeper
27Danny Norris Midfielder
31Kian Corbally Midfielder
36Tommy Lonergan Midfielder
  • 90'

    FT: Longford 1-3 St. Pat's.

  • 90'

    Four minutes of additional time.

  • 87'

    Forrester with another shot blocked by Longford’s defense.

  • 81'

    Pat's makes the third! Amazing job by Darragh Burns in the right wing, finding Ronan Coughlan inside the box as he headed it in with a nice finish.

  • 73'

    Barrett brings his fifth dangerous header, and yet again off the goal.

  • 71'

    Matty Smith with another huge miss! Ronan Coughlan found his teammate with a great cross , but Smith sent it way off the bar.

  • 67'

    Forrester comes close from the third with a dangerous shot inside of the box.

  • 63'

    And from another individual mistake comes the third goal in the game! A Chris Forrester's first shot got stopped by Steacy, as Smith sent it in from the rebound.

  • 60'

    It seems nothing changed with Longford’s goal. The Saints are coming all over again looking for taking the lead again.

  • 55'

    Coughlan and Forrester sharing a clear chance to put Pat’s back in the lead inside of the box; Longford throwing bodies to keep the ball away from the goal.

  • 52'

    Paddy Barrett with another header inside of the box, this time for an easy save.

  • 48'

    And from the penalty spot Aaron Dobbs makes the equalizer!

  • 46'

    Jaros’ huge mistake ends-up with Alfie Lewis making a penalty.

  • 46'

    The referee blows the whistle for the second half.

  • 45'

    HT: Longford 0-1 St. Pat's: The Saints return to the dressing room with a deserved lead after a dominating first half.

  • 41'

    And without surprise Pat's changes the score close to the break! Robbie Benson heads the ball into the back of the net.

  • 35'

    Chances just keep coming for the Saints; Lewis finds Matty Smith inside the box with a brilliant pass, somehow the Scottish men managed to send it off from inside the 6-yards box.

  • 33'

    Longford trying to settle it down in need to catch up breath. They have been under the cosh so far.

  • 28'

    Forrester comes with a shot inside Longford’s box as it gets blocked on a massive wall of players.

  • 27'

    Longford are still trying to figure out how to handle the various options the Pat's are using to attack Steacy's goal.

  • 21'

    Benson sends in a very nice cross; Steacy comes off to keep the score unchanged once again.

  • 15'

    We're seeing Pat's starting the game very aggressive, looking for solving the game as soon as possible.

  • 11'

    Lee Steacy makes a another brilliant save stopping a powerful shot by Forrester from a freekick.

  • 8'

    A good build-up from Saints ends up with Alfie Lewis attempting a dangerous curve-ball. Not far at all from Steacy’s left post.

  • 7'

    A second chance for Barrett in the air, this time from a corner, as he sends it way off the bar.

  • 4'

    Paddy Barrett comes with a good header forcing Lee Stacy to slap it away for a corner.

  • 1'

    Longford kick us on into the first half.

  • St. Pat’s starting XI: Vitezlav Jaros, John Mountney, Ian Bermingham, Lee Desmond, Robbie Benson, Chris Forrester, Ronan Coughlan, Matty Smith, Billy King, Alfie Lewis and Paddy Barrett.

  • Longford starting XI: Lee Stacy, Paddy Kirck, Aaron Robinson, Michael McDonnell, Dean Zambra, Dylan grimes, Rob Manley, Aaron Dobbs, Aaron O’Driscoll, Aodh Dervin and Aaron McNally.

  • The bar is high for the Saints after their encouraging start of the campaign, and a visit to the Town augurs itself as a good place to put the team back on track.

  • Daire Doyle’s troops are facing a tough fight to leave the bottom of the table. The break in the season was probably used to reconnect ideas and motivate the squad, as they come to the second half ten points away from the first team above the relegation spots.

  • Human lives are above any sport: all of our thoughts are with Christian Eriksen who collapsed during the game between Denmark and Finland.

  • Goodnight and you are welcome to the live coverage of the meeting between Longford and St. Pat’s. My name is Bernardo Santos and I’ll tell you all about it as it happens.

Past Meetings

5 - 4
eLOI Group C
Online Event

St. Patrick’s Athletic v Longford Town

(Series 8)
3 - 0
LOI Men's Premier Division
Richmond Park

St. Patrick’s Athletic v Longford Town

1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Bishopsgate, Longford

Longford Town FC v St. Patrick's Athletic FC

3 - 3
LOI Men's Premier Division
Richmond Park

St. Patrick’s Athletic FC v Longford Town FC

1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Bishopsgate, Longford

Longford Town FC v St. Patrick's Athletic FC

3
LOI Men's Premier Division
Bishopsgate, Longford

Longford Town FC v St. Patrick's Athletic FC

3
LOI Men's Premier Division
Richmond Park

St. Patrick’s Athletic FC v Longford Town FC

2 - 2
LOI Men's Premier Division
Bishopsgate, Longford

Longford Town FC v St. Patrick's Athletic FC

Ground

Bishopsgate, Longford
City Calling Stadium, L50021, Mullolagher, Cloondara ED, Longford Municipal District, County Longford, Leinster, Ireland

With previous experience on a top-tier sports newspaper and a media department of a former European Champion club, Bernardo also collaborates as a sports journalist and media editor at St. Patrick's Athletic.