3 v 2 
Longford TownDetails
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2021 | 7:45 pm | LOI Men's Premier Division | 2021 |
Match Report
Burns fires Pats to victory
Chris Forrester’s eighth goal of the season followed by a Darragh Burns strike in the 87th minute secured the three points for St. Patrick’s Athletic as they came away 3-2 winners over Longford Town at Richmond Park tonight.
The Saints have now gone seven games in a row undefeated at home.
This match started off as many expected with the hosts showing why they are title contenders this season. The Saints looked solid at the back and confident in possession but they struggled to break down the Longford defence early on.
Their dominance showed just before the half-hour mark when Billy King received the ball in a pocket of space outside the box and rifled the ball past Lee Steacy in the Longford net to give the home side the lead.
Pat’s continued to dominate possession and looked as if they would have been ahead if it wasn’t for the heroic defending of Aaron O’Driscoll.
Longford looked a different side at the start of the second half putting Pat’s under a lot of pressure. They were awarded a free-kick when Barry Murphy dropped what looked to be an easy catch and resulted in a foul on a Longford player.
Dean Williams stepped up and powered the ball past Murphy. Perhaps the Saints keeper could have done better to deal with the strike. The Town were now level.
The hosts took control of the game once more and created a couple of chances but the Longford defence stood strong.
The visitor’s defence was broken through for a second time in the 67th minute when a cross into the box fell kindly for Chris Forrester who made no mistake and dispatched the ball away.
Pat’s win was secured in the 87th minute through a calm finish from Darragh Burns. However, Paddy Barret deserves the plaudits after single handedly stopping a Longford counter and setting and setting the hosts on a counter of their own which ultimately led to the goal.
A last minute consolation from Conor Davis was not enough for the Town as they suffered their 17th defeat of the season.
Shamrock Rovers’ loss to Finn Harps tonight means that Pat’s are now level on points with the Hoops.
Longford meanwhile, look destined for the drop.
Timeline
| 2. James Abankwah | 19' | |
| 15. Billy King | 28' | |
| James Abankwah Jak Hickman | 45' | |
| 51' | 22. Dean Williams | |
| 8. Chris Forrester | 67' | |
| 68' | Dean Byrne Conor Davis | |
| Ronan Coughlan Ben McCormack | 73' | |
| 73' | Shane Elworthy Callum Warfield | |
| 82' | Aodh Dervin Aaron Dobbs | |
| 21. Darragh Burns | 87' | |
| Darragh Burns Nahum Melvin-Lambert | 88' | |
| 90+6' | 10. Conor Davis |
Past Meetings
|
(Series 15)
1 - 3LOI Men's Premier Division
Bishopsgate, Longford Longford Town v St. Patrick's Athletic |
5 - 4eLOI Group C
Online Event St. Patrick’s Athletic v Longford Town |
|
(Series 8)
3 - 0LOI Men's Premier Division
Richmond Park St. Patrick’s Athletic v Longford Town |
1LOI Men's Premier Division
Bishopsgate, Longford Longford Town FC v St. Patrick's Athletic FC |
3 - 3LOI Men's Premier Division
Richmond Park St. Patrick’s Athletic FC v Longford Town FC |
1LOI Men's Premier Division
Bishopsgate, Longford Longford Town FC v St. Patrick's Athletic FC |
3LOI Men's Premier Division
Bishopsgate, Longford Longford Town FC v St. Patrick's Athletic FC |
3LOI Men's Premier Division
Richmond Park St. Patrick’s Athletic FC v Longford Town FC |
2 - 2LOI Men's Premier Division
Bishopsgate, Longford Longford Town FC v St. Patrick's Athletic FC |
Ground
| Richmond Park |
|---|
| Emmet Road, Kilmainham C ED, Dublin, Dublin 8, Leinster, D08 VK72, Ireland |
Conor Byrne
A journalist with an interest in sports. BA in Multimedia Journalism from the University Of Wolverhampton.
Conor Davis on the end of a cross puts it away
Longford pull one back late on
A great interception by Hickmann puts the ball out for a corner
The counter leads to Burns being slipped through and getting Pat's third goal
Paddy Barret stops a Longford and sets up a Pat's counter
A Lee Steacy clearance is almost deflected into his net by Matty Smith
Elworthy is replaced by Warfield
Play is stopped as Elworthy receives attention
A loose ball from a cross falls to Forrester who makes no mistake dispatching the ball away
Forrester restores Pat's lead
A Jak Hickman strike goes well over the bar
Burns with a great opportunity to put Coughlan through but he is well marshalled by Dean Zambra
Coughlan's effort is blocked by the wall
King wins a free-kick for Pat\'s in a dangerous position with a wonderful piece of skill
Longford are level
Dean Williams buries the free-kick past Murphy
Barry Murphy drops a cross and Longford are awarded a free in a dangerous position
Pat\'s get the second period underway
The teams are ready for the second half
HALF-TIME: St. Patrick's Athletic 1-0 Longford Town
A cross from King picks out Burns but the winger is ruled offside
A Ronan Coughlan cross is well cleared by Aaron O'Driscoll
Pat's are really showing their dominance in possession
King finds himself a pocket of space outside the area and unleashes a powerful strike past Steacy
King puts Pat's ahead
Barrett has made a number of excellent passes in the last few minutes and we should expect that to continue for the remainder of the match
A defence splitting pass from Paddy Barrett is well defended by Longford and Steacy
A King cross is claimed by Lee Steacy
Pat's are beginning to take control with Longford struggling for possession
A Billy King strike is well blocked
James Abankwah is booked for a late challenge
A penalty shout for Longford as Dean Williams goes down but the ref waves it away
Burns returns to the pitch
Darragh Burns is down receiving attention as play is stopped
Chris Forrester gets on the end of a Billy King cross but puts it over
Longford get the game underway
The teams are on the pitch ahead of kick-off
Just under 30 minutes to go until kick-off
For Longford Paddy Kirk misses out through suspension, while Elworthy, Dervin and Byrne return to the starting XI. Jack Doyle makes the bench for the first time
Pat\'s make four changes from last week\'s fixture; Murphy, Barrett, Smith and Bone come in replacing Jaros, Hickman, Lennon and McClelland
The visitor's last match saw them eliminated from the FAI Cup suffering a 2-1 defeat to UCD
The hosts were victorious in their previous match in the FAI Cup over Cork City. The match was 1-1 after extra time and the Saints came away 4-1 winners on penalties
Richmond Park is the venue for tonight's game
Hello and welcome to Final Whistle's coverage of tonight's match between St. Patrick's Athletic and Longford Town in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division