Dundalk take all three points in Inchicore

Dundalk FC are off the foot of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division table after holding out to record a 3-2 win over St Patrick’s Athletic at Richmond Park.

Jon Daly’s side remarkably found themselves 3-0 up inside 22 minutes through a Jamie Gullan brace and Ryan O’Kane goal, but Stephen Kenny and St Pats clawed their way back into proceedings, thanks to Chris Forrester’s penalty and Jamie Lennon’s volley.

However, The Lilywhites never looked in any serious danger of conceding an equaliser and held out for three points which lifts them above Drogheda United at the bottom.

Dundalk opened the scoring inside two minutes in Inchicore when Gullan sublimely sent a free-kick into the top corner after Lennon had committed a foul on Cameron Elliott.

The game wasn’t even four minutes old when The Lilywhites made it 2-0, with Archie Davies breaking through on the right before finding O’Kane, whose shot squirmed underneath Danny Rogers in what was a horrendous error from the St Pats goalkeeper.

Dundalk found themselves in dreamland as they tripled their advantage on 22 minutes. The lively Horgan picked out Gullan, who thereafter fired into the bottom-right corner from outside the box to score his fifth goal of the campaign, but his first from open-play.

St Pats were given an opportunity to claw themselves back into the contest when Luke Turner, who earlier in the half ballooned off target, had another attempt ricochet off Horgan, who was harshly adjudged to have handled, resulting in a penalty for the hosts.

And up stepped St Pats talisman Forrester, who calmly sent Dundalk goalkeeper Ross Munro the wrong way on 27 minutes as he rolled into the bottom corner from 12 yards.

Forrester’s corner from the left on 35 minutes was headed back across goal by Joe Redmond before Lennon volleyed into the roof of the netting to pull it back to 3-2.

Dundalk had chances to restore their two-goal advantage before the end of the 45, with O’Kane’s shot from distance being kept out by Rogers, before Gullan had a goal-bound attempt blocked out by Redmond to deny the Dundalk forward a first-half hat-trick.

A second-half onslaught from St Pats never quite materialised, though they did create half-chances through Lennon and Forrester, while Conor Keeley headed off target.

Jason McClelland’s shot across goal was their last real opening on 81 minutes. Instead, it was Gullan, and then substitute Eoin Kenny, who almost added a fourth for Dundalk.

St Patrick’s Athletic: Danny Rogers; Ryan McLaughlin (Romal Palmer 58), Joe Redmond, Conor Keeley, Luke Turner (Alex Nolan 70); Jamie Lennon; Cian Kavanagh (Brandon Kavanagh 58), Kian Leavy, Chris Forrester, Jake Mulraney (Jason McClelland 78); Mason Melia

Subs not used: Marcelo Pitaluga (gk), Tom Grivosti, Arran Pettifer, Aaron Bolger, Jason Oyenuga

Dundalk FC: Ross Munro; Archie Davies, Zak Johnson, Andy Boyle, Zak Bradshaw; Daryl Horgan, Hayden Muller, Paul Doyle (John Mountney 63), Ryan O’Kane (Sam Durrant 63); Cameron Elliott (Eoin Kenny 75), Jamie Gullan (Mayowa Animasahun 84)

Subs not used: Sean Molloy (gk), Jamie Walker, Vincent Leonard, Luke Mulligan, Sean Keogh

Referee: Robert Hennessy (Limerick)