St Pat’s make it back-to-back wins in Donegal
Jack Scott and Eoin Doyle struck second half goals at Finn Park in Ballybofey last night as St Patrick’s Athletic earned a 2-0 win over Finn Harps in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.
Buoyed by their slender triumph against champions Shamrock Rovers on home soil seven days earlier, the Saints were seeking consecutive league victories for the first time in 2022. Patience was required as Ollie Horgan’s side made life difficult for the visitors, but they ultimately returned to the capital with the three points on offer.
Despite their recent back-to-back reversals at the hands of Sligo Rovers and Bohemians, Pat’s are now second in the top-flight table and will look to bring this momentum into Monday evening’s clash with UCD – which will be their fourth Dublin derby of the season already.
With Ballyfermot man Ian Bermingham making his first start of the campaign, Pat’s were confident of coming away with a win in this contest. Opportunities were in short supply during the first half, however, and it was actually the hosts who were the closest to opening the scoring.
A cousin of Eoin Doyle, Dave Webster played for St Pat’s during the 2019 Premier Division season before moving to Harps at the end of that year. When a corner was cleared into his path just past the half-hour mark, he unleashed a firm strike that rebounded off the outside of the post.
This was a let-off for the Saints, but with the sides level at the break, their quest for a third league win was still very much alive. Darragh Burns flashed a shot in front of the goal a short while after the resumption before the breakthrough goal finally arrived on 65 minutes.
After Bermingham shook the woodwork at the end of an intricate passing move, right-back Scott was on hand to tap the ball into the empty net from a couple of inches out.
Bolstered by this opener, Pat’s almost immediately doubled their lead through Chris Forrester. The former Peterborough United midfielder couldn’t add to his winner against Rovers last week, but he turned provider for the game-clinching score 12 minutes from time.
From his well-directed set-piece, Doyle headed home to claim his first league goal since returning to the League of Ireland.