Christy Fagan strikes for St Patrick’s Athletic as Longford Town ruered card for Conor Powell
Unchanged from their opening night win in Wexford, Longford began confidently, twice coming close to punishing poor defending early on.
The Saints’ former Cork City man Darren Dennehy blocked away a shot by the unmarked Noel Haverty from Kaleem Simon’s fourth minute corner.
Two minutes later, visiting keeper Brendan Clarke and Shane McEleney got their wires crossed coming for a long ball. Though Haverty nipped in to get there first, St Patrick’s were relieved to see the ball go wide.
The Dubliners had another let-off on 23 minutes when Simon drilled wide across goal from Kevin O’Connor’s shot.
But St Patrick’s came alive as the half wore on, with Ian Bermingham galloping forward but shooting wide.
Fagan was then inches off target with a turn and shot after incisive approach play by Billy Dennehy.
The game changed utterly when Longford suffered a telling blow, albeit self-inflicted, a minute before the break, when Powell was dismissed for a second yellow card after tripping Conan Byrne.
St Patrick’s owned the ball in the second half, finally getting their match-winning goal 20 minutes in.
Byrne’s precise delivery from the right to the back post was headed down into Fagan’s path by Graham Kelly for the striker to blast a volley past Paul Skinner to the net.
Skinner; Hughes, Haverty (Flynn, 80), Rossiter, Powell; Gannon, O’Connor (O’Reilly, h/t); O’Sullivan, Dillon (Mulhall, 74), Simon; O’Hanlon.
Clarke; O’Brien, McEleney, D. Dennehy, Bermingham; Cawley; Kelly, Timlin (Treacy, 53); Byrne, Fagan (Corcoran, 80), B. Dennehy.
Jim McKell (Tipperary).
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