Mulcahy rescues point for Pat's

St Patrick’s Athletic 1 Sporting Fingal 1

Dave Mulcahy maintained his scoring streak to hit a late equaliser to put St. Pat's back top of the Premier Division table.

Trailing to Conan Byrne goal, makeshift central defender Mulcahy, who hit a double in the 3-0 win in Dundalk last week, arrived to loop a header from Stuart Byrne's cross over Sporting keeper Brendan Clarke with 88 minutes played.

Byrne looked to have ensured there would be no Europa League hangover for Sporting when giving them a 67th-minute lead against the run of play.

Ronan Finn’s fierce shot deflected off team-mate Alan Kirby to hit St Pat’s keeper Gary Rogers full in the face and Byrne followed up to rifle home the rebound for his third goal of the season.

'Mulch' may have levelled earlier but his downward header from Garreth O’Connor’s corner bounce up and off the bar on 77 minutes.

While Sporting may have been the more constructive in their build-up pay, Saints’ more direct approach brought the clearest chances in a disappointing first half.

Stuart Byrne fired over early on while striker Paul Byrne shot into the side netting and over the top with two openings in quick succession.

Derek Doyle then nipped around Clarke only to fire wide of an open goal, albeit from a very tight angle.

Saints' boss Pete Mahon made two changes at the break and both Brian Cash and Danny North came close early on.