Melia brace fires St Pat's past Sligo after controversial McClean red

Referee Damien MacGraith incensed Sligo by brandishing a straight red card to Patrick McClean for a last-man challenge in what looked a poor decision.

Mason Melia of St Patrick's Athletic celebrates after scoring his side's second goal. Pic: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile

Premier Division: St Patrick’s Athletic 3 Sligo Rovers 0 

Mason Melia scored a striker’s brace inside five minutes as St Patrick’s Athletic put their midweek European disappointment firmly behind them.

While the 17-year-old Tottenham Hotspur-bound striker was central to most of the game’s highlights, Sligo were rightly livid at the sending off of Patrick McClean just before half-time which ruined what had been a competitive game.

All but out of Europe ahead of the second leg following their 4-1 home defeat to Turkish giants Besiktas, St Pat’s got their quest for European qualification next year back on track here.

Stephen Kenny’s side remains sixth in the table but there are now just five points separating them from second-placed Bohemians.

Back-to-back defeats for Sligo see them remain in trouble, second bottom of the table.

The chief talking point of a pretty uninspiring first half arrived on 42 minutes when Sligo were astonished to be reduced to 10 men.

Centre-back Patrick McClean, who was having a very solid game, certainly tripped Melia as the teenager tried to skip by him.

But despite there being obvious cover there from Sebastian Quirk, referee Damien MacGraith incensed Sligo by brandishing a straight red card to McClean for a last-man challenge in what looked a poor decision.

It was a call that flabbergasted Sligo manager John Russell.

“I think everyone in the ground, bar the man in the middle, could see it was never a red card. There was a covering defender," he said.

"That changes the game, there is no doubt about it. It ruined it. It’s very frustrating, we’ve come up here to try and get a result.

"We are fighting for our lives and it has changed the game, and we have ended up coming down the road with a 3-0 defeat."

Sam Sargeant rescued Sligo from Jake Mulraney’s resultant free kick with a stunning save to tip the effort onto the crossbar.

But a mistake by the goalkeeper would gift St Pat's the lead four minutes after the restart.

Sargeant misjudged Chris Forrester’s ball over the top, allowing Mulraney to nip in to walk the ball to the net as the keeper collided with his captain, Will Fitzgerald.

Sligo were then at sixes and sevens as they somehow survived conceding a second goal on the double on 55.

First Sargeant saved well from Melia, who had nicked the ball a little too easily off Sean Stewart.

Simon Power looked set to score from the rebound but for a terrific goal-line clearance by Ollie Denham.

But there was no such reprieve a minute later when St Pat’s did extend their lead with another soft goal.

Brandon Kavanagh’s floated corner was met by the totally unmarked Melia, who found the bottom corner with a downward header.

Melia then showed his brilliance with a real poacher's goal on the hour.

Sligo lost the ball cheaply with Kavanagh threading it through for Melia.

Accelerating past Denham, Melia nonchalantly rolled the ball with his studs by Sargeant before casually side-footing to the net for his ninth league goal of the season.

St Patrick’s Athletic: Anang; Sjoberg, Redmond, Turner, McClelland; Lennon (Baggley, h-t), Forrester (Robinson, 79); Mulraney (Leavy, 79), Kavanagh, Power (Garrick, 71); Melia (Carty, 71).

Sligo Rovers: Sargeant; Quirk, Denham, McClean, Stewart; Harkin (Wolfe, 65), McManus; Fitzgerald, Elding (Manning, 80), O’Kane; Waweru (Kavanagh, h-t).

Referee: Damien MacGraith (Mayo).

Attendance: 3,190.