A Martin Russell goal 17 minutes from time at Richmond Park last night was enough to ensure that St Patrick's Athletic moved five points clear at the top of the Premier Division and that Cork, at home to Derry tomorrow, will be feeling the pressure as they take the field at Turner's Cross.
Russell's goal, chested in from a yard out after Martin Reilly had caused mayhem with his low curling cross from the right, was no more than the champions deserved on the night, for they had had the lion's share of possession and all but one of the serious goal-scoring chances.
But the result still seemed harsh for a Dundalk side who had held their own for most of the first half and battled relentlessly to take something out of the game following Shane Reddish's somewhat harsh dismissal for a second bookable offence in the 65th minute.
Already under considerable pressure as St Patrick's pressed to maintain their remarkable home record this season, the loss of Reddish, whose case Eddie Gormley pleaded with referee John Feighery, left the visitors with a seemingly hopeless task. Impressively, though, they stuck more or less to their original game plan with John "Jumbo" Brennan coming in at full back and Jim McLaughlin opting to simply lose a man out of midfield. It was a brave decision but it was undermined just a minute after Brennan's arrival when Ray Campbell, Dundalk's most realistic remaining hope of carrying the ball forward out of defence, was forced out of the game by injury.
It was just another blow to the Dundalk cause which had first started to suffer early on when Brian Byrne, back in the team after struggling all season with a series of knee injuries, limped off with what he reckoned afterwards to be another case of torn ligaments.
These days, though, the visitors produce teenage prospects in much the way your dodgier card sharps throw up pokers of aces and David Martin, the hero against Limerick in the Cup a couple of weeks back, threw himself about to admirable effect. Behind him it was all heads down and hard at it too, an approach that had earned the Lillywhites 10 points from their last four games. Jim McLaughlin's side have clearly regained their self-belief and came to Inchicore with serious hopes of becoming only the second team this season to take a point away from Richmond Park.
Through the opening stages last night they found themselves being forced to defend far too deeply with the result that Paul Osam's strength in the air was a constant problem on the edge of the area. Still, it was they who had what was probably the best scoring opportunity of the opening half hour when Ray Campbell broke quickly out of defence and sent Byrne through for a shot that was blocked as he struck it by Packie Lynch.
At the other end Ian Gilzean might have made more of a long Stephen McGuinness ball but for the speed off his line of Steve Williams, but it was in the closing moments of the half, with the champions enjoying by far their best spell of the night up until then, that the Welsh goalkeeper came into his own.
A minute before the break he pushed a powerfully-directed Gilzean header wide past his lefthand post when at full stretch.
If some goals deserve to win games then that stop, and perhaps his 92nd-minute effort from Gormley, surely merited at least a point for Williams's side. But after the sending off the writing was on the was for the visitors and with Russell increasingly dominant in midfield there might have been another goal or two.
ST PATRICK'S: Wood; McGuinness, Lynch, Hawkins; Croly, Gormley, Osam, Russell, Doyle; Gilzean, Molloy. Subs: Reilly for Gilzean (52 mins); Braithwaite for Molloy (84 mins).
DUNDALK: Williams; Reddish, Gallogley, Brady, Crawley; McNulty, Thew, Fortune, Campbell; Ward, Byrne. Subs: Martin for Byrne (30 mins); Brennan for Thew (67 mins); Dunne for Campbell (68 mins).
Referee: J Feighery (Dublin).
