St. Patrick’s Athletic Dominate Dundalk in 4-0 Victory

Richmond Park witnessed a dominant performance from St. Patrick’s Athletic as they defeated Dundalk 4-0 on Friday evening. The victory came after manager Stephen Kenny emphasized the critical importance of strong home form for his team this season.

Early Pressure and First-Half Lead

The Saints responded to their manager’s call with an immediate attacking intent, establishing a 2-0 lead early in the match. Zach Elbouzedi set the pace, creating an opportunity within the first 90 seconds. Despite stout defending from Dundalk’s Aodh Dervin and Rob Cornwall, St. Patrick’s continued to probe with purpose.

The opening goal arrived in the 20th minute, described as a comedy of errors. A giveaway by Dervin led to a one-on-one situation for Romal Palmer, initially saved by Conor Kearns. Following a miskick from Ryan Edmondson and a cleared effort off the line by Harvey Warren, Edmondson’s subsequent cross found Palmer for the goal.

St. Patrick’s doubled their advantage six minutes later from a corner. Defender Sean Hoare, returning from an injury-plagued 2025, met Jamie Lennon’s delivery with a header, marking his first goal since rejoining the club last year.

Second-Half Surge and Final Goals

Dundalk managed a period of pressure before halftime, with Eoin Kenny, the manager’s son, forcing a save from Joseph Anang. However, St. Patrick’s resumed control at the start of the second half, extending their lead.

A cross from new signing James Brown wasn’t cleared, eventually falling to Elbouzedi, who drilled his right footed shot into the corner of the net.

The scoring wasn’t finished there. Chris Forrester and Darragh Nugent both came close before substitute Aidan Keena added a fourth goal in the 82nd minute, finishing a play set up by Kian Leavy.

Team Lineups

• St Patrick’s Athletic: Joseph Anang; Joe Redmond, Sean Hoare (Tom Grivosti 53), Luke Turner; James Brown (Darragh Nugent 73), Kian Leavy, Jamie Lennon, Barry Baggley, Zach Elbouzedi (Jay McClelland 55); Romal Palmer (Chris Forrester h-t); Ryan Edmondson (Aidan Keena 73).
• Dundalk: Conor Kearns; John Ross Wilson, Harvey Warren, Rob Cornwall (Conor O’Keeffe 82), Tyreke Wilson (Gbemi Arubi h-t); Keith Buckley (Harry Groome 57), Aodh Dervin (Ronan Teahan h-t); Daryl Horgan, Eoin Kenny (Declan McDaid 57), Bobby Burns; Danny Mullen.

Referee: Lucas Keating (Cork).

Attendance: 4,427.

St. Patrick’s Athletic’s emphatic victory sends a clear message about their ambitions this season, particularly at Richmond Park. Manager Kenny’s demand for attacking intent was certainly met, setting a positive tone for the remainder of the campaign.