St Patrick's Athletic equal club record victory in FAI Cup demolition of UCC
Chris Forrester scored a nonchalant brace as St Patrick's Athletic equalled a club record win to cruise through to the FAI Cup third round with this facile victory over Munster Senior League side UCC at Richmond Park.
Having won the cup twice in the last four years, and five times in total, Stephen Kenny's side were never in danger of losing their record of never having lost to a non-league team in the competition.
Doubtless with Thursday's Conference League home clash with Estonian side Nõmme Kalju in mind, manager Kenny opted for a completely different starting XI from last Thursday's rousing 2-0 win away to FC Hegelmann.
That meant a full debut for 19-year-old midfielder Matthew O'Hara, captain of the club's under-20 side, who recently signed his first professional contract having been at the club since he was 13.
UCC needed a play-off victory to retain their top flight status in the MSL which finished two months ago.
Not only out of season, they travelled to Dublin missing up to a half a dozen first team players in what was head coach Noel Healy's final game over a 15-year association with the university club.
Unsurprisingly, it was one way traffic from the off with UCC goalkeeper Kevin Fitzpatrick inspired early on with fine saves to deny Conor Carty and Aidan Keena before Saints' pressure told on 19 minutes, if not from an expected source.
Zach Elbouzedi pulled the ball back for defender Axel Sjoberg whose low cross was knocked past Fitzpatrick by his unfortunate skipper Colm Murphy for an own goal.
Fitzpatrick made another terrific save to thwart Elbouzedi one-on-one while Carty bounced a header off the crossbar from Brandon Kavanagh's delivery, all a mere prelude to the floodgates opening with a quick-fire treble before half-time.
First, the lively Kavanagh beat Fitzpatrick at his far post with a looping header from Sjoberg's cross on 40 minutes.
Two minutes later Kavanagh's shot was deflected into the path of Keena who cut inside a couple of defenders to drill to the bottom corner.
Skipper Forrester then got in on the act to utterly deflate UCC when casually dribbling past three defenders inside the area to tap home.
The goal deluge continued into the second half with another three scored inside six minutes of the restart.
Scarcely a minute in, Al-Amin Kazeem ghosted in off the left flank to meet Sjoberg's cross and find the top corner for his first goal for the club.
Two minutes later it was 6-0 when half-time substitute Jake Mulraney rifled to the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Kazeem then provided the cross for Carty to continue the scoring on 51 minutes with a well-placed header.
Forrester completed the rout with his second from a crisp low drive to the net on 68 minutes following debutant substitute Billy Hayes' assist.
St Patrick's Athletic: Rogers; Sjoberg, Turner, Breslin; Forrester, O'Hara (Grivosti, 63); Elbouzedi (Mulraney, h-t), Kavanagh (Hayes, h-t), Kazeem; Carty, Keena.
UCC: Fitzpatrick; Duggan, Murphy, Iyalla, O'Neill (Roberts, 64); McCarthy; Walsh (Connolly, 64), Broderick (Bowdren, 80), Howard (O'Halloran, 69), Loughery; Fahy (Sulleiman, 69).
Referee: Alan Patchell (Dublin).
Attendance: 1,243.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Stephen Bradley says he 'doesn't need to take chances' with Rovers' Byrne and McEneff due to squad depth
Uefa Conference League, third round (first leg): Ballkani v Shamrock Rovers, Pristina — Thursday, 7.30pm Irish time. Stephen Bradley insists he can afford to avoid risking Jack Byrne and Aaron McEneff for this Conference League hurdle due to the depth of his Shamrock Rovers squad. The Premier Division leaders are in Kosovo for their first leg against Ballkani with a place in a playoff duel with either Larne or Portuguese outfit Santa Clara on the line. Bradley has in his armoury the most experienced squad in Ireland when it comes to European competition. Four Champions League campaigns on the spin accrued two years of entrance into the group stage, last year's breaking new ground by reaching the knockout stages. While they've began from a different start point, the target destination remains the same. Being seeded bolsters their prospects too but the fact Rovers have left behind an array of stars underlines confidence levels internally. They've also learned lessons from casualties during last year's campaign. Matt Healy, Graham Burke, Trevor Clarke, Aaron McEneff and Jack Byrne haven't travelled — the latter pair spared next Thursday's second leg too. Rovers' Jack Byrne will miss the first leg clash with Ballkani. File picture: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 'If this was the last game of the season to win the league or the FAI Cup final, I'm sure they would all be available to play,' explained the Hoops manager. 'But we're in a position that we've got a really good squad and everybody's ready to play. 'I think that's really important. Last year, we were forced into that because of the injury situation. And as a result, we kept re-injuring the players. 'We don't need to take those chances. Sitting on a plane for three-and-a-half hours, followed by a coach journey, won't help niggles.' That outlook heightens the possibility of new signing Conor Malley making his European debut. 'We saw from his performance against Derry City on Sunday why we tried really hard to sign him for a long time', said Bradley, referencing the weekend win that stretches their lead at the summit to 10 points with 10 games left. 'He slots right into what we do. I think there's so much more to come from him when he understands exactly what we do. But he's here for a reason because we think he's a top player. You'll definitely see Conor over the next few months play a big part in what we do.' Bradley wasn't accepting a draw as a desirable outcome ahead of their Tallaght return next Thursday, only evidence that they can maintain standards set in recent years. 'Not having the Champions Path this year, we knew it was going to be difficult but our aim is to get into the league phase again.'
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
St Pat's blow as key player ruled out for season on eve of Besikitas clash
Zack Elbouzedi has been ruled out for the rest of St Pat's season. The ace winger dislocated his shoulder in the first-leg win over Estonian side Nomme Kalju at Richmond Park a fortnight ago. And ahead of Thursday's big European clash with Turkish giants Besiktas, Stephen Kenny confirmed he won't play again in 2025. Kenny said: 'Zack has been ruled out for the season. He needs an operation on his dislocated shoulder. Aidan Keena will be out for a long period and Romal Palmer is (already) out. Those three would have featured in these games, but it opens up the door for other players. Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . 'Simon Power has come in and grabbed his opportunity, and Kian Leavy, so it opens up for other players, and that's the nature of football.' But Kenny has swooped to secure cover on the flanks with the signing of Jamaican-born Jordan Garrick. He was most recently with Forest Green Rovers and has made over 130 appearances in English with Swansea City, Swindon Town, Plymouth Argyle and Lincoln City. St Pats' Zack Elbouzedi is injured against Kalju (Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne) Garrick is registered to feature in tonight's European squad but is unlikely to be involved having trained just twice with his new team-mates. Kenny said: 'He's had a terrific career and we feel he can make a good impact and contribution here, in what will be an intensive period. 'With Zack being ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury, he'll have an operation soon. And with the (quad) injury Aidan Keena picked up last week plus Romal Palmer also being out, it's an area of the pitch we've been looking at. 'Jordon can play in any attacking areas of the pitch, central but predominantly wide, and had a really good spell with Plymouth in League 1 as well as at Forest Green." St Pat's are big underdogs against Besikitas and Kenny added: "To win over two legs is the challenge, not just the game tomorrow, but the game in Istanbul of course. 'It's a big challenge and you have to prepare well because you can lose it in the first 10 minutes if you're not psychologically tuned in. We must back ourselves and try to establish some elements of control in the game. That will be our objective.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Mayo garda raises over €22,000 for Down Syndrome charity after mammoth physical challenge
Mr Carty, who is Chairman of Down Syndrome Mayo, completed five back-to-back Hyrox simulations under ten hours to raise money for the branch on June 1. In a post on social media, the father-of-three said he was 'delighted to raise this money for a worthy cause and a massive thank you to everyone who helped me through the challenge of five Hyroxs back-to-back'. Each Hyrox simulation involved a one-kilometre run, 1,000 metres on a ski erg, a 50-metre-long 202kg sled push, a 50-metre-long 152kg sled pull, 80 metres of burpee broad jumps, 1,000 metres on a rowing machine, a 200-metre-long farmers carry with 24kg kettlebells, 100 metres of lunges with a 20kg sandbag and 100 6kg wall balls against a 10-foot-high target. Since 2023, Mr Carty has been chairman of the Mayo branch of Down Syndrome Ireland, which funds activities and therapies for over 140 Mayo people with Down Syndrome and their families. Mr Carty's family received support from Down Syndrome Mayo after his daughter Iris was born with the condition in 2021. The family had initially been told that she would not survive after birth. 'There's no difference between her and any other child,' her father told the Irish Independent in May. "She is going to playschool, she is playing football, she is climbing trees, she's a proper daredevil.'
