Jon Daly comes back to haunt Pat's as Dundalk win thriller

Stephen Kenny enjoyed many glorious occasions during his stint in charge of Dundalk.

His first meeting against them from an opposing dugout since leaving Oriel Park in 2018 brought no reward for the new St Patrick's Athletic manager, however.

And in a twist to the several storylines on the day, there was a winner in the Kenny household nonetheless, as Stephen's 18-year-old son, Eoin, joined the fray on Dundalk’s left flank for the final 20 minutes or so.

Dundalk came to Richmond Park and delivered a sobering defeat, racing into a 3-0 lead early on in a rollercoaster first half, which ultimately brought them a much-needed three points.

For Dundalk manager Jon Daly, it marked a triumphant return to Inchicore having been sacked by St Patrick’s less than a month ago.

The win, their first away from home this season, moved Dundalk off the foot of the table for the first time in three months.

Defeat, a third from Kenny’s five games to date, sees St Pat’s slip to eighth.

Daly had the almost unbelievably perfect start as he watched his side score twice inside four minutes and lead 3-0 by the 22nd. Remarkable given Dundalk had managed just nine goals in their previous 18 games this season.

They were ahead within 100 seconds after home midfielder Jamie Lennon was harshly adjusted to have fouled Cameron Elliott some 30 yards from goal.

As he showcased on the opening night with a cracking goal at Shamrock Rovers, Jamie Gullan has prowess on a dead ball.

Sure enough, the Dundalk number nine stepped up and arced his free kick up and over the wall into the top corner of the net giving Danny Rogers no chance.

If Rogers was all but helpless there, the St Pat’s goalkeeper was at fault as Dundalk doubled their lead within a further two minutes.

It