St Patrick's Athletic boost top-four hopes with victory over Sligo Rovers

Serge Atakayi's first league goal for St Patrick's Athletic was enough to open up a four-point gap between the Saints and Sligo Rovers at Richmond Park.

Pat's finished this game without their full compliment of players after Mark Doyle was shown red on 64 minutes. But the defining moment of the contest came on 31 minutes when Atakayi made the most of a slip-up in the Sligo defence to hand a big advantage to Pat’s in the race for the top four.

With regular first-choice goalkeeper Joseph Anang returning to parent club West Ham, new signing Daniel Rogers was an immediate starter for the Inchicore side, just hours after the US-born netminder’s signature was announced.

Tim Clancy made two other changes from the CSKA Sofia disappointment, with Atakayi and Mark Doyle both included.

On the back of encouraging home wins over both Bohs and Viking, Rovers boss John Russell made just the one change from the European second-leg victory over the Norwegians, with Niall Morahan replacing Greg Bolger in the middle while new signing, Welsh defender Cameron Evans, took his place on the bench.

Despite playing just three nights previous, both sides showed little signs of tiredness early on. Rovers started the game the brighter before the Saints wrestled back control, spending the majority of the opening half on top.

Sligo winger Will Fitzgerald worked new boy Rogers in the opening 90 seconds. The former Oldham goalkeeper got down to palm away the Limerick man's cross-come-shot after an early Rovers breakaway.

Clancy’s charges were in charge from here until the interval, some of this owed to Rovers’ sloppiness, particularly in midfield.

Atakayi almost struck on the counter after he was played through by Mark Doyle. While not hearing any shout from