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A first-half double from Leon Braithwaite edged St Patrick's four points clear at the top of the Premier Division

Sat Feb 21 1998 - 00:00

A first-half double from Leon Braithwaite edged St Patrick's four points clear at the top of the Premier Division. Braithwaite struck in the 30th and the 45th minutes as St Patrick's took control in this top versus bottom clash at United Park last night. But the league leaders had to endure an anxious last 15 minutes when the home side pulled a goal back with a Steven McGuinness o.g. and were denied what looked like a legitimate penalty 10 minutes from the end.

The only real surprise was the small margin of victory such was the league leaders dominance in the opening 45 minutes and Braithwaite was left to rue an early miss which would have given him his first hat-trick in the National League.

The home defence looked all at sea, particularly with the pacey former Exeter winger, and when they did manage to put together a decent move their ongoing problem of poor finishing let them down once again.

Braithwaite should have opened the scoring when taking a pass from Martin Reilly in the home penalty area after 14 minutes but he sent his shot tamely wide.

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However, he made no mistake on the half hour as St Patrick's finally made their pressure tell.

A long ball from Keith Doyle saw defender Noel Reid and Braithwaite in hot pursuit and Braithwaite won the race, wrong-footing Reid before shooting low and out of reach of goalkeeper Gareth Byrne.

The home side thought they had levelled just before the break when a John Coady corner found its way into the St Patrick's net; but the effort was ruled out for a foul on keeper Trevor Wood and the league leaders had doubled their lead within seconds.

Another long ball by Willy Burke saw Reid and Braithwaite once again in pursuit and for the second time the St Patrick's player won the race and drilled the ball passed Byrne.

Drogheda United: Byrne, Hill, Coady, N Reid, Carroll, Ramage, Beggs, O'Dowd, Gallen, Irwin, Murphy. Subs: Fox for Beggs, J Reid for Gallen.

St Patrick's Athletic: Wood, Burke, Doyle, Lynch, McGuinness, Gormley, Croly, Morgan, Reilly, Gilzean, Braithwaite. Subs: Clarke for Morgan, Parkes for Reilly.