St Patrick's Athletic - 3, Cork City - 2:  Ger McCarthy scored a stoppage time winner as St Patrick's Athletic showed tremendous resolve to twice come from behind to win at Richmond Park to keep their title aspirations in focus.

"The character is this team is phenomenal," said the St Patrick's manager, Pat Dolan. "I thought we were tremendous in the first half but fell behind because we didn't defend a set-play properly which isn't good enough. We were a bit flat from the start of the second half and you have to credit Cork for taking advantage of that to regain the lead. To get the equaliser was vital. To then go on and win the game showed terrific resolve from my players."

Cork failed to build on an early goal after eight minutes, coming from their first corner. Anthony Buckley floated the ball across for Derek Coughlan to head down. Colin Patrick O'Brien stabbed the ball home from six yards.

In fairness to Cork, they had to reshuffle their midfield after 16 minutes when Alan Bennett collided with his captain Declan Daly. Bennett was taken off on a stretcher following the clash of heads and Daly needed to go off for several minutes for treatment.

St Patrick's forced the play in a tight, tense contest and got their deserved reward on 36 minutes from their seventh corner. Charles Mbabazi Livingstone's corner floated to the back post and Robbie Griffin beat Michael Devine with a firm header.

Conor O'Grady restored Cork's lead eight minutes into the second half as the visitors enjoyed their best spell. Pat Morley and Ollie Cahill worked the ball back to O'Grady some 25 yards from goal and he unleashed a low drive that flew into the bottom right hand corner of Shay Kelly's net.

St Patrick's, playing well but not getting the breaks, were level again on 74 minutes. Martin Russell's free-kick into the Cork area was dummied by Paul Osam and there was substitute Michael Holt, on the field three minutes, to shoot home with his first touch.

Then the sting in the tail as St Patrick's hit the winner in the first minute of stoppage time. Willie Burke's shot was deflected to the unmarked McCarthy who took a touch before sidefooting home.

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Kelly; Croly, Maguire, Foley, Burke; Marney (Holt 71), Osam, Griffin; Mbabazi (Murphy 91), McCarthy, Russell.

CORK CITY: Devine; Napier, Coughlan, Daly, Horgan; Bennett (CT O'Brien), O'Grady, Buckley, Cahill; CP O'Brien, Morley.

Referee: R O'Hanlon (Waterford)

• Republic of Ireland under-21 manager Don Givens has confirmed his side will after all compete at the summer's prestigious Toulon International Tournament in the South of France, reports Emmet Malone. Givens had been trying for some time to secure an invitation to the event which he hoped to use as preparation for the forthcoming European championship qualifying campaign which starts in Russia in September. However, he was originally told he had expressed an interest after the available places had been filled. On Friday he heard from the organisers that the Ivory Coast had failed to confirm their intention to travel by the date set down and the Irish have been drafted in as replacements. The event takes place May 6th-17th and Ireland will initially play in a five-team group that includes Germany, Italy, South Africa and Japan.