A couple of years ago St Patrick's Athletic won the league title by winning their showdowns with Cork City, but for all the entertainment available on Friday night in Richmond Park it was difficult, at the end, to believe that James Mulligan's equaliser 15 minutes from time will have any impact on the destination of the current championship.

The contrast between the two sides now is astonishing. The Dubliners are managed by the familiar face of Pat Dolan but nearly all the players have changed whereas Cork City are a team run by a newcomer but with very familiar personnel.

Mulligan is at least starting to make an impact in Derek Mountfield's side but even with Michael Devine's arrival and Neale Horgan's promotion from the youth team, it is still recognisably the same group of players who weren't quite good enough the season before last.

By comparison Dolan started the game with only two of Liam Buckley's title-winning side, Keith Doyle and Trevor Croly, while Martin Russell made an appearance. The remarkable turnover, a result of severe unrest at the club last season and a desire on the part of Dolan to shake things up, has brought its problems but what was surprising at the weekend was the extent to which the new group have started to knit together.

The home side's movement, especially during the first half when some of their passing on the break was outstanding, was far superior to Cork's and good enough, one would have thought, to take them well clear of any relegation problems.

Dolan, wary presumably of the difficulties that rapidly increased expectations have brought to his club over the past few seasons, has been concentrating his observations on the lower end of the table recently, insisting that the priority with the new group is initially to avoid relegation and then take it from there.

On the face of it, that would seem a ludicrously downbeat line to adopt, although the fact that the Inchicore side had not kept a single clean sheet until a couple of weeks ago when they played bottom-of-the-table Kilkenny at home suggests that they certainly have a defence capable of playing them into trouble.

Fortunately for Dolan he has, over the past couple of months, struck upon a combination in attack capable of slightly more than cancelling out the problems at the other end. Liam Kelly and Ger McCarthy have managed nine goals between them since they were first thrown together for most of the second half against Longford.

The pair have completely turned the striking pecking order on its head during the last seven games, seizing the opportunity handed to them in a way that others have throughout the team.

The upshot is that, if the recent signs of tightening up in defence continue, there is perhaps the makings of a decent season in the side. On the basis of Friday's display they are far too strong to be concerned with going down even if they are clearly a good way off thinking of themselves as championship material again.

In the circumstances the cup might be Dolan's best hope of winning a trophy this season, although he may well remember acting rashly before last season's first-round trip to Galway when he (or his chairman depending on which version you believe) sacked manager Liam Buckley on the basis that something needed to be done, and fast, if the season wasn't to become a total write-off.

He's unlikely to repeat the sudden gamble. After all, he insists, spirit within the camp is far better now and the team's performances are improving slowly but steadily. And aside from all of that, who would take a manager's job when the man calling the shots might decide at any moment that he fancies calling the shots again. Over the past year most of the league's brighter prospects have been linked with the St Patrick's job and politely laughed the suggestion off.

A glance at the league tables and the leading candidate would be obvious. Athlone Town were hardly hot favourites to win promotion this season and yet they are seven points clear of their nearest rivals. All the same, you get the feeling that, even if the offer did come, Liam Buckley would probably be happy to stay where he is.

(Emmet Malone is contactable at emalone@irish-times.ie)