Monaghan United...0 St Patrick's Athletic...4: St Patrick's Athletic were never stretched in a comfortable win over bottom-of-the-table Monaghan United at Century Homes Park yesterday. Their task was made easy by Monaghan's well-known vulnerability from corner kicks.

It was a corner on the left wing that produced the St Pat's opener in the fifth minute. Mbazi Livingstone swung a corner from the left underneath the Monaghan crossbar and Ger McCarthy got the touch to put it to the net.

Again it was from a corner that St Pat's got the second in the 23rd minute. And again it was Livingstone's corner from the left, headed in by Colm Foley.

Up to this stage there was little between the teams territorially, but in the 40th minute, St Pat's put the result beyond doubt when McCarthy outpaced the Monaghan defenders to a long ball up the middle and ran on to beat home goalkeeper John Brown.

The second half was a dull affair, the visitors never being forced to put their foot on the pedal. There were only two incidents of note: when substitute Philip Hughes raced clear of the defence to score in the 86th minute and in the 75th minute when McCarthy got clear with a good chance of completing his hat-trick but he shot high over the bar.

MONAGHAN UNITED: Brown; J Murphy, McDonnell, White, Scully, Shiels, King, Lester, McKenna, Field, S Murphy, Subs: McCarville and Myer for Scully and Shiels (64 mins). Fitzpatrick for J Murphy (69 mins).

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: S Kelly; Burke, Crolly, Foley, McGuire, Osam, Marney, Griffin, Livingstone, McCarthy, Russell. Subs: Hughes for Livingstone (57 mins); Douglas for Marney (80 mins); L Kelly for Russell (84 mins).

Referee: D McKeon (Dublin).