Gareth O'Connor's 74th-minute rocket means St Patrick's Athletic embark on their Russian adventure on a high after a solid win over a disappointing Dundalk.

The visitors should have been in front within 30 seconds when Chris Turner sprung the Saints' offside trap to put Alex Williams clear of the last defender. But the man with four goals in his four starts for the club couldn't find a way past Gary Rogers, who stayed big and saved well.

It was a false dawn for the vocal Lilywhite fans at Richmond Park as Sean Connor's men wouldn't create another chance for the rest of the match as Pat's took control of possession.

They had all of the ball but very little penetration and were limited to efforts from outside the area for the most part with Damien Lynch, Ryan Guy and O'Connor all trying their luck.

Striker Glenn Fitzpatrick had their best chances, the first coming after 28 minutes when Guy challenged Simon Kelly for a Bobby Ryan cross and his header under pressure fell to the unmarked Fitzpatrick who fired over from 10 yards.

He was given another chance when Jason Gavin scampered down the right wing and found the former Shelbourne man free with a pin-point cross but, instead of shooting, Fitzpatrick laid the ball off to no one in particular and the chance was gone.

The Saints upped the tempo after the break, but despite a number of free-kicks and corners in good areas, they couldn't make the breakthrough, Guy going the closest with a header from a Gary Dempsey cross that went wide.

Dundalk were showing little sign of scoring as Connor introduced Darren Mansaram in an effort to spark some life into his attack.

But as the match looked increasingly like it was heading for a dull nil-all draw, a moment of real quality lit up Inchicore in the 74th minute. O'Connor allowed Ryan's pass run across him before finding the top corner with a rising drive from the edge of the box.

Next Fixture

Waterford / April 19th @ 7:45pm
Competition: League
Venue: Richmond Park
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Team	Pld	Pts
Shelbourne	10	21
Derry City	10	16
Shamrock Rovers	9	15
St Patrick's Athletic	10	14
Bohemian FC	9	13
Sligo Rovers	9	12
Waterford FC	10	12
Galway United FC	9	11
Drogheda United	9	8
Dundalk	9	4