NATIONAL LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION: St Patrick's Ath 2 UCD 1:A BRACE of headed goals from towering defender Shane Guthrie saw St Patrick's battle back to the top of the table through a constant downpour in front of 1,174 fans at Richmond Park.

With the rain spilling down since the late afternoon, the pitch lent itself to a fast-flowing game, with St Patrick’s almost snatching the lead in the opening minutes.

Brian Cash slipped Stuart Byrne in on goal but the striker may well blame the greasy surface for his slicing his effort well wide with only Billy Brennan to beat.

Brennan was at fault when St Patrick’s did deservedly take the lead on 17 minutes. The goalkeeper completely missed Brian Cash’s corner and Guthrie’s diving header found the net for his second goal of the season.

College hit back to level within six minutes. St Patrick’s right-back Derek Pender initially did well to block a shot from Graham Rusk. But the ball broke for Chris Mulhall who side-footed past Gary Rogers.

That gave College confidence and they had the better chances before the interval, with Ciarán Kilduff and Rusk heading wide while defender Andy Boyle headed a Paul Corry free-kick straight at Rogers.

St Patrick’s dominated early in the second half but didn’t manage to score again until the 80th minute. A corner from the right, this time from Ryan Guy, wasn’t dealt with by the UCD defence, and, following a scramble, Guthrie pounced once more to head home from close range.

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Rogers; Pender, Guthrie, Kenna, Lynch; Cash (Faherty, 77 mins), Mulcahy (McAllister, 60 mins), S Byrne, D Doyle; Guy, P Byrne (North, 88 mins).

UCD: Brennan; Shortall (Harding, 52 mins; Creevy, 71 mins), E McMillan, Boyle, Nangle; Wilson, Corry, OConnor, Rusk; Mulhall (Ward, 61mins), Kilduff.

Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin).