# 2020 St Patrick's Athletic F.C. season

The 2020 season was St Patrick's Athletic F.C.'s 91st year in existence and was the Supersaint's 69th consecutive season in the top-flight of Irish football. It was the first full season with Stephen O'Donnell as manager, having taken over from Harry Kenny on 31 August 2019. The season was hit by the Coronavirus pandemic after just 4 league games, which resulted in the league being halted from March to July as well as being halved from 36 games to just 18, the League of Ireland Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup were also abandoned in earlier rounds than Pat's had entered into. The season finished with Pat's in 6th place, while they were knocked out of the FAI Cup by Finn Harps in the first round.

## Squad

| No. | Name | Position(s) | Hometown | Date of birth (age) | Previous club | Year signed | Club apps. | Club goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 1 | Brian Maher | GK | Raheny, Dublin | (2000-11-01) 1 November 2000 (age 24) | St Patrick's Athletic Under 17's | 2018 | 5 | 0 |
| 1 | Josh Keeley | GK | Dunboyne, Meath | (2003-05-17) 17 May 2003 (age 21) | St Patrick's Athletic Under 19's | 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Conor Kearns | GK | Templeogue, Dublin | (1998-05-06) 6 May 1998 (age 26) | UCD | 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Brendan Clarke | GK | Inchicore, Dublin | (1985-09-17) 17 September 1985 (age 39) | Limerick | 2018 | 279 | 1 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 2 | Rory Feely | RB/CB | Tramore, Waterford | (1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 (age 28) | Waterford | 2020 | 60 | 3 |
| 3 | Ian Bermingham (Captain) | LB | Ballyfermot, Dublin | (1989-06-16) 16 June 1989 (age 35) | Shamrock Rovers | 2010 | 408 | 15 |
| 5 | Lee Desmond | CB/CDM/LB | Donaghmede, Dublin | (1995-01-22) 22 January 1995 (age 30) | Shelbourne | 2015 | 193 | 1 |
| 12 | Ollie Younger | CB | Skipton, Yorkshire | (1999-11-14) 14 November 1999 (age 25) | Burnley (loan) | 2020 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | Luke McNally | CB | Enfield, Meath | (1999-09-20) 20 September 1999 (age 25) | St Patrick's Athletic Under 19's | 2019 | 19 | 1 |
| 17 | Simon Madden | RB | Tallaght, Dublin | (1988-05-01) 1 May 1988 (age 36) | Shamrock Rovers | 2018 | 73 | 3 |
| 20 | Shane Griffin | LB/LW | Carrigaline, Cork | (1994-09-08) 8 September 1994 (age 30) | Cork City | 2020 | 14 | 0 |
| 24 | David Titov | RB | London, England | (2000-01-05) 5 January 2000 (age 25) | Brentford B | 2020 | 5 | 0 |
| 30 | Paul Cleary | RB/LB/CB | Lucan, Dublin | (1999-02-09) 9 February 1999 (age 26) | Drogheda United | 2018 | 5 | 1 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 4 | Dan Ward | CM | South Shields, Durham | (1997-09-30) 30 September 1997 (age 27) | Spennymoor Town | 2020 | 7 | 0 |
| 6 | Jamie Lennon | CDM/CM | Santry, Dublin | (1998-05-09) 9 May 1998 (age 26) | St Patrick's Athletic Under 19's | 2017 | 86 | 1 |
| 7 | Robbie Benson | CM | Athlone, Westmeath | (1992-05-07) 7 May 1992 (age 32) | Dundalk | 2020 | 17 | 2 |
| 8 | Darragh Markey | CAM | Lucan, Dublin | (1997-05-23) 23 May 1997 (age 27) | St Patrick's Athletic Under 19's | 2015 | 116 | 4 |
| 11 | Dean Clarke | RW/LW/ST/RB | Dundrum, Dublin | (1993-03-29) 29 March 1993 (age 31) | Limerick | 2018 | 66 | 7 |
| 15 | Billy King | RW/LW | Portobello, Edinburgh | (1994-05-12) 12 May 1994 (age 30) | Greenock Morton | 2020 | 14 | 1 |
| 16 | Jason McClelland | RW/LW/CAM | Templeogue, Dublin | (1997-05-03) 3 May 1997 (age 27) | UCD | 2020 | 16 | 0 |
| 19 | Chris Forrester | CAM/LW/CDM | Smithfield, Dublin | (1992-12-17) 17 December 1992 (age 32) | Aberdeen | 2019 | 210 | 47 |
| 22 | James Doona | RW/LW | Inchicore, Dublin | (1998-01-15) 15 January 1998 (age 27) | Shamrock Rovers | 2018 | 47 | 5 |
| 23 | Jordan Gibson | RW/LW/ST | Birmingham, West Midlands | (1998-02-26) 26 February 1998 (age 27) | Bradford City | 2020 | 15 | 2 |
| 34 | Ben McCormack | LW/RW | Harmonstown, Dublin | (2003-04-04) 4 April 2003 (age 21) | St Patrick's Athletic Under 17's | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| 35 | Darragh Burns | RW | Stamullen, Meath | (2002-06-08) 8 June 2002 (age 22) | St Patrick's Athletic Under 19's | 2019 | 8 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 9 | Martin Rennie | ST | Kirkcaldy, Fife | (1994-05-09) 9 May 1994 (age 30) | Montrose | 2020 | 11 | 0 |
| 10 | Ronan Hale | ST/LW | Belfast, Antrim | (1998-09-08) 8 September 1998 (age 26) | Crusaders | 2019 | 12 | 2 |
| 12 | Georgie Kelly | ST | Tooban, Donegal | (1996-11-12) 12 November 1996 (age 28) | Dundalk | 2020 | 13 | 3 |
| 18 | Jake Walker | ST | Clondalkin, Dublin | (2000-08-19) 19 August 2000 (age 24) | St Patrick's Athletic Under 19's | 2017 | 30 | 3 |

### Transfers
#### Pre-season
##### In

| Player | Position | Signed from |
| Jason McClelland | Midfielder | UCD |
| Robbie Benson | Midfielder | Dundalk |
| Rory Feely | Defender | Waterford |
| Conor Kearns | Goalkeeper | UCD |
| Shane Griffin | Defender | Cork City |
| Billy King | Midfielder | Greenock Morton |
| Dan Ward | Midfielder | Spennymoor Town |
| Martin Rennie | Forward | Montrose |
| Ollie Younger | Defender | Burnley (loan) |

##### Out

| Player | Position | Sold to |
| Cian Coleman | Midfielder | Cork City |
| Mikey Drennan | Forward | Evergreen |
| Glen McAuley | Forward | Bohemians |
| Gary Shaw | Forward | Bray Wanderers |
| Conor Clifford | Midfielder | Derry City |
| Rhys McCabe | Midfielder | Brechin City |
| Kevin Toner | Defender | Kilmore Celtic |
| David Webster | Defender | Finn Harps |
| Barry Murphy | Goalkeeper | Retired |
| Ciaran Kelly | Defender | Bohemians |
| Brian Maher | Goalkeeper | Bray Wanderers (loan) |
| Paul Cleary | Defender | Wexford (loan) |

#### Mid-season
##### In

| Player | Position | Signed from |
| Paul Cleary | Defender | Wexford (Returning of loan) |
| Georgie Kelly | Forward | Dundalk (loan) |
| Jordan Gibson | Midfielder | Bradford City |
| David Titov | Defender | Brentford B |

##### Out

| Player | Position | Sold to |
| Ollie Younger | Defender | Burnley (End of loan) |
| Brian Maher | Goalkeeper | Bray Wanderers |
| Dean Clarke | Midfielder | Released |
| Jake Walker | Forward | Cherry Orchard |
| Ronan Hale | Forward | Larne |
| Dan Ward | Midfielder | Gateshead |
| Martin Rennie | Forward | Montrose |

### Squad statistics
#### Appearances, goals and cards

Number in brackets represents (appearances of which were substituted ON). Last updated – 10 November 2020
| No. | Player | SSE Airtricity League | SSE Airtricity League | FAI Cup | FAI Cup | EA Sports Cup | EA Sports Cup | Leinster Senior Cup | Leinster Senior Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | Josh Keeley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Rory Feely | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 1 |
| 3 | Ian Bermingham | 11(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 12(3) | 0 |
| 5 | Lee Desmond | 18(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18(1) | 0 |
| 6 | Jamie Lennon | 16(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17(2) | 0 |
| 7 | Robbie Benson | 16 | 2 | 1(1) | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17(1) | 2 |
| 8 | Darragh Markey | 10(8) | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 11(8) | 0 |
| 12 | Georgie Kelly | 12 | 3 | 1(1) | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13(1) | 3 |
| 14 | Luke McNally | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 1 |
| 15 | Billy King | 14(4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 14(4) | 1 |
| 16 | Jason McClelland | 15(8) | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 16(8) | 0 |
| 17 | Simon Madden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Chris Forrester | 17(2) | 2 | 1(1) | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18(2) | 2 |
| 20 | Shane Griffin | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 0 |
| 22 | James Doona | 7(6) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | — | — | — | — | 8(7) | 0 |
| 23 | Jordan Gibson | 14(2) | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 15(2) | 2 |
| 24 | David Titov | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| 25 | Conor Kearns | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Brendan Clarke | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 0 |
| 30 | Paul Cleary | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Ben McCormack | 2(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2(2) | 0 |
| 35 | Darragh Burns | 6(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6(6) | 0 |
| Players that left during the season ||||||||||||
| 1 | Brian Maher | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Dan Ward | 6(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7(2) | 0 |
| 9 | Martin Rennie | 10(8) | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 11(8) | 0 |
| 10 | Ronan Hale | 3(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3(1) | 1 |
| 11 | Dean Clarke | 4(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4(1) | 0 |
| 12 | Ollie Younger | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | Jake Walker | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1(1) | 0 |

#### Top scorers

Includes all competitive matches. Last updated 10 November 2020
| Number | Name | SSE Airtricity League | FAI Cup | EA Sports Cup | Leinster Senior Cup | Total |
| 12 | Georgie Kelly | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 |
| 23 | Jordan Gibson | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 |
| 7 | Robbie Benson | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 |
| 19 | Chris Forrester | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 |
| 14 | Luke McNally | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 |
| 2 | Rory Feely | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 |
| 15 | Billy King | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 |
| 10 | Ronan Hale | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 |
| N/A | Own goal | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 |

#### Top assists

Includes all competitive matches. Last updated 10 November 2020
| Number | Name | SSE Airtricity League | FAI Cup | EA Sports Cup | Leinster Senior Cup | Total |
| 7 | Robbie Benson | 5 | 0 | — | — | 5 |
| 20 | Shane Griffin | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 |
| 5 | Lee Desmond | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 |
| 16 | Jason McClelland | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 |

#### Top clean sheets

Includes all competitive matches. Last updated 10 November 2020
| Position | Number | Name | SSE Airtricity League | FAI Cup | EA Sports Cup | Leinster Senior Cup | Total |
| GK | 1 | Brian Maher | 0/0 | 0/0 | — | — | 0/0 |
| GK | 1 | Josh Keeley | 0/0 | 0/0 | — | — | 0/0 |
| GK | 25 | Conor Kearns | 0/0 | 0/1 | — | — | 0/1 |
| GK | 26 | Brendan Clarke | 8/18 | 0/0 | — | — | 8/18 |

#### Disciplinary record

Last updated 10 November 2020
| Number | Name | SSE Airtricity League | SSE Airtricity League | FAI Cup | FAI Cup | EA Sports Cup | EA Sports Cup | Leinster Senior Cup | Leinster Senior Cup | Total | Total |
| 2 | Rory Feely | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 1 |
| 6 | Jamie Lennon | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 0 |
| 20 | Shane Griffin | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 1 |
| 19 | Chris Forrester | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| 12 | Georgie Kelly | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | Ollie Younger | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | Darragh Markey | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| 24 | David Titov | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| 23 | Jordan Gibson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | Luke McNally | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | Robbie Benson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Lee Desmond | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | Martin Rennie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Dan Ward | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | Dean Clarke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Ronan Hale | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | 49 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 51 | 3 |

#### Captains

| No. | P | Name | No. games | Notes |
| 7 | MF | Robbie Benson | 9 | Vice Captain |
| 3 | DF | Ian Bermingham | 8 | Captain |
| 19 | MF | Chris Forrester | 2 | |
Last updated: 10 November 2020 Source: Competitive match reports. Competitive matches only Matches started as captain only Country: FIFA nationality; No.: Squad number; P: Position; Name: Player name; No. Games: Number of games started as captain.

## Club
### Coaching staff

* Head coach: Stephen O'Donnell
* Assistant manager: Pat Cregg
* First-team coach: Alan Mathews
* Director of Football: Ger O'Brien
* Coach: Seán O'Connor
* Opposition Analyst: Martin Doyle
* Goalkeeping coach: Pat Jennings
* Strength and Conditioning Coach: Chris Colburn
* Physio: Mark Kenneally
* Physio: Lee Van Haeften
* Physio: Christy O'Neill
* Club Doctor: Dr Matt Corcoran
* Equipment Manager: David McGill
* Under 19s Manager: Jamie Moore
* Under 19s Coach: Sean Doody
* Under 17s Manager: Darragh O'Reilly
* Under 17s Assistant Manager: Sean Gahan
* Under 15s Manager: Seán O'Connor
* Under 15s Coach: Ian Bermingham
* Under 13s Manager: Mark Connolly
* Under 13s Coach: Brendan Clarke
* Under 19s/17s Goalkeeping Coach: Stephen O'Reilly

### Kit

Supplier: Umbro Sponsor(s): MIG Insurance Brokers (Front of Jersey) Manguard Plus (Back of Jersey - Top) Bill Griffin Motors (Back of Jersey - Bottom) Greenisle Hotel (Sleeves of Jersey)
| Home | Away | Third | Pre-season Home | Pre-season Away |
The club released new Home & Away kits for the season, with the 2019 season's away kit being used as the Third kit for the season.
| Type | Shirt | Shorts | Socks | Info |
| Home | Red/White Shoulders | White | Red | Worn 16 times; against Waterford (LOI) (H), Cork City (LOI) (H), Longford Town (FRN) (H), Drogheda United (FRN) (A), Derry City (LOI) (H), Finn Harps (LOI) (H), Finn Harps (FAI) (A), Shamrock Rovers (LOI) (H), Waterford (LOI) (A), Sligo Rovers (LOI) (H), Shelbourne (LOI) (H), Cork City (LOI) (A), Finn Harps (LOI) (A), Dundalk (LOI) (H), Shamrock Rovers (LOI) (A), Bohemians (LOI) (H) |
| Away | Black/Grey Stripes | Black | Black | Worn 4 times; against Sligo Rovers (LOI) (A), Shelbourne (LOI) (A), Dundalk (LOI) (A), Derry City (LOI) (A) |
| Third | White | Red | White | Worn 3 times; against Galway United (FRN) (N), UCD (FRN) (A), Bohemians (LOI) (A) |
| Pre-season Home | Red/White Sleeves | White | Red | Worn 4 times; against Fermoy (FRN) (N), Wexford (FRN) (N), Athlone Town (FRN) (A), Drogheda United (FRN) (H) |
| Pre-season Away | Blue | Blue | Blue | Worn 1 time; against Cobh Ramblers (FRN) (N) |
Key: LOI=League of Ireland Premier Division FAI=FAI Cup EAC=EA Sports Cup LSC=Leinster Senior Cup FRN=Friendly

## Competitions
### League of Ireland
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Shamrock Rovers (C) | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 7 | +37 | 48 | Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Bohemians | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 12 | +11 | 37 | Qualification for Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Dundalk | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 25 | 23 | +2 | 26 | Qualification for Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Sligo Rovers | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 19 | 23 | −4 | 25 | Qualification for Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Waterford | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 22 | −5 | 24 | |
| 6 | St Patrick's Athletic | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 17 | −3 | 21 | |
| 7 | Derry City | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 20 | |
| 8 | Finn Harps | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 24 | −9 | 20 | |
| 9 | Shelbourne (R) | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 22 | −9 | 19 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 10 | Cork City (R) | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 30 | −20 | 11 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |
* ↑ Since the winners of the 2020 FAI Cup (Dundalk) qualified for European competition based on their league position, the final spot awarded to the Cup winner passed to the next best-placed team, i.e. fourth-placed team.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 10 November 2020. Source:

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | L | W | D | L | W | D | L | L | D | D | W | W | L | D | D | L |
| Position | 6 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss

### FAI Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

### EA Sports Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

### Leinster Senior Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

### Friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss