Premier Division: St Patrick’s Athletic 0 Waterford 2 (Voilås 55, Mahon 76)St Patrick’s Athletic’s title aspirations are fading away as Waterford edged clear of the relegation zone with a fully deserved victory at Richmond Park. The second Waterford goal confirmed what the home support among the 3,965 attendance had feared from half-time. It came from the head of John Mahon and an eighth assist of the season by Portuguese defender Benny Couto, but St Pat’s goalkeeper Joey Anang appeared at fault in a crowded area. St Pat’s failed to create as many chances as Waterford in the first-half despite controlling 75 per cent of possession. The spark they need to catch leaders Shamrock Rovers was missing from their play all night. Graham Coughlan’s side came to Inchicore unbeaten in nine games since June 19th. They are not out of relegation trouble yet, but Tommy Lonergan and Padraig Amond have scored 23 goals between them. A few more from the strikers should steer them to safety. Evan McLaughlin’s miss on 31 minutes will vex Coughlan, but by the end, the Waterford crowd were all that could be heard around Dublin 8.St Patrick's Athletic's Zack Elbouzedi in action against Waterford's Kevin Long. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho McLaughlin should have punished St Pat’s for their inability to make use of a stream of attacks down the left wing as Luke Turner continually overlapped Anthony Breslin. Turner drew a one-handed save from Waterford goalkeeper Stephen McMullan, while Darragh Nugent failed to generate any power in a header from Breslin’s cross. Besides Anthony Olusanya’s speculative effort, Stephen Kenny’s men lacked creativity, especially from Chris Forrester and Aidan Keena who kept showing for ball without ever picking the killer pass. Across town at Dalymount Park, Bohemians beat Sligo Rovers 3-0 after goals from Dawson Devoy, Douglas James-Taylor and Jordan Flores, pulling them level with St Pat’s on 50 points, four adrift of Shamrock Rovers. Rovers, idle until Sunday’s match against Derry City at the Brandywell, were the happiest side after Friday’s action. As Bohs heaped misery on the bottom team in the division, St Pat’s struggled to rise to the occasion. Three points would have reduced Rovers’ lead to one, heaping pressure on the defending champions. Waterford should have taken the lead 15 seconds into the second-half when Jørgen Voilås let Jordan Houston’s pass go through his legs, only for Lonergan to shoot straight at Anang. Waterford did put themselves ahead 10 minutes later, when Zach Elbouzedi proved he is more winger than wing back after allowing Lonergan to send a low ball into the box for Voilås to finish. Kenny reacted by switching Elbouzedi to the left and replacing Breslin with James Brown. The former Republic of Ireland manager also gave the crowd another glimpse of 17-year-old midfielder Ryan Sheridan, who wasted no time shooting into a thicket of Waterford bodies. St Pat’s piled forward, with Sheridan’s clever run creating space for Elbouzedi to pick out Ryan Edmondson, who teed up Turner only for Mahon to make a heroic block. Amond and Lonergan threatened to kill the game until Mahon’s goal forced St Pat’s into some wild attacks that resulted in Edmondson and Sheridan both missing the target late on. St Pat’s switch attention to the FAI Cup, facing Bohs next weekend, but by the time Rovers come to Richmond Park on September 11th, their lead at the top could be extended to 10 points. ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Anang; Redmond, Hoare, Turner (McClelland 78); Elbouzedi, Forrester (Rooney 78), Lennon, Nugent (Sheridan 60), Breslin (Brown 60); Keena (Edmondson 65), Olusanya. WATERFORD: McMullen, Houston (Cain 78), Mahon, Long, Couto; Voilas, Mawene (McMenamy 88), Noonan, McLaughlin (Heeney 88); Lonergan, Amond. Referee: P McLaughlin.