Finn Harps opened up a five-point gap over Shamrock Rovers at the bottom of the table with a 4-1 eircom Premier Division victory at Dalymount Park.
Harps opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Kevin McHugh beat Barry Murphy from 15 yards with a cool finish although, the Hoops equalised less than 30 seconds later when Pat McCourt beat Gavin Cullen with an outstanding 30-yard volley.
But the visitors restored their lead in the 36th minute when Paddy McGrenaghan beat Murphy with a shot that took a deflection off Jason Gavin and they made it 3-1 in the 56th minute when Chris Breen finished from close range.
McCourt was sent off in the 67th minute for a rash challenge on Michael Funston before Harps made it 4-1 when Stephen Capper hammered home a Breen cross.
