St Pat's undone by stunning four-goal first-half showing by Solskjaer's Besiktas

The 42

a day ago

St Patrick's Athletic 1
Besiktas 4
Conference League third round qualifier first leg
ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC'S second-half fightback means this first leg Conference League qualifier can be remembered as merely chastening rather than historic.
They trailed 4-0 at half-time amid a brutal show of strength by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Besiktas, but Stephen Kenny's half-time rejig gave Pat's renewed stability and allowed them at least claw a single goal back through Simon Power, meaning they venture to Istanbul for next week's second leg with a tad less trepidation.
Solskjaer arrived to this tie under considerable pressure, having flamed out of the Europa League qualifiers 6-2 on aggregate to Shakhtar Donetsk, but Pat's hopes that they would run into an dispirited, sundered opponent not playing for their manager were not realised. Instead Besiktas were unnervingly motivated from the start.
So if this is Ole at the wheel, then during the first half it felt like he was at one of those breaking wheels they used for torture in the Middle Ages. The first 45 minutes were, to use a phrase rarely heard by the Bosphorus, an unmerciful scutching.
Kenny's half-time changes were extensive – two players and his formation – and Pat's were much better after the break, which gives them a glimmer of hope going into next week's second leg and a larger regret at not having started this way.
Pats' warning signs were perhaps evident in Solskajer's exquisite calm from the start. He genially shook hands and grinned for most of the pre-game pageantry, and where Stephen Kenny stood on the touchline – sometimes aghast, sometimes cajoling – throughout, Solskjaer remained seated comfortably in his chair, looking like a guest on Graham Norton's couch.
Even when Tammy Abraham stood over a penalty three minutes before half-time, Solskjaer asked his physio to move the bag occluding his view rather than go to the hassle of standing. That said, it was 3-0 to Besiktas at that stage, quickly going on 4-0.
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The pace and whirr of Besiktas' passing and movement befuddled Pat's from the off. Abraham led the line with Portuguese winger Rafa Silva playing centrally as a No.10, flanked by another Portuguese international Joao Mario to the left and Albanian international Ernest Muci to the right.
Kenny didn't obviously compromise on shape, with Chris Forrester returning to the starting line-up to play with Kian Leavy and ahead of Jamie Lennon in a midfield trio. Poor Lennon had the equivalent experience of being the only bouncer on the door at Coppers on All-Ireland final night.
The first Besiktas goal came after only seven minutes, albeit with a dollop of bad Pat's fortune. Besiktas broke quickly down their right flank and pulled the ball in-field for Silva, whose clever back-heel flick found Joao Mario, whose shot from outside the box flicked off Joe Redmond's boot and past Joseph Anang.
It was 2-0 seven minutes later, with the Pat's left wing carved up again. Norwegian international right-back Jonas Svensson was found in too much space by the endline, nd his cross was palmed by Anang right into the path of Abraham, who couldn't miss from close range.
Besiktas then gathered for a quick tactical debrief from Solskjaer, who briefly deigned to stand. Pat's, curiously, didn't gather for their own emergency conclave. The third arrived within five minutes: a Besiktas centre-half punched the ball through the Pat's midfield into Joao Mario's feet, whose Silva-style backheel flick around the corner found Abraham. The hapless Tom Grivosti – hooked at half-time – could either jump on Abraham or stand off and hold the line: he briefly did the latter before belatedly deciding to do the former. The worst of all possible worlds: Abraham shucked him off like lint on his coat and then dinked the ball deftly over Anang.
Pat's finally gained some kind of foothold after that, and had a goal chalked off from a corner for an earlier foul by Redmond. It was a tenuous hold, though, and owed more to Besiktas' brief grant of respite. Four minutes before the break, Muci went down in the box screaming for a penalty: the referee was unmoved but pointed to the spot moments later when Abraham went to ground following fairly meagre contact from Lennon. Abraham endured a long VAR wait before sending Anang the wrong way.
Kenny ripped it all up. Off went Grivosti and Jake Mulraney and on came Luke Turner and Axel Sjoberg, as Kenny switched to a system that looked a lot more like a back five out of possession. Solskjaer's half-time surgery was more elective, swapping out right-back Svensson for Tayfur Bingol, who within minutes was caught under a long ball by Jason McLelland intended for Simon Power, who skated away and slammed the ball in at the near post.
Suddenly Solskjaer was standing, sharply admonishing his new right-back. Pat's, newly emboldened, dragged some noise from their supporters and attacked with sudden vigour, with Melia denied from close range by a fine Mert Gunok save.
Solskjaer in second-half pose. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Power continued to torment Bingol, and he dovetailed well with Melia, who gave a glimpse into his all-round talents when he dropped deep to instantly pop the ball behind Bingol for Power, who sprinted clear but saw his pull-back to the top of the box fluffed by Turner.
By this point Solskjaer was leaping up and down in agitation, and he was further irked when a clever Pat's set piece routine set Forrester into space in the box, which forced another save from Gunok.
Pat's, however, could not force a second goal, and late on Redmond had to steer the ball away from his goal-line after Anang saved impressively from substitute Keny Arroyo.
Thus Pat's had to be content with a second-half that scrubbed away some of the first-half feeling, if not the conclusiveness of the scoreline.
St Patrick's Athletic: Joseph Anang; Ryan McLaughlin, Joe Redmond (Captain), Tom Griovsti (Axel Sjoberg, HT), Jason McClelland; Jamie Lennon, Chris Forrester (Barry Baggley, 81′), Kian Leavy (Conor Carty, 82′); Jake Mulraney (Luke Turner, HT), Mason Melia (Brandon Kavanagh, 88′), Simon Power
Besiktas: Mert Gunok; Jonas Svensson (Tayfur Bingol, HT), Gabriel Paulista, Emirhan Topçu, David Jurasek; Demir Ege Tıknaz, Orkun Kökçü; Ernest Muci (Keny Arroyo, 58′), Joao Mario, Rafa Silva; Tammy Abraham
Referee: David Smajc (Slovenia)
Attendance: 7,821