D-Day for Stephen Kenny and St Pat's in €700,000 game
The Premier Division outfit, who will be without injured duo Romal Palmer and Sean Hoare for the game, secured a 1-0 first leg victory in Richmond Park.
While pleased with the overall performance in Dublin, Kenny admitted his side's finishing was 'lacking,' and the Saints will hope that issue doesn't come back to haunt them in the return leg.
In the first game, Aidan Keena came off the bench to score an 81st-minute winner from the penalty spot.
But Kenny was unwilling to provide any hints as to whether the Mullingar-born striker had done enough to earn a starting place on this occasion, with stiff competition provided up front by Tottenham-bound teenager Mason Melia.
As for their opponents, the Pat's boss believes Hegelmann will attempt a different approach compared to their cautious display in Dublin.
'We probably didn't see the full extent of them last week. At home, I expect they'll have a higher level of performance. We'll have to more than match that and make sure that we come out on the right side of this tie.
Advertisement
'We feel they have more in their locker than they showed last week, and they'll be more committed from an attacking point of view.
'Sometimes there can be a disparity; teams are more comfortable in their environment, so there can be a difference in performance between home and away. For some teams, you come over and their levels are up. They look like different players. That can happen often. Regardless of that, it's up to us to raise our levels.'
Hegelmann are currently third in the Lithuanian top flight after 19 games and play their home matches on an AstroTurf pitch.
'I haven't seen it yet, but we're not fixating on that,' Kenny said. 'We've trained on AstroTurf in our last two training sessions, so we know what to expect.'
Despite holding the advantage, Kenny said his team would adopt an attacking mindset for the away trip.
Goals and positive results have been hard to come by of late for the Irish side. They had gone into the home leg having scored just twice in their last seven Premier Division matches and failing to win their previous six.
The former Ireland manager insists progress has been made in that frustrating period.
'I think we still have it all to prove. But we have faith in the players. They've shown good application, good attitude and a desire to put our finishing boots on. We have adapted tactically in the last couple of weeks and created more chances. And I feel the goals will definitely come.
'I think our last three home performances, even though we got beaten by Derry, we played to a very high level in that game, and it was a good performance against Bohemians. And we were excellent last week. We had really good play throughout. I liked the shape of the team, I liked the passing options, we'd had a lot of players committed in the attacking third. So we have adapted somewhat to how we were playing during the season, and we've seen benefits of it, but we just missed some fantastic chances, there is no doubt about that.'
The winner of the tie will be guaranteed a minimum €700,000 and, in the next round, will face either Estonian side Nõmme Kalju FC or Albanian outfit FK Partizani, with the former hosting a 1-1 first-leg draw.
While acknowledging the financial aspect of the game is important, Kenny says it's not something the squad ever discuss.
'The other side of it is, we probably have no right to be in Europe, at one stage last year we were third from bottom, we wouldn't have got anything, so the players have worked extremely hard to get up from third bottom to finish third and qualify for Europe, which was a great achievement. Now we have the opportunity to go into round two, we need to look at it positively, be positive in our approach, rather than worry about the consequences of not doing it, as we may not have been in Europe at all.'
The conditions may not be ideal, with Kenny citing talk of potential thunderstorms during the game, while the match is set to be played in front of a small home crowd and a sizeable contingent of travelling support.
'I am not sure what to expect in that regard,' the Dubliner added. 'Our motivation is high; we must always have those levels of concentration. Sometimes, in an eerie atmosphere, there can be lapses, as opposed to a high-octane, adrenaline-filled occasion.
'The travelling supporters were a big help in Vaduz [for the Uefa Conference League tie] last year, in particular, in what was a tough away game. So a similar support can help again — if it is a tight ground, we will hear them.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


RTÉ News
16 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Joe Schmidt hits out at late TMO decision
Australia coach Joe Schmidt said match officials had failed to uphold player safety and hit out at a late clear-out decision that ensured the Lions clinched a series-sealing victory on Saturday. Full-back Hugo Keenan's last-minute try put the Lions 29-26 up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but the Wallabies players cried foul after Jac Morgan cleared out Carlo Tizzano in the build-up. After a lengthy pause as the TV match official assessed multiple angles of the incident, the try was allowed to stand, giving the Lions victory and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Citing rugby's Law 9.20, which says head contact and clear-outs around the neck should be penalised, an incensed Schmidt said the officials had got the decision wrong, although opposite number Andy Farrell disagreed. "Because they're human, match officials make errors," the former Irish head coach said at the post-match press conference. "We felt it was a decision that doesn't really live up to the big player safety push that they're (World Rugby) talking about. "You cannot hit someone shoulders. But that's what we've seen and we've watched a number of replays from different angles so it is what it is and we just have to accept it." Wallabies captain Harry Wilson was also convinced his team were hard done by. "Obviously I saw shoulder to the neck. Carlo was pretty sore about it," he said. Schmidt said he was proud of his players but gutted by the final result after the Wallabies had taken a 23-5 lead near the half-hour mark. While the Wallabies were bitterly disappointed that the clear-out decision had gone against them, they did not need to use it as motivation for the dead rubber in Sydney next Saturday. "You can't get more motivated than what the players showed tonight," he added. "You've got to keep resolve and keep going forward. We're not going to wallow in self-pity."


Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
'Human error' - Schmidt critical of late refereeing decision that cost Wallabies
Joe Schmidt launched an attack on referee Andrea Piardi following Australia's second Test loss to the British & Irish Lions as the tourists put the 2025 series beyond their hosts with a game to spare. Hugo Keenan's try with only 20 seconds left on the clock gave his side a famous 29-26 victory in front of 90,307 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a record attendance for a Lions Test match. Yet the Irish full-back's score had to withstand a TMO review of a suspected dangerous clear out by Jac Morgan on opposing replacement back-rower Carlo Tizzano as the Australian was attempting a jackal over the ball. Morgan cleaned out Tizzano, whose head, neck and back were exposed to the Lions player, with the Wallaby then clutching his head and falling backwards to the ground. Video replays were inconclusive as to which part of Tizzano was struck and Piardi stuck to his original decision to award the try. Angry Wallabies boss Schmidt cited rugby's law 9.20b: 'A player must not make contact with an opponent above the line of the shoulders. Sanction: Penalty. 'I think everyone can make their own decision on that. You just have to read law 9.20 and you just have to listen to the description from the referee and then watch the vision when two players are described as arriving at the same time. Just watch the footage.' Read More Keenan delivers at the death to secure series glory for the British & Irish Lions in Australia Asked how a referee and officials could get such a decision wrong, as the Australia head coach suggested, Schmidt replied: 'Because they are human. Players make errors. Match officials make errors. 'Our perspective is we felt it was a decision that doesn't really live up to the big player safety push that they are talking about. You cannot hit someone above the levels of the shoulders and there's no bind with the left arm, his hand is on the ground. That's what we have seen. We have watched a number of replays from different angles so it is what it is. We just have to accept it.' Schmidt added it was 'a tough one to take' but his opposite number, Lions head coach Andy Farrell understandably saw the incident differently. 'I thought it was a brilliant clear-out. It depends which side of the fence you come from. I can understand people's opinions. I thought Jac was brilliant when he came on and so were the rest of the bench. 'I thought it was a good clear out (watching it) live. I couldn't understand what they were going back for. They seem to go back for absolutely everything these days, don't they? I'm so pleased that the referee held his nerve. The right decision in my opinion. 'Honestly, sheer joy. What a box to be in. The coaches were through the roof, as you could imagine. Something that I'll stick in my mind for the rest of my life.' Lions fly-half Finn Russell saw the Morgan clearout at close hand and said the TMO review had not worried him. 'No, not at all. I think when you saw it back and their boy is over the ball and Jac has cleared him out. It's a hard clear-out and that's all it is. I think he obviously ops up holding his head as if it's illegal, which it wasn't. 'They were trying to get anything at that point. I think that was a brilliant clear-out, pretty much a textbook clear-out. When he's gone in over the ball Jac has hit him hard, and that's how it is.' Russell suggested Tizzano's reaction had prompted the review by New Zealand TMO Richard Kelly. 'I was just outside the ruck and saw the great clear-out that it was. I think when Tizzano goes down holding his head it was obviously going to be questioned but I think when you saw it back it was just a textbook clear-out and a brilliant clear-out from Jac. 'Tizzano is over the ball, which is good play from him, but I think Jac just cleared him out really well. It's almost the aggression that he cleared him out with that's what the question mark was almost, which should be a question mark in rugby. 'He obviously holds his head and tried to get a penalty from it, but no, I think it was a brilliant clear-out.' Schmidt also questioned the legality of Dan Sheehan's first-half try when the Lions hooker tapped a penalty and dove over two Australian defenders to score. 'I think one of the things is that World Rugby are trying to make sure that we are tackling lower and so we had two tacklers going in to tackle low and he dived and scored. 'I can see according to the law how can that just be diving and scoring. It is illegal to jump the tackle, but he dived over. What it now challenges World Rugby to do is that if we have two guys going in low and a guy dives over that he is pretty much head first so what do we do to stop him scoring apart from stopping his head? 'There's not much else you can do. I feel for the players because they get backed into a corner around head contact and it is such a taboo subject and we're trying to make the game safer. 'In contrast you have got Dan diving over to score and you have got in all the laws it is head or neck contact. You have got a contrast there that I guess we will look back at and ask some questions on.'


Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Australia head coach Joe Schmidt unhappy at match officials over Jac Morgan clearout
Australia coach Joe Schmidt said match officials had failed to uphold player safety and hit out at a late clearout decision that ensured the British and Irish Lions clinched a series-sealing victory on Saturday. Fullback Hugo Keenan's last-minute try put the Lions 29-26 up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but the Wallabies players cried foul after Jac Morgan cleared out Carlo Tizzano in the build-up. After a lengthy pause as the TV match official assessed multiple angles of the incident, the try was allowed to stand, giving the Lions victory and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Citing rugby's Law 9.20, which says head contact and clearouts around the neck should be penalised, an incensed Schmidt said the officials had got the decision wrong. READ MORE 'Because they're human, match officials make errors,' he said at the post-match press conference. 'We felt it was a decision that doesn't really live up to the big player safety push that they're [World Rugby] talking about. 'You cannot hit someone above ... the shoulders. But that's what we've seen and we've watched a number of replays from different angles so it is what it is and we just have to accept it.' Wallabies captain Harry Wilson was also convinced his team were hard done by. 'Obviously I saw shoulder to the neck. Carlo was pretty sore about it,' he said. Lions coach Andy Farrell had a different view. 'I thought it was a brilliant clearout,' he said. 'Honestly, it depends which side of the fence you come from, I would have thought. 'I can understand people's opinions, but I thought Jac was brilliant when he came on – and so were the rest of the bench.' Schmidt said he was proud of his players but gutted by the final result after the Wallabies had taken a 23-5 lead near the half-hour mark. While the Wallabies were bitterly disappointed that the clearout decision had gone against them, they did not need to use it as motivation for the dead rubber in Sydney next Saturday. 'You can't get more motivated than what the players showed tonight,' he added. 'You've got to keep resolve and keep going forward. We're not going to wallow in self-pity.'