Melia shines as St Pat's ease into second round of Conference League
Mason Melia led St Patrick's Athletic to a facile victory over limited Lithuanian opposition to set up a Conference League second round tie next week.
Saints led 1-0 from the first leg in Dublin but the improved Hegelmann side Stephen Kenny predicted his team would face didn't materialise as the hosts suffered a meek home loss in Kaunas.
Their European experience was confined to a 5-0 crushing by Macedonian opponents and Pat's could easily have matched that rout over the 180 minutes.
A team owned by a freight company was easily sent packing in a primitive stadium dominated by visiting supporters.
Melia is on his way to Tottenham Hotspur next January for a transfer fee worth an initial €1.9m to Saints and he'll be central to generating revenue through this European run.
Progression through the opening round spikes to €700,000 the prize-money guaranteed for owner Garrett Kelleher.
It will enter the seven-figure bracket should they overcome the winner of tonight's tie between Estonians Nõmme Kalju and FK Partizani from Albania in the next round to secure a berth in the third qualifying stage.
Having got the nod to spearhead the attack ahead of last week's match-winner Aidan Keena, Melia took just six minutes to open the scoring in the return leg.
Jay McClelland worked the opening by dashing into the box from the left, receiving Kian Leavy's square pass on the run, and when his low shot was parried by Vincentas Šarkauskas, Melia was first to the rebound to tap home.
Joseph Anang in the Saints goal was rarely worked by the Lithuanians. While their side was composed of several nationalities, there was little international experience among them bar the lowly Lithuanian team.
Brazilian Léo Ribeiro fired a warning early in the second half by angling a shot but when his threaded pass failed to find Cameroonian Abdel Kader Njoya ghosting into the box, it was soon punished.
Melia triggered the immediate response on 56 minutes, driving at the defence before freeing Kian Leavy, who took one touch and rifled a rising shot into the roof of the net.
Routine stuff for Saints who will find the going tougher as they work into the competition, starting next Thursday back at Richmond Park.
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