Conference League qualifiers: St Pat's suffer early Besiktas barrage in Tallaght as Shamrock Rovers contain Ballkani
St Patrick's Athletic take on the might of Turkish side Besiktas, managed by Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, while in Kosovo, Shamrock Rovers face Ballkani in tonight's Uefa Conference League third qualifying round first legs.
Stephen Kenny's Saints will be up against a stellar Besiktas side at a packed Tallaght Stadium, while Rovers will be aiming to keep their tie alive for next week's second leg at home.
Rovers kick-off at 7.30pm Irish time, while St Pat's v Besiktas kicks off at 7.45pm in Tallaght and you can catch all the action here.
Uefa Conference League third qualifying round:
Ballkani 0 - Shamrock Rovers 0 (7.30pm) (Half-time)
St.Patrick's Athletic 0 - Besiktas 4 (7.45pm) (46+1 mins)
one minute ago
St.Patrick's Athletic 0 - Besiktas 4 (43 mins)
GOAL! Abraham is coolness personified from the penalty spot. Despite the antics of Joseph Anang springing around on the goal-line, the 27-year-old marksman keeps his nerve to send the Saints' goalkeeper the wrong way and roll it into the left corner.
3 minutes ago
St.Patrick's Athletic 0 - Besiktas 3 (41 mins)
NO GOAL! St.Pat's thought they had pulled one back for a second there! Simon Power's corner found it's way to Jamie Lennon who poked it to the net. However, the Slovenian arbiter had blown for a foul on Gabriel Paulista by Joe Redmond.
PENALTY! At the other end, Tammy Abraham is fouled by Jamie Lennon just inside the box. He's on for the hattrick don't forget!
7 minutes ago
HALF-TIME: Ballkani 0 - Shamrock Rovers 0
Nothing to separate the sides in southern Kosovo this evening. Aside from a couple of half-chances for Ballkani - Sunday Adetunji's being the pick of the bunch - Rovers will be happy enough with that.
When in possession, Dylan Watts has been dangerous from set-pieces, while Rory Gaffney and Danny Mandroiu have been effective. One would imagine Stephen Bradley would be happy to take a result back to Dublin next week.
13 minutes ago
45' Danny Mandroiu tries an audacious chip over the Ballkani wall from a freekick. Rory Gaffney almost barges his way through a herd of Ballkani bodies, but the Kosovan club clear their lines.
We will have 3 minutes of additional time to play at the end of this first-half.
17 minutes ago
39' OFF THE POST! Just minutes after a Dylan Watts freekick caused chaos in the Ballkani box, the hosts' shot-stopper Adnan Golubovic pulls off a sublime save to deny Dan Cleary from an in-swinging corner. A deft touch directed it onto the base of the post.
Ballkani have just lost their centre-half Ivico Batarelo to muscle injury as Bajram Jashanica replaces him.
20 minutes ago
St.Patrick's Athletic 0 - Besiktas 3 (24 mins)
GOAL! The gulf in class is becoming evident in Tallaght now as Besiktas bag their third goal of the evening inside 25 minutes. It's beautiful, one-touch football from the visitors as Joao Mario flicks Orkun Kokcu's pass around the corner for Tammy Abraham. The former Chelsea player muscles Sam Grivosti out of his way and chips it over Anang.
24 minutes ago
33' CLOSE! Ballkani continue to get joy down the right flank as Dan Cleary clears Geralb Smajli's cross out for a corner. The Kosovan club work the set-piece short to Ardit Deliu on the edge of the box, whose effort whistles past the post. Warning signs.
29 minutes ago
St.Patrick's Athletic 0 - Besiktas 2 (14 mins)
GOAL! A second goal for Besiktas as Ernest Muci threads a wonderful ball through to the marauding full-back Jonas Svensson. The Norwegian lifts his head and crosses centrally where Joseph Anang gets a touch to it, but the ball falls kindly for Tammy Abraham who rifles home into an empty net.
32 minutes ago
26' Decent moment for the Hoops as Darragh Nugent digs out a cross for Rory Gaffney in the box. The 35-year-old marksman can't quite extend his neck muscles to get to it. Chance evaporates.
34 minutes ago
24' Ballkani continue to take the game to Shamrock Rovers so far, but they've yet to create a true goal-scoring opportunity since the low cross from Kryeziu to Adetunji.
35 minutes ago
St.Patrick's Athletic 0 - Besiktas 1 (9 mins)
GOAL! The Turkish side have broken the deadlock in Tallaght and it's a soft goal to concede from a Saints perspective. Ernest Muci was given space to run into on the right before pulling a pass across the edge of the 18-yard-box.
The ball bobbled into the patch of ex-Benfica and West Ham midfielder Joao Mario who found the net with the aid of a deflection.
League of Ireland on Twitter / X
8' | First blood to Beşiktaş. João Mário with the goal for the visitors.STP 0-1 BJK pic.twitter.com/2PlRFk0WjR— League of Ireland (@LeagueofIreland) August 7, 2025
38 minutes ago
St.Patrick's Athletic 0 - Besiktas 0 (6 mins)
St.Pat's have held their own in Tallaght so far. Besiktas just unleashed their first shtike on goal through Jonas Svensson who stung the palms of Joseph Anang, but a foul was given by the Slovenian arbiter for a push in the back of Jason McClelland.
42 minutes ago
15' SAVE! Ed McGinty is tested again with a powerful effort from right-back Geralb Smajli who tried his luck from range. The 26-year-old gets his body behind it and gathers at the second attempt.
A minute later Hoops' skipper Roberto Lopes picks up a yellow card for a hefty challenge.
46 minutes ago
12' CLOSE! Best chance of the game thus far as Almir Kryeziu finds space down the left-hand side of the Hoops rearguard. The Kosovan winger tried to square it for the onrushing Adetunji, but Ed McGinty got a vital touch to redirect the cross.
47 minutes ago
Impressive tifo display from St Pat's fans:
50 minutes ago
John McKenna and his wife Namu Kwon:
'We're the first Rovers supporters in. Officials here super helpful. Wouldn't take money for letting us in.'
51 minutes ago
BESKITAS TEAM NEWS:
There's no shortage of talent at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's disposal as Besiktas roll into town with Mert Gunok getting the nod in goals, while ex-Arsenal centre-half Gabriel Paulista is joined by Jonas Svensson in defence.
Orkun Kokcu slots into the double pivot behind Portuguese internationals Rafa Silva and Joao Mario, while ex-Chelsea marksman Tammy Abraham leads the line.
Former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is one of few noticeable absentees for the Turkish giants:
Beşiktaş JK on Twitter / X
BEŞİKTAŞ XI 🦅⬛⬜ @HondaTR pic.twitter.com/nSloVePJ9A— Beşiktaş JK (@Besiktas) August 7, 2025
52 minutes ago
HERE'S HOW THE SAINTS LINE UP:
With a big challenge against Turkish opposition this evening, Stephen Kenny has made three changes from his side that defeated Waterford 2-0 last Sunday. Joseph Anang remains between the posts, while Ryan McLaughlin and Jason McClelland take up full-back positions.
Sam Grivosti joins captain Joe Redmond in defence, with an unchanged midfield of Forrester, Lennon and Leavy. Up top, Jake Mulraney and Mason Melia are joined by the incoming Simon Power.
Zach Elbouzedi (shoulder) and Romal Palmer are unavailable through injury:
St Patrick's Athletic FC on Twitter / X
Our Saints to face BeşiktaşChris Forrester comes in for Barry Baggley in our only change from last week's win in Estonia A strong bench includes new boys Darren Robinson & Jordon Garrick & Academy teenagers Kian Quigley & Billy Hayes #StPatsFC 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/3hzXzVjRWc— St Patrick's Athletic FC (@stpatsfc) August 7, 2025
52 minutes ago
5' Ballkani have been the dominant force so far, with last season's top-scorer Sunday Adetunji causing some problems with his pace in behind the Hoops defence.
56 minutes ago
1' The first-half gets underway in Kosovo!
The man in the middle with the whistle this evening is Dmytro Panchyshyn who forms an all-Ukrainian refereeing ticket with assistants Oleksii Myronov and Volodymyr Vysotskyi.
It's pretty much the perfect night for football in the town of Suhareka in southern Kosovo. However, the climate is remarkably different for the travelling Hoops players and fans. Temperatures still remain slightly above 22 degrees with little to no breeze and night skies overhead.
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