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Stephen Kenny ‘proud of the effort' as St Pat's crash out of Conference League despite spirited comeback vs Besiktas
They were on their way to a famous win
BESIKTAS 3(7)-2(3) ST PAT'S Stephen Kenny 'proud of the effort' as St Pat's crash out of Conference League despite spirited comeback vs Besiktas
SPIRITED St Pat's gave Besiktas a battle last night in Istanbul but it was not to be in terms of European progression.
The Saints led 2-0 just before the break thanks to goals from Conor Carty and Ryan McLaughlin.
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St Patrick's Athletic were knocked out of the Conference League by Besiktas
Credit: Emre Oktay/Sportsfile
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They were denied a famous win in Turkey after going 2-0 up
Credit: Emre Oktay/Sportsfile
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But the Turks responded through Demir Ege Tiknaz, Tammy Abraham and sub Joao Mario to win and go through 7-3 on aggregate.
Saints boss Stephen Kenny said: 'We're disappointed to lose.
'We felt we could have won the game at 2-0 up but I'm very proud of the effort they gave.'
Trailing 4-1 from last week's first leg, Kenny made changes with Sunday's FAI Cup clash with Shelbourne in mind.
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Jamie Lennon, Mason Melia, Chris Forrester and Simon Power dropped out.
But his makeshift side took the lead inside two minutes from a Carty penalty after VAR ruled that Jake Mulraney's cross was handled in the area by Gabriel Paulista.
Thirty minutes later, Barry Baggley sent a free-kick into the box where it was met by Carty.
The former Bolton man hooked the ball to Joe Redmond and his knockdown found McLaughlin, who doubled Saints' lead.
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Besiktas pulled one back on 43 minutes with Tiknaz scoring thanks to a wicked deflection off Saints skipper Redmond.
The hosts levelled on the night four minutes after the break when Abraham netted following Emirhan Topcu's cross.
League of Ireland mascots compete in charity race in Naas
While Besiktas dominated the second half, the Saints were still a threat with sub Lennon heading over. But the visitors were undone in the 79th minute when former West Ham man Mario scored.
SUN STAR MAN
Tammy Abraham (Besiktas)
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BESIKTAS: Gunok 6; Svensson 7, Paulista 5, Topcu 6, Jurasek 5 (Uduokhai h-t, 6); Tiknaz 7, Kokcu 6 (Mario 64, 7); Arroyo 5 (Muci h-t, 6), Rafa Silva 7, Rashica 6; Abraham 7 (Hekimoglu 64, 3 (Yilmaz 67, 6)).
ST PAT'S: Anang 6; Sjoberg 6, McLaughlin 7 (Grivosti 78, 6), Redmond 7, Turner 6, Kazeem 6; Baggley 7, Robinson 7 (Lennon 56, 6); Leavy 7 (Power 56, 6), Mulraney 7 (Forrester 67, 6); Carty 8 (Melia 56, 6).
REFEREE: A Nobre (Portugal) 5.
