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The 42
13 hours ago
- Sport
- The 42
St Patrick's Athletic overcome scare in Estonia to keep European dream alive
Uefa Conference League second qualifying round, second leg Nomme Kalju 2 St Patrick's Athletic 2 St Patrick's Athletic win 3-2 on aggregate ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC'S European dream had been on life support before it was resuscitated in dramatic fashion in the pouring rain of Estonia. From the depths of despair came a thrilling joy courtesy of captain Joe Redmond's equaliser in the 91st minute and Jake Mulraney's winner early into extra time. It was either a flukey overhit cross or sublime piece of initiative by spotting the goalkeeper off his line – either way it was the decisive moment that ensured Stephen Kenny's men avoided a sobering defeat filled with regret. Just like how Nomme Kalju seized the initiative – and the lead – with goals in the moments either side of half-time of normal time, the Saints left the Estonians heartbroken with their response late in the day. As the rain lashed down throughout extra-time surface water began to appear to make it that bit harder to simply control possession and see out the tie. Allied with tired limbs entering the 120th minute it was only when the referee's whistle blew that Pat's fans could turn attention to a third-round qualifier against the loser of Beskitas and Shakhtar Donetsk next week. Advertisement It currently looks like the Turkish giants, managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, will be coming to Dublin as their tie is ongoing and they trail 6-2. Maybe pushing for the third goal was the only way Kenny's men could retain focus given the way in which they switched off to allow Kalje find a way back into contention. The first half was following a similar pattern to the game in Dublin. Pat's had the ball, Kalju were happy to sit deep and close down when required, with Kenny's side unable to penetrate. As it wore on Pat's took their foot off the gas and some of the earlier zip about their passing faded. They didn't need to go and chase another goal at that stage but with the hosts labouring and unable to seize the initiative the opportunity was there to punish them. But Pat's allowed Kalju grow in confidence and they were the ones to make things happen for themselves. Firstly, they drew level two minutes before half-time with a simple move down the left that caught Pat's out. Kristjan Kask beat Redmond for pace and with the centre back out of position the pull back for Ivans Patrikejevs bursting ahead of Barry Baggley into the box was perfect for him to strike first time and beat Joseph Anang low to his right. Kenny didn't hesitate to make a change at the break with Aidan Keena replacing Melia, but more lethargy in defence saw the Estonians go ahead in the tie four minutes into the second half. This time it was a second ball that kept an attack alive after an overhit cross from the right. Ivanov picked it up and with Pat's not set to defend the threat his inswinging cross was met with a powerful header by Mattias Mannilaan. Chris Forrester was brought on for Baggley in response but by the 65th minute goalkeeper Maksim Pavlov only had to make a save from a fierce Keena effort from distance. The striker then had to be replaced by Conor Carty with what looked like a thigh injury just moments later as the night got worse for St Pat's. They were staring defeat in the face until Redmond reacted quickest in the 91st minute to guide a brilliant side-foot shot into the roof of the net through a sea of bodies after Mulraney's free-kick had been parried back towards the penalty spot. Pat's sensed blood in the rain water of Tallinn and three minutes into extra-time the home side's resolve was finally broken when Mulraney was given time and space on the right. He was allowed cut in on his left and he flighted a ball over the head of goalkeeper Maksim Pavlov. All of a sudden there was sweet relief, and a release of emotion for the Saints as they now become the underdogs in the third round. Nomme Kalju: Maksim Pavlov; Daniil Tarassenkov, Uku Korre, Modou Tambedou (captain), Aleksandr Nikolajev; Oleksandr Musolitin (Mihhail Orlov 112), Ivans Patrikejevs, Nikita Ivanov (Pavel Marin 80), Kristjan Kask; Mattias Mannilaan, Guilhereme Smith. St Patrick's Athletic: Joey Anang; Ryan McLaughlin, Joe Redmond (captain), Tom Grivosti, Jason McClelland (Anto Breslin 96); Jake Mulraney (Al-Amin Kazeem 105), Barry Baggley (Chris Forrester 51), Jamie Lennon, Kian Leavy (Brandon Kavanagh 72), Simon Power; Mason Melia (Aidan Keena HT) (Conor Carty 72). Referee: Menelaos Antoniou (Cyprus).
The Irish Sun
13 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Jake Mulraney the extra-time hero as St Patrick's Athletic edge past Nomme Kalju in dramatic Conference League qualifier
ST PAT'S were singing in the rain as Jake Mulraney's goal in extra-time edged them beyond Nomme Kalju and into the next round of the UEFA Conference League. They feared the worst when two goals either side of half-time put the Slovenian club ahead on aggregate in Tallinn. 2 Jake Mulraney scored the winner as St Pat's beat Nomme Kalju Credit: Evaldas Semiotas/Sportsfile 2 Joe Redmond sent the game to extra time with a 90th minute goal Credit: Evaldas Semiotas/Sportsfile However, Joe Redmond spared their blushes with a 90 th minute goal to send the game to extra-time, before Jake Mulraney's cross-cum-shot completed the comeback. Their reward is a date with the loser of Besiktas vs Shaktar Donetsk in the qualifiers . All told, Stephen Kenny's men made Thursday's task far harder for themselves than it needed to be having led on aggregate going into the second leg. Pat's started the game aggressively, with Jake Mulraney – in for the injured Zach Elbouzedi – and Mason Melia testing Maksim Pavlov, while a cross from the former very nearly found the latter at the back stick. Read More on Conference League Kalju had offered little to nothing going the other way, despite needing at least one goal to keep their Conference League dreams alive. And then, out of nothing and with three minutes of the first-half left, the Slovenians were in front. Kristjan Kask made a good run inside Joe Redmond and received down the left. His low cross found Ivans Patrikejeva who, after escaping Barry Baggley, stroked beyond Anang to take the lead on the night and level the tie. Most read in Football Pat's tried to respond instantly, with Mason Melia curling narrowly wide of the left-hand post. next goal just four minutes into the second-half. Watch hilarious moment Stephen Kenny bumped into Alan Reynolds on the street before Dublin derby A cross from the right went all the way across to Nikita Ivanov on the left. He swung a lovely cross into the middle, where Mattias Mannilaan headed home to give the hosts the lead on aggregate. Chris Forrester – who scored the first leg winner at Richmond Park – was immediately brought on in response but it was Aidan Keena who was twice denied by Pavlov. A difficult task was made all the harder when Keena had to be withdrawn injured for Conor Carty with just under 20 minutes to go. With every passing minute, Pat's got more and more desperate. A slick give and go between Forrester and fellow substitute Brandon Kavanagh presented the former with a volley chance that was blocked. The ball broke out to the edge of the box for Ryan McLaughlin, whose effort was thwarted off the line. All the while, they had to be wary of the threat at the other end, with Guilherme Smith forcing a good save from Anang after skipping inside McLaughlin and Jamie Lennon. They finally got the break they needed in injury time when Jake Mulraney was fouled outside the box and took the set piece himself. He drew an unconvincing save from Pavlov and Joe Redmond was there to tuck in the rebound to send the tie to extra time. Rain cascaded down in Tallinn during the interval and, two minutes after the restart, Pat's took retook the aggregate lead. Once again, it came from Mulraney, who cut onto his left and sent a curling effort over Pavlov to complete the comeback. Intentional or no, Pat's had their aggregate lead back. The closest Kalju came to levelling the tie was a late free-kick that skid off the sopping wet surface but was held by Joseph Anang. SUN STAR MAN Simon Power (St Patrick's Athletic) ST PAT'S: Anang 6; McLaughlin 6, Redmond 6, Grivosti 7, McClelland 6 (Breslin 96, ; Baggley 5 (Forrester 51, 7), Lennon 6; Mulraney 8 (Kazeem 106, 6), Leavy 6 (Kavanagh 71, 7), Power 8; Melia 6 (Keena h/t, 6; Carty 71, 6). NOMME KALJU: Pavlov 6; Tarassenkov 5, Korre 5, Tambedou 6, Nikolajev 5; Patrikejeva 6 (Baptista 106, , Musolitin 5 (Orlov 112, 5), Ivanov 5 (Marin 80, 5), Kask 6 (Esono 96, 5); Mannilaan 6, Guilherme Smith 5 (Jabir 87, 5). REFEREE: Menelaos 6
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Climate
- RTÉ News
Conference League second qualifying round second legs: All you need to know
Thursday, 31 July Nomme Kalju v St Patrick's Athletic, Kadriorg Stadium, 5.45pm Shamrock Rovers v St Joseph's, Tallaght Stadium, 8pm WEATHER For Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium, it will be a mostly dry evening on Thursday with lots of sunshine. Highest temperatures between 17 to 21 degrees in moderate westerly winds. Over in Estonia, it will be humid with temperatures of up to 27 degrees, with a mixture of cloudy and sunny spells, punctuated by heavy rainfall. Deja vu for Pat's? It's not that long ago that St Patrick's Athletic earned a narrow home win at Richmond Park despite having chances to secure a more comprehensive advantage before flying out to the Baltics for a second leg. That was earlier this month against Lithuanian outfit Hegelmann when a late Aidan Keena penalty was eventually built on with a 2-0 win on the road. Similarly, last week, Stephen Kenny's side edged past Estonian side Nomme Kalju thanks to a late, late winner by the evergreen Chris Forrester in Inchicore. But given that Pat's were clearly levels above Kalju in general play and the Estonians had two players sent off in the second half, the fact that they are only taking a 1-0 advantage to the Kadriorg Stadium just outside Tallinn is frustrating. Kenny was somewhat sanguine about the position his side are in going into the second leg but sounded an optimistic tone about the Saints' chances of finishing the job and progressing to an extremely daunting Conference League third qualifying round tie against either Shakhtar Donetsk or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Besitkas. "We are disappointed that we couldn't get a second because a second would have a put is in a really strong position," he said after the first leg. "We had a lot of chances to get a second but we couldn't take them. We can't dwell on that even though we are a little frustrated but we'll take the 1-0 victory overall as a good result." Midfielder Romal Palmer is a long-term absentee but losing Zach Elbouzedi to a dislocated shoulder sustained after a foul in the first leg is a blow for Pat's, not just for Thursday's game, with the potential that he faces several weeks on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Pat's have signed Northern Ireland under-21 international Darren Robinson on loan from Derby County this week, with Kenny saying that: "With the injuries to Romal Palmer and Zach Elbouzedi, the timing of Darren's arrival is opportune. We feel he has the overall quality that can help us for the remainder of the season on loan from Derby." Shamrock Rovers sitting pretty as St Joseph's come to Tallaght Unlike St Pat's, Shamrock Rovers are sitting on a very comfy cushion against St Joseph's of Gibraltar after winning the away leg 4-0 last week. Rory Gaffney, Daniel Mandroiu, John McGovern and Jack Byrne delivered the goals, with McGovern's particularly notable as the newly-arrived former Dungannon Swifts and Down GAA man scoring his first goal for the club in his third cameo appearance for the club. With the age profile of the strikers at the club skewing from stalwarts in their mid-30s like Gaffney and Aaron Greene to precocious Michael Noonan who turns 17 on the day of the second leg, McGovern's age profile at 22 is a boost for manager Stephen Bradley, according to former Rovers midfielder Richie Towell. "Now they have someone like McGovern coming in who's a perfect age, in super shape," Towell told this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast. "It looks like he's an absolute match made in heaven for the way Shamrock Rovers play. The Rovers fans will love him already and if he continues to score goals, and especially in Europe, not just the fans but his manager Stephen Bradley will love him as well." Whether McGovern starts or not tonight, Bradley will be able to make changes for the second leg given the four-goal advantage Rovers have over St Joseph's and with an important SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division fixture to come on Sunday evening at Tallaght Stadium against third-placed Derry City as the Hoops look to extend their significant lead at the summit over Bohemians and the Candystripes. But the manager is also mindful of winning the second leg given the importance of UEFA co-efficient points for the club and League of Ireland. And when it comes to Europe, and as a seeded team, the focus will be on sealing the deal against St Joseph's and advancing to a third qualifying round tie where either Ballkani (Kosovo) or Floriana (Malta) await, with the former leading 4-2 after their first leg.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
St Pat's seek to break a club record on Thursday in bid for European progress
Tom Grivosti wants to rewrite the history books at St Patrick's Athletic and earn the club a shot at either Besiktas or Shakhtar Donetsk. The Saints last week equalled their all-time clean sheets record when they recorded a sixth shut-out in a row. They have not conceded since Liam Boyce's winner for Derry City at Richmond Park on June 23, and have kept out Cork City, Bohemians, UCC, Europa Conference League first round opponents Hegelmann twice, and second round foes Nomme Kalju. Another clean sheet on Thursday evening and not only will they break the club record, but they will guarantee themselves a place in the third qualifying round. That's because they lead going into the second leg in Estonia, courtesy of Chris Forrester's 90th minute winner last week in Inchicore. It was no less than Stephen Kenny's side deserved, as they dominated their opponents and finished the game with two extra men. The Estonians will be without suspended pair Rommi Siht and Danyl Mashchenko tomorrow night, after they were red carded within five second-half minutes of each other. Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . Asked about their clean sheets, defender Grivosti said: 'It's brilliant, last year in Europe we had good clean sheets but we were known for how many goals we were scoring. 'Now to equal the club record for clean sheets is an added bonus. If we can do it again on Thursday it's a great achievement for the whole squad. 'Everyone in the squad played a part in that over the six games.' Pat's were successful last week at suffocating Nomme's attacking threat, but they also struggled to make their dominance count on the scoreboard. 'I'm expecting a different game,' Grivosti said of the second-leg. 'They probably felt like they didn't play well. We watched them and they do look like a good team. 'But we know, we've been in this position before where we've won the home leg and we have to go away, that you're going to be under pressure.' That's exactly how their first round tie panned out, with Pat's taking a 1-0 lead to Lithuanian side Hegelmann, where they completed a 3-0 aggregate win. 'I think it's similar, obviously the same result (from the first leg), and we played both home legs well,' said Grivosti, commenting on lessons they can take from the first round. 'But we know the teams are probably going to be better at home and you are probably going to have to soak up pressure, but ultimately we are going away and we want to win the game, so going off two weeks ago, an early goal is massive for us. 'So we would be hoping to do that again.' The Liverpudlian, meanwhile, is refusing to look too far ahead, despite the prospect of a mouthwatering tie against either Besitkas or Shakhtar Donetsk. 'It is an incentive. But no matter who the draw is against, you just want to keep going. We can't really look past this tie, it means nothing if we get knocked out,' he said. 'Obviously we know who we can play in the next round, but we are just focusing on this tie and hopefully we can progress through this one.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
St Patrick's Athletic boss Stephen Kenny hails unlikely full-back duo for European showing
ST PAT'S players joke that, in Ryan McLaughlin, they have a full-back who taught Trent Alexander- Arnold all he knows. Whatever about that, 2 Jason McClelland of St Patrick's Athletic was hailed by his boss Stephen Kenny for his intelligence 2 The Pat's boss also singled out Ryan McLaughlin for his quality in the Euro clash The pair both played their part in He said: 'Ryan and Jason didn't start any of the European games last year and they're in the positions now. They've both performed really well. 'You see the passing touchline to touchline, Ryan to Jason and then Jason played one back. You don't see that much in matches, those touchline to touchline passes from full-backs. 'Ryan has that in his locker. The in-joke in the group is that he showed Trent how to do it.' read more on football Former Northern Ireland international McLaughlin spent five years at Liverpool but did not make a first-team appearance before leaving in 2016. That was the year Alexander-Arnold made his first-team debut for the Reds, with the England star joining Real Madrid this summer after 20 years attached to his hometown club. McClelland is in his sixth season at St Pat's with his outings in the league split almost equally between starts — 61 — and outings as a substitute — 63. And Kenny remarked that, on occasion, he has not even made the bench but shown resilience and perseverance to play his part. Most read in Football The former Ireland boss said: 'He hasn't always actually been in the squad, he's been in the stand in the past, not just with me. 'Certainly he's had to bide his time and he's just having a run of form and his innate football intelligence is incredible. Marcus Rashford back together with ex-fiancee Lucia Loi two years after they split as childhood sweetheart joins him in Barcelona 'And I suppose he's worked on other aspects of his game which weren't his strongest points where you might get exposed as a left-back, your one-on-one defending and your heading and things like that. "He's got much better at those facets of the game and his distribution is very inventive. 'It is a competitive area for us. Anto Breslin has never let us down, he's always been a terrific full-back at the club. 'We probably wouldn't have factored in at the start of the season Jason playing at left-back but that's the way it's worked out and when people take their opportunity you have to reward that.' But Kenny is not prepared to pigeon-hole the former UCD star, particularly because he might be needed in other areas. Kenny said: 'With Zack Eelbouzedi getting injured, we lost a wide player and Jason has played there as well so we've got to look at a lot of stuff. 'But definitely when the game is in front of him he can see great pictures and has the technical ability to execute really intelligent passes and crosses. He's a very intelligent player. 'The physicality maybe wasn't his strongest point but he has adapted to that and really added that to his game to help him play there.' Despite being in and out of the team, Kenny does not believe McClelland was ever close to leaving and praised how he ensured he kept himself in shape. Kenny said: 'I don't think so. He was out of contract last season. I made it clear to him that I wanted him to stay. 'His versatility is important, he's played central midfield this year a good few times and he's played on the left. 'Even when he's not in the team, he's super fit and that's a challenge because players find it hard, when they're not in the team, to stay at the level, they get demoralised. 'He's had that level of professionalism to stay at the level needed whenever needed and that's testament to his character.' Opportunities in midfield came in part, because of Chris Forrester — Thursday's goal hero after he came off the bench — being sidelined for a total of almost two months. And Kenny admitted the fan favourite had work to do to get back into the starting XI. He said: 'He's had a few weeks' training and is coming on so definitely he comes into our thoughts but Jamie Lennon and Barry Baggley have been very good.
