17-07-2025
Stephen Kenny expecting much tougher test for St Patrick's Athletic away from Richmond Park
Stephen Kenny says he is expecting a much tougher test from FC Hegelmann later than St Patrick's Athletic endured last week in the Conference League.
The Super Saints take a 1-0 aggregate lead into this evening's decisive first qualifying round, second leg, but they should have taken more from the first meeting last Thursday.
Mason Melia had some big chances by the banks of the Camac, while Jason McClelland saw an effort come back off the crossbar.
Eventually, substitute Aidan Keena would score the only goal from the penalty spot.
But Kenny says he's not expecting to dominate the Lithuanians in Raudondvaris, like they did in Dublin.
"Hegelmann, we probably didn't see the full extent of them last week," he told RTÉ Sport at the pre-match press conference.
"At home I expect they'll have a higher level of performance. We'll have to more than match that and make sure we come out on the right side of this tie.
"They've more in the locker than they showed last week and they'll be more committed from an attacking point of view.
"It's about our level of performance. We were very good last week but we must look to build on that."
Pat's have been struggling for goals, with just three in around 800 minutes of action, between the League of Ireland, and their European opener last week.
They've been training on astroturf to get used to the feel of an artificial surface, something which they'll have to contend with later at the Raudondvario Stadionas.
And Kenny is hopeful that it's just a matter of time before the team really clicks, and the goals start flowing for the Richmond Park outfit.
"I was very pleased with our performance [last week]. Our passing was accurate, our movement dynamic, we had pace in the team.
"The only thing lacking - we created a lot of chances - was our finishing.
"We missed a lot of chances but we kept going. We believed we could get the goal and eventually we got the penalty.
"We had the opportunity to give ourselves more leeway but we didn't quite take it. It's important to have that lead and now we're set up for a real battle out here.
"We still have it all to prove but I've faith in the players."
Last week, Kenny's four substitutes - Chris Forrester, Kian Leavy, Zack Elbouzedi and Keena - brought a different dynamic to the game, with former Sligo man Keena scoring the all important goal.
And Kenny says he's contemplating changing things up for a game where he expects his side to be a bit more on the back foot.
"We'll need 16 tomorrow out here, it'll be a really tough game," Kenny concluded.
"Mason, even though he didn't score on the night, was really good the way he led the line.
"We have competition for places and that's important. A few of the players who came on made an impact and that's what you're looking for."
