St Pat’s captain Joe Redmond will be hoping for victory in the second leg
Pat’s European campaign kicks off with victory
ST PATRICK’S Athletic kicked off their European campaign with a victory last Thursday night with a 1-0 victory over Hegelmann Litauen at Richmond Park.
The match was another shining example of Pats issues in front of goal this season. The Saints dominated the possession and clearly were the superior side in every aspect yet they found themselves unable to produce that killer finishing touch.
Admittedly Litauen defended well with centre back Vilius Armalas in particular having a good game and shutting down the attacks of the home side, alongside the defending of Litauen and the poor finishing from St Pats was the referee who perhaps could have awarded several decisions in favour of Pats throughout the first and second half.
Simon Power threatened again going down the left hand side and could certainly be considered one of Pat’s best players in recent weeks.
He linked well with the likes of Brandon Kavanagh and Barry Baggely but still could not unlock the Lithuanian defence.
Jay McClelland performed well in a full back role highlighting his defensive utility.
It would not be until the 73rd minute when Stephen Kenny decided to make some changes into the game.
Chris Forrester, Zach Elbouzedi and most importantly Aidan Keena all entered the fray with Pats formation changing to accommodate both Keena and Melia up front.
The Saints launched wave after wave of continuous pressure towards the opponents goal acutely aware that another scoreless draw would be an unacceptable result.
As the clock ticked on and it appeared that the task may be beyond them, Mason Melia was brought down in the area in the 81st minute. The referee pointed to the spot. Up stepped Keena and slotted away the penalty to award Pats with what would be the winning goal.
Overall Pats will be overjoyed with the result however with their level of dominance in the game may be disappointed that they will not be heading into the away leg with a greater lead to defend.
Ultimately the onus was on the attack to put them into the front and now the responsibility lies with the likes of captain and Kilnamanagh native Joe Redmond at the back to defend their lead and ensure they progress to the next round.
Stephen Kenny is under no illusions as to how important the game next Thursday will be.
“ I think we more than deserved it, and our performances at home over the last couple of weeks have been very good against Derry, Bohemians and the second half against Shelbourne. We know we face a difficult game in Lithuania and we have to brace ourselves for that.
We know it’s a difficult venue and they will be better at home but we do believe that we can score over there and we have to go and try to win the game over there.”
