Saints Glorious European Adventure Continues Apace
For only the third time in their illustrious history, St. Patrick’s Athletic have made it into the Play-Off Round of a major European football competition. Today (Thursday 22nd August), they face top Turkish side, Istanbul Basaksehir FK, in the Play-Off Round (Qualifying Round 4) of the UEFA Europa Conference League at Tallaght Stadium (kick-off 7.45 pm).
The Saints made it to this stage of European competition, twice before, in 2008 when they lost to Hertha Berlin (UEFA Cup) and in 2009 when they were defeated by Steaua Bucharest (UEFA Europa League).
St. Pat’s come into this match, after securing a superb 2-0 aggregate win against top Azerbaijani side, Sabah FK (Qualifying Round 3). Zack Elbouzedi scored the away winner, last Thursday (1-0), with Romal Palmer bagging the only goal in the first leg victory in Tallaght, the previous Thursday. This incredible feat sent the Saints through to the fourth round, ony one tie away from the UEFA Europa Conference League group stages, for which they are aiming to qualify for the first time in the club’s history.
In the previous round (Qualifying Round 2), Pat’s defeated Liechenstein’s FC Vaduz, on a hard-earned 5-3 aggregate scoreline. A Jake Mulraney double and a Joe Redmond strike, secured an impressive 3-1 win at Richmond Park, handing them a two-goal advantage for the away leg. A nervy 2-2 draw in the second leg, with goals from both Elbouzedi and Palmer, earned the Saints a coveted place in the next round.
Jake Mulraney. Romal Palmer and Zack Elbouzedia are all equal on two European goals apiece, joint fourth place in the all-time list for the club. Meanwhile, Christy Fagan occupies the top spot on the list with six goals.
The Saints’ opposition today, Istanbul Basaksehir FK, is one of eight Super Liga clubs based in the Turkish capital, Istanbul. They won their first top flight title in the 2019-20 season. They are only the sixth side in the competition’s history to win their domestic league title and the fourth club from Istanbul to do so.
They demolished La Fiorita of San Marino 10-1 on aggregate and beat Iberia 1999 of Georgia on a 3-0 aggregate scoreline in their two previous qualifying rounds, underling their pedigree as a top European side. Their side is filled with current and former international players with huge experience on the European stage. Possessing a squad valued at over Euros 50 million, they finished fourth in the Turkish Super Lig, last season.
They have played group stage European football in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League, across the last three seasons. Their stand-out European result came in 2020 when they defeated Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League group stages.
The club was founded in 1990 as Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyespor (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Sports Club). They reached the highest level in Turkish football in their 2007-08 domestic season. They play their home games at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium in Istanbul, where St. Pat’s will be in action for the second leg, next Wednesday (28th August) ( kick off at 5.00 pm Irish time).
St. Pat’s find themselves in a winner takes all situation, with Istanbul Basaksehir FK representing one of the toughest draws possible. No Irish side has ever progressed to the group stages of a European competition through the qualifying rounds, without going through a league champions route.
However, despite their poor League of Ireland form, so far, this season, the wins against FC Vaduz and Sabah FK have lifted the mood at the Emmet Road club.
The main selection headache for the Saints manager, Stephen Kenny, so far, has been in attack, with sixteen-year-old, Mason Melia edging out Aidan Keena. Last week. The likelihood is that Kenny will stick with this selection change for today’s game. He will also look to goalscorers, Mulraney, Redmond, Palmer and Elbouzedi to maintain their striking form, from the previous rounds, against the Turkish giants. Roared on by over 7,000 loyal fans at Tallaght Stadium, the Saints will be hoping that this will boost them as they seek a place in the history books.
In addition to the prestige and glory of playing in a top European competition, the Saints will also accumulate some substantial financial rewards. For playing in their three UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying rounds, so far, they are guaranteed Euros 525,000 (Euros 175,000 per round). Even if they lose their tie against Istanbul Basaksehir, they will receive an elimination bonus of Euros 550,000.
So, St. Pat’s will earn at least Euros 1.075 million for their European campaign, if they are knocked out and a minimum of Euros 3.7 million, if they reach the competition’s group stages.
Kenny is no stranger to success in big European ties, having previously tasted success with Dundalk when he lead them to the UEFA Champions League play-off round and the UEFA Europa League group stages in 2016. He will be hoping that today’s match will result in another one to add to his tally, after last week’s 1-0 win, away to Sabah FK, which represented his 50th European club game as a manager.
“Preparations have gone quite well. The last couple of days have allowed us to prepare well for Thursday. This is one of the biggest games in St. Patrick Athletic’s history, with the chance to get to the group stages. Our opponents won the Turkish league a couple of years ago, they beat Manchester United in the Champions League. For us to beat them over two legs, we’ll have to absolutely give the performance of our lives. If we do it, we’ll do it the hard way, but we must strive to do that. European wins are special, none would be more special than this if the players can go and achieve that”, said Kenny.
Saints Academy product, Jamie Lennon, is one of the most experienced players in the current squad. He is second only to Chris Forrester in terms of European appearances for St. Pat’s, with twelve and will hope to play a big role in this tie.
“We’re really looking forward to it, we’ve had a good week of preparation now with no game at the weekend, so we know it’s going to be a big test. Everyone in the dressing room is looking forward to it. It’s a big occasion for the club and for us as players, so it can’t come quick enough. The last couple of weeks have been really enjoyable. I think we’ve shown that we can mix it with teams that are expected to beat us. Tomorrow will be our toughest test of the lot. Hopefully, we get the home support behind us tommorow night and bring it over to Turkey then, next week. We’re playing against a good team, playing in a really good league, but we trust in ourselves, the manager, the staff and in our own preparation. The confidence is high in the team. We’ve brought in some really good signings in the window there and they’ve made a huge difference. Hopefully, we can put that on show tomorrow”, said Lennon.
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