Saints Show True Grit With Dramatic Late Win In Estonia:
By: Aidan Crowley:
Nomme JK Kalju FC 2 St. Patrick’s Athletic 2.
After Extra Time St. Patrick’s Athletic Win 3-2 On Aggregate.
Saint Patrick’s Athletic were forced to pull out all the stops, as they bounced back from two goals behind in a thrilling UEFA Europa Conference League, second qualifying round, second-leg clash, against top Estonian side, Nomme JK Kalju FC, at the Kadriorg Staadion, Tallinn, Estonia, last Thursday night.
St. Pat’s held a slender 1-0 lead from previous week’s first-leg at Richmond Park, courtesy of a last-minute goal from super striker, Chris Forrester, in a game that they totally dominated and which saw two Kalju players sent off. However, a goal either side of the break here, from midfielder, Ivan Patrikejevs and striker, Mattias Mannilaan, completely changed the narrative and it would take a supreme effort and extra-time for the Saints to edge the tie.
Just when it seemed that a truly dismal defeat seemed inevitable, captain and defender, Joe Redmond, popped up with a goal in injury time, to force an extra half hour’s play. Then, three minutes into extra-time, winger, Jake Mulraney, struck to put St. Pat’s 3-2 ahead on aggregate and send them through to a glamour third qualifying round tie against Turkish giants, JK Besiktas FC.
The Inchicore outfit pushed hard for what would have been a levelling goal, over the two legs, with Redmond duly stepping up to the plate when his leadership was desperately called for. The advent of extra-time augured well for the Saints and while Mulraney’s goal had a slightly flukeish element attached to it, overall, St. Pat’s deserved to go through.
Teenage sensation and super stiker, Mason Melia, was substituted at half-time by manager, Stephen Kenny. Then, his replacement, fellow-striker, Aidan Keena, suffered an injury that saw him limp off at a pivotal moment. A grim night for the Saints looked on the cards, with the onset of torrential rain adding to the gloomy atmosphere.
With away goals irrelevant these days, a 1-0 lead from the first-leg match far from guaranteed St. Pat’s a place in the next round. They were, however, the much better team, last week and began the second-leg game with similar positivity.
Mulraney, who started in place of the injured winger, Zach Elbouzedi (shoulder), tested the Kalju ‘keeper, Maksim Pavlov, five minutes after the start, following a neat pass from midfielder, Jamie Lennon. Then, Melia went close on twelve minutes.
Mulraney was in the thick of the action again, shortly afterwards, with a flash across the box, but Pavlov wasn’t troubled, with the small home crowd having little to cheer about. Then, on nineteen minutes, it was Mulraney, once more, with a pinpoint cross which Melia seemed set to meet, only for defender, Uku Korre’s intervention to prevent a likely Saints opener.
St. Pat’s had a definite shout for a penalty, midway through the half, defender, Aleksandr Nikolajev, bundling midfielder, Kian Leavy, over and by twenty-five minutes, the home side had two players booked.
Melia combined with Mulraney, twelve minutes before the break and the latter was just about to release his shot when Korre sniffed the danger. Then, winger, Simon Power, quiet so far, slalomed down the left, only for Melia to narrowly miss his cross.
Then, on forty minutes, St. Pat’s ‘keeper, Joe Anang, was finally called into action when he had to deal with a speculative Korre drive, the first offering of note from an extremely limited Kalju side. However, with half-time looming, the Saints went behind.
A crisp passing move exposed the visitors, with a sumptuous ball down the line from midfielder, Nikia Ivanov. He released fellow-midfielder, Kristjan Kask, who squared for Patrikejevs, evading midfielder, Barry Baggley and slotted home, neatly, with his left foot.
One minute before the break, Melia saw his curling strike drift wide, after which St. Pat’s will wonder how they were behind. However, things were to get worse for the Inchicore outfit, as another defensive malfunction lead to the Estonians’ second goal on forty-nine minutes.
Ivanov again showed his quality with a floating cross. However, defender, Tom Grivosti, ended up marking two players, one of whom, Mannilaan, headed home, giving Anang no chance.
Ivanov was lucky not to incur a second yellow card for a blatant foul on defender, Ryan McLaughlin, with Forrester introduced to avert a disastrous defeat for St. Pat’s. Forrester made an immediate impact, laying on a beautiful ball for Power, who failed to make the most of it. Then, Keena curled a cracking shot that Pavlov tipped around the post and Kenny was booked, after the Saints rightly had penalty claims turned down, following a potential hand-ball in the box.
Keena has had a frustrating couple of months, but he seemed intent on making his mark here and he forced another save from Pavlov, with a strong drive from outside the box on sixty-three minutes. However, he only lasted until the seventy-first minute, an injury to his right leg a killer blow, as he was St. Pat’s main threat.
Midfielder, Brandon Kavanagh, replaced Leavy and made a huge impression. A lovely one-two between Forrester and Kavanagh caused chaos on seventy-five minutes, with McLaughlin’s shot blocked and Lennon’s likewise. Then, the hosts went in search of a third goal, with striker, Guilherme Smith, forcing a spectacular save from Anang.
Although Redmond was having a frustrating night, he nonetheless played the role of the inspirational skipper with his strike, as the visitors looked as though they were exiting the competition. A tame Mulraney free was batted right back into the danger zone by Pavlov. Redmond displayed the acumen and composure of a striker to restore parity.
Just as extra-time commenced, the humidity gave way to a downpour and the Saints were singing in the rain, within three minutes of the final half hour. Mulraney fully deserved a goal for his efforts on the nigh. While it seems highly likely that a poor cross was made to look like a world-class strike on the right wing, he nonetheless celebrated in a manner befitting that they all count.
The pitch was quickly becoming waterlogged, with either side of the border unplayable. Substitute defender, Anto Breslin, was penalised for a foul on the edge of the box, on one hundred and seventeen minutes. Just like skipper, Redmond, in the Saints’ time of need, Anang stepped up and smothered the ball from the free-kick, to send the visiting fans into raptures.
Nomme JK Kalju FC: M. Pavlov; D. Tarassenkov, U. Korre, M. Tambedou, A. Nikolajev; O. Musolitin (M. Orlov 106); I. Patrikejevs (T. Baptista 106), N. Ivanov (P. Marin 80), K. Kask (E. Esono 96); M. Mannilaan, G. Smith (I. Jabir 87).
Saint Patrick’s Athletic: J. Anang; R. McLaughlin, T. Grivosti, J. Redmond, J. McClelland (A. Breslin 96); B. Baggley (C. Forrester 51), J. Lennon, K. Leavy (B. Kavanagh 72); J. Mulraney (A.A. Kazeem 106), M. Melia (A. Keena 46, C. Carty 72), S. Power.
Referee: M. Antoniou (Cyprus).
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