Uefa Conference League play-off, second-leg
Istanbul Basaksehir 2
St Patrick’s Athletic 0
Istanbul Basaksehir win 2-0 on aggregate
THE ISTANBUL BASAKSEHIR players started to dance once they made absolutely certain of victory with a second goal on 82 minutes.
It was only then that St Patrick’s Athletic players looked dead on their feet.
Until that point, when substitute Olivier Kemen rose above Anto Breslin and powered a header beyond Joseph Anang, their dream of reaching the league phase of the Uefa Conference League was alive.
Just.
They trailed going into the final 10 minutes after a fine finish inside the box from captain Omer Ali Sahiner just after the hour.
St Pat’s hung on in the contest for as long as they could but, in the space of 60 seconds, it all fell apart.
Aaron Bolger was introduced for Chris Forrester on 77 minutes to try and give them a second wind in midfield.
But when he resorted to a high, dangerous hack down on Kemen to prevent a counter attack he was correctly shown a straight red card four minutes after coming on.
Within 60 seconds the second goal came, and the tie was over.
That was when the Basaksehir dance routines rolled out.
St Pat’s kept going even in the face of defeat and almost netted a consolation when Brandon Kavanagh had a low shot superbly saved. It meant this was the first European tie that Stephen Kenny’s side were unable to score over two legs.
Now the focus turns to domestic matters and with a place on this stage unlikely until 2026 at the earliest the priority for Kenny will be to build a side that can get back here and challenge again.
Up until a deflection fof Anto Breslin’s arm and a fine touch, swivel and shot from Ali Sahiner to score the opener on 64 minutes it looked as though the home side would be frustrated.
Their vulnerabilities were clear after just two minutes when a pass into Mason Melia’s feet was laid off first time by the young striker. There were two runners advancing and space to exploit but it just didn’t have enough weight on the ball to maintain the attack.
Within three minutes St Pat’s broke up the play in the centre and then carved Basaksehir open on the counter attack.
Kian Leavy broke with the ball this time, fed Zack Elbouzedi on the right and he cut inside. Leavy’s overlap gave the winger space and he slid in Melia who advanced onto the shot 16 yards out with his body side on for a right foot finish.
He snatched at it, though, and it trickled into the welcome hands of the goalkeeper.
It was an indication that Pat’s would once again carry that ability to break quickly, Leavy the only change from the starting XI last week as Romal Palmer is sidelined for up to six weeks with a knee injury.
Just over 60 seconds later and Krzysztok Piatek flashed a shot wide on the run down the right inside the box.
Pat’s weren’t deterred and remained solid in their defensive shape. It wasn’t just counter attacks that they were waiting for and another chance on 19 minutes illustrated how Pat’s could build slowly before opening them up. Forrester had the ball on the right, he assessed his options, and the stop-start run from Elbouzedi was perfect for the pass behind the full back
The timing was perfect, of the pass and the sprint, and Elbouzedi looked to pick out Jake Mulraney bursting in from the left. The ball was intercepted in the middle and Leavy’s goal-bound follow up was blocked.
Basaksehir were becoming hesitant and Leavy almost punished their indecision when he robbed possession from the last man and while he beat him for speed into the box he couldn’t seem to do enough to shake the defender off to adjust his angle for the shot. When he let it rip it was well wide but the opportunity was there.
And yet for all of this it was the home side who came closest to taking the lead on 28 minutes when Dimitris Pelks showed some initiative to drive from right back into the centre. His ball into the box was left by Piatek and Berkay Ozcan’s two touches took him around Anang. Only the sliding Axel Sjoberg covering on the line denied a certain goal, and so the sides went in at half-time level.
Basaksehir, just like in the first half, controlled much of the ball after the break but didn’t pose a constant goal threat.
Melia appealed for a penalty on the hour mark but there was no doing.
Further pain came four minutes later when Denis Turuc’s cross at the back post was deflected off Breslin’s arm into the path of Ali Sahiner. His first touch was delicate, his second was calm to take the ball away from Tom Grivosti, and the third was a clinical finish under the body of Anang.
The celebrations were wild and felt like a release of tension.
The home side had control of the ball but the tie was in the balance.
Then Bolger, understandably, opted to bring down Kemen as they broke from a St Pat’s corner. Fellow sub Aidan Keena failed in an attempt to bring him down a second before and the forceful nature of the midfielder’s successful lunge meant he could have no complaints.
He was barely off the pitch when Basaksehir worked a move down the left and a fierce cross was met by an equally impressive header from Kemen.
That was the cue for them to enjoy the final moments, as St Pat’s endured a tortuous end to an inspiring European campaign that was so close to defining the careers of these players.
Kenny’s job will be to help them, and the club, rise again.
Istanbul Basaksehir: Sengezer; Duarte (Kemen 7), Gureler, Opoku, Ali Sahiner (captain); Pelkas, Ergun, Ozcan; Turuc, Piatek, Davidson (Figueiredo 70).
St Patrick’s Athletic: Anang; Sjoberg, Redmond (captain), Grivosti, Breslin (Kazim 88); Elbouzedi (McClelland 88), Lennon, Forrester (Bolger 77), Leavy, Mulraney (B Kavanagh 77); Melia (Keena 68).
Referee: B Berke (Hun)
Attendance: 6,160.
