UEFA Conference League third-round qualifier, first leg
St Patrick’s Athletic 1
Sabah FK 0
A NIGHT TO remember for St Patrick’s Athletic, but so very close to being unforgettable.
This is a tie that is still alive ahead of the second leg in Azerbaijan next week and Stephen Kenny’s side will wonder how.
They take a 1-0 lead to Sabah courtesy of Romal Palmer’s goal, and also plenty of confidence for the way they took control of this game, even before the visitors were reduced to 10 men early in the second half.
There will be more than a tinge of regret that the advantage was not at least three or four.
Joe Redmond had a trio of close range headers in the final quarter that could easily have found the net – one hit the post and rolled across the line, another flew inches over the bar and the third was superbly saved by goalkeeper Yusif Imanov.
In between those agonising moments for the Pat’s captain, substitute Mason Melia saw a glanced header cleared off the line before he was just inches away from making a connection for a tap in after Anto Breslin fizzed a ball across the face of goal.
Palmer’s sublime first-half strike, a deft flick of his right foot from a precise Jake Mulraney inswinging cross put the Saints on the march to this richly deserved win.
The nature of their own dominance, allied with how Sabah became a disjointed mess, offers plenty of hope for progress to the play-off round.
But there is still so much to do after an opening goal that was as brilliant as it was deserved.
Mulraney was the creator and Palmer the finisher, a lethal combination that offers Kenny’s side a dynamic to make them a threat on a stage like this.
Just as impressively from the Saints’ perspective, they took the initiative back from the visitors after a tepid opening.
Sabah had a near-post effort from a corner pushed onto the post by Joseph Anang after just two minutes and it felt like it could be a long night.
They dominated the ball for the opening quarter and almost scored on a breakaway goal from a poor short corner by Pat’s that led to Kaheem Parris blazing over the bar just inside the box on 14 minutes.
Pat’s played their way back into it but also managed to sustain pressure in the final third and put their opponents on the back foot.
By the 25-minute mark they had forced seven corners and it was from one on 17 minutes that Palmer and Mulraney created an opening with a short pass and back flick that eventually came back to the latter on the edge of the area. He set himself for the curling shot and the outstretched hand of Imanov tipped it wide of the far post.
It signalled the start of the Mulraney show, even if Zach Elbouzedi came closest scoring next with a drilled a shot from 18 yards after a poor clearance straight down the throat of Imanov.
It was Mulraney’s pace and positivity on both flanks, after switching over to the right, that put Sabah under further pressure. He drew a foul, and first yellow card for Lepinjica, with a clever piece of skill in a tight area and then showed he could open up into the space behind with a lung-bursting run that led to another booking, this time for Jon Irazabal.
That ability to mix up his play was part of the reason he was given an extra second to create the yard of space required to deliver a pin-point cross for the opener on 35 minutes.
The defender stood off waiting to see what was coming. Mulranrey shifted the ball inside and his looping delivery to the near post was anticipated by Palmer, who had been given the encouragement to support attacks into the box.
He slid with his right foot and beat the desperate attempt of centre back Soufiane Chakla to block. The finish was low and precise, the celebrations wild.
There were cheers of a different kind when Imanov brought Palmer down inside the D and was given his marching orders for a second yellow seven minutes after the re-start.
Mulraney’s resulting free kick was easily dealt with and Chris Forrester almost capitalised seconds later when a deft turn opened up the space only for his left-footed shot to fizz wide.
Then came the agonising drama of the final quarter.
Elbouzedi delivered two brilliant balls on 76 and 77 minutes, the first header from Redmond striking the post and trickling along the line.
A glancing header from Melia looked destined for the same bottom left corner before Irazabal hooked it clear and then Redmond came close twice soon after.
Pat’s never let up and continued to add to their cushion. The final moment of frustration came as Melia slid to make a connection a couple of yards out.
The finest of margins with everything still to play for.
St Patrick’s Athletic: Anang; Sjoberg, Grivosti, Redmond (captain), Breslin; Elbouzedi (B Kavanagh 79), Lennon (Bolger 88), Forrester, Palmer (McClelland 88), Mulraney (Leavy 72); Keena (Melia HT)
Sabah FK: Imanov; Seydiyev, Chakla, Irazabal, Letic; Lepinjica, Sekidika (Kupusovic 82), Camalov (captain); Parris (Dashdamirov 72), Safranko (Aliyev 82), Mickels (Alaskarov 72).
Referee: Thorarinsson (ISL)
