Vaduz 2
St Patrick’s Athletic 2
(St Pat’s advance 5-3 on aggregate)
GOALS FROM Zach Elbouzedi and Romal Palmer were crucial as St Patrick’s Athletic secured a 2-2 draw away to Vaduz in tonight’s Uefa Conference League second-round clash.
Vaduz twice went ahead on either side of half-time with Fabrizio Cavegn registering a brace but the Saints responded promptly on both occasions.
Stephen Kenny’s side had to defend well and survived occasional scares, but looked the better side over the two legs and are worthy of their place in the next round.
Pat’s were in control of the tie after the first leg — Jake Mulraney starred in their 3-1 win against the Liechtenstein side at Richmond Park last week.
Kenny will have gone into the fixture knowing a European run was key to boosting morale within the squad, given that it has been a disappointing season for the Saints domestically.
Their FAI Cup defence ended with a whimper as they were beaten 3-0 by Derry City, while their current position of seventh in the table underlines an inconsistent league campaign.
The Saints were unchanged from last week’s first-leg win. Meanwhile, there were three alterations to Vaduz’s starting XI — Benjamin Buchel, Mats Hammerich and Alessandro Kräuchi were replaced by Leon Schaffran, Javier Navarro and Sandro Wieser.
The Dublin side looked pretty comfortable for much of the early stages but gave away a cheap penalty in the 20th minute.
Axel Sjoberg made a needless late tackle on Lori Emini, who went down inside the congested area.
Cavegn stepped up and Joseph Anang dived left to get a hand to his spot kick but couldn’t keep it out.
Vaduz could have scored again shortly after that. Javier Navarro latched on to a through ball and got in behind the Pat’s defence and his finish had Anang beaten but came back off the post.
Yet with the hosts looking threatening, Pat’s equalised against the run of play.
As in the first leg, Mulraney was pivotal. He squared a low ball across the area and recent signing Zach Elbouzedi planted the ball perfectly into the top corner.
The equaliser to make it 1-1. Our 2024 goals are sponsored by @kavanaghspubd8 pic.twitter.com/rmkY54iYo1
— St Patrick's Athletic FC (@stpatsfc) August 1, 2024
The former Ireland U21 player’s goal upset the hosts’ momentum as they scarcely threatened for the remainder of the half.
One half-chance came their way on the brink of the break. Mischa Beeli’s deep cross was met by Dominik Schwizer, whose low volley was well saved by Anang.
The Premier Division outfit were dealt a blow early in the second half — playmaker Chris Forrester took a knock and had to be replaced by Aaron Bolger.
Vaduz were still sporadically threatening — Emini curled a free kick a few inches over the bar and Cavegn tested Anang with a powerful strike as Marc Schneider’s men searched for a goal to reduce the aggregate deficit.
On 75 minutes, Pat’s were made to sweat as the hosts went ahead again. Cavegn scored his second of the night. The attacker’s low shot deflected off a Pat’s player and found the bottom of the net.
Yet the Irish side again produced a quick response to going behind.
Kian Leavy’s persistence was rewarded as he ran with the ball across the box, finding Palmer, whose low, clinical first-time effort found the corner of the net.
That second equaliser killed the game as a contest.
There was one final Vaduz chance — substitute Jonathan De Donno’s header hit the bar in stoppage time — but otherwise Pat’s saw out the final stages with ease to deservedly progress.
In the next round, Pat’s will face Sabah of Azerbaijan after they defeated Israel’s Maccabi Haifa on 3-2 penalties this evening after a 6-3 loss.
St Patricks Athletic: 94. Joseph Anang 21. Axel Sjoberg 4. Joe Redmond 5. Tom Grivosti 3. Anto Breslin 8. Chris Forrester (Aaron Bolger 50) 6. Jamie Lennon 26. Zach Elbouzedi (Al-Amin Kazeem 63) 17. Romal Palmer (Jason McClelland 85) 20. Jake Mulraney (Kian Leavy 63) 9. Mason Melia (Cian Kavanagh 85)
FC Vaduz: 25. Leon Schaffran 14. Mischa Beeli 6. Denis Simani 5. Lindon Berisha, 4. Nicolas Hasler 10. Lorik Emini 8. Sandro Wieser 11. Danilo Del Toro 23. Fabrizio Cavegn 7. Dominik Schwizer 19. Javier Navarro (Jonathan De Donno 67)
Referee: Ashot Ghaltakchyan (Armenia)
Attendance: 1,405
