ADAM MURPHY’S PERFORMANCE was the one bright spot for St Patrick’s Athletic when they crashed out of the Europa Conference League qualifiers in the first round on Thursday night.
The 18-year-old’s superb individual goal against F91 Diddeleng gave his side the initiative and momentum with 30 minutes remaining in a chaotic second leg at Richmond Park.
However, Pat’s were unable to capitalise and F91, who are still in their pre-season, finished far stronger. They were able to maintain a level of intensity combined with composure in their performance that Pat’s were unable to match.
Except for Murphy. A product of the club’s youth system, the Dubliner is already on the radar of clubs abroad, and his display after coming on at half time illustrates why.
“He’s done really well. He’s a young player who has plenty of athleticism, you saw that [on Thursday],” St Pat’s manager Jon Daly said.
Athleticism is the name of the game, it seems.
“Most clubs that enquire about players to me, one of the first things they ask is ‘what is he like athletically?’ You know, it’s ‘can he cover the ground, is he quick?’ Obviously they ask about technical ability etc but I think they want to know if the player can run and can he get about the pitch,” Daly explained.
Adam certainly can do that and when you have players like that it in the team it gives you plenty of energy, which is massive in the modern game. The more players you have like that in your team the better it is.”
Hamstring injuries hampered Murphy’s progress at a time when he was around the Pat’s first team a couple of years ago.
Those issues are beginning to settle down but his emergence and ability to stand out against a superior F91 side was telling.
Murphy is the kind of midfielder academies throughout the League of Ireland need to find a way of producing consistently. And as the average age/experience level continues to drop in the League of Ireland, it will be essential for clubs to have a supply of players who are just as comfortable in possession while still covering the necessary ground.
“We’re a decent side,” Daly continued. “There was a lot of talk about the tie and we’d just waltz through it. I don’t think there was much respect given to the opponent, not from our quarters but from outside it.
“I think everybody just assumed we’d go through. We were very aware that they had good players that could hurt you and punish you. I don’t think we’re a million miles away from where we want to be or where we need to be.
“But we need to get ourselves going again on Sunday [against Longford Town in the FAI Cup] and in the league to start closing the gap on teams above us.”
It can’t just be know-how and experience that leads to continued progress, players will have to be physically up to scratch.
Now that clubs are developing their own talent they are well aware of the blueprint, the kind of supply line, that is required.
St Pat’s will benefit to the tune of €250,000 for their brief foray on the European stage but had they followed Dundalk and Derry City into the next stage that total would have risen to a minimum of €550,000.
That is money crucial to funding not just reinforcements for the first team, but ensuring the youth structures that are in place are capable of offering enough support for the next generation.
Dundalk and Derry both edged clear in the home legs of ties that had been all square after trips to Gibraltar and the Faroe Islands, respectively.
Given the dearth of financial backing and incentives for League of Ireland clubs domestically, success in Europe is naturally viewed through the prism of the impact it has on the bank balance.
But not every campaign requires deep introspection and a rigorous post-mortem of what results mean for the state of play for the league.
Last year, Shamrock Rovers reached the group stages of the Europa Conference League with an experienced, well-coached side that would go on to win its third domestic title in a row.
On Tuesday, they went out of the Champions League qualifiers in the first round to Breidablik. The Icelandic side proved a cut above over two legs and well worth their triumph. They are now guaranteed a minimum of three more rounds in European action.
It would not be a shock if they were to replicate what the Hoops achieved last season, and should they do so Breidablik will pocket upwards of €3 million.
Still, despite their dominance domestically and the increased budget as a result of their European success in 2022, Rovers were unable to develop sufficiently to build on that progress.
They looked laboured as Breidablik took control of the tie.
And now they must overcome Ferencvaros after they were beaten 3-0 by KI Klaksvik in possibly the shock of the round.
The Hungarian champions cruised to a 4-1 win over Stephen Bradley’s side in the Europa League play-off round 12 months ago and, while they have since sacked their manager and are possibly a more beleaguered outfit, Rovers’ Euro hopes are on the precipice.
But like Derry and Dundalk, they live to fight another day.
