Mura 0
St Patrick’s Athletic 0
(St Pat’s win 6-5 on penalties after 1-1 aggregate result)
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC earned a dramatic penalty shootout win over Slovenian side Mura in the Europa Conference League this evening.
Following last week’s 1-1 draw in Dublin, it finished 0-0 after extra time this evening before Tim Clancy’s men prevailed 6-5 on spot kicks, leading to ecstatic scenes.
The Saints had their work cut out against the side who beat Tottenham in the group stages last season, but they held their own for the 120 minutes before showing good composure thereafter.
It means they progress to the competition’s third round, joining Sligo Rovers who enjoyed a similarly impressive win over Motherwell earlier this evening.
The Saints could easily have won it in normal time, with Thijs Timmermans and Barry Cotter among the players going close to opening the scoring.
DRINK. IT. IN. #StPatsFC | #SaintsInEurope pic.twitter.com/4pxSxE9Ngl
— St Patrick's Athletic FC (@stpatsfc) July 28, 2022
They also survived a couple of scares down the other end, with West Ham loanee Joseph Anang pulling off some good saves.
The visitors’ chances were boosted in the 71st minute, as substitute Matic Marusko was sent off for an incident in which he made contact with Chris Forrester’s face.
Amid a nervy shootout, Eoin Doyle, Ronan Coughlan, Jason McClelland, Timmermans, Serge Atakayi and Joe Redmond all scored, while misses by Cotter and Tom Grivosti proved immaterial.
Two of the hosts’ penalties missed the target, while Anang saved one, completing a fine individual performance.
In the next round, they face Bulgarian outfit CSKA Sofia, who beat North Macedonian side Makedonija Gjorče Petrov 4-0 on aggregate this evening.
The two-legged tie takes place on 4 and 11 August, with the Irish side at home for the latter match.
