Uefa Conference League first round, second leg: Hegelmann 0 St Patrick’s Athletic 2 [Melia 6, Leavy 56] [St Pats win 3-0 on aggregate]
St Patrick’s Athletic stormed into the second round of the Uefa Conference League with goals from their academy graduates Mason Melia and Kian Leavy in Lithuania on Thursday.
Tottenham Hotspur were so impressed by the performance of a 16-year-old against European defenders last summer that they paid St Pats an upfront fee of €1.9 million, with add-ons expected to tip that figure over €4 million as Melia’s career continues to accelerate.
Now 17, the Wicklow native settled this first-round qualifier with an early goal. But it was his run to create Leavy’s top-corner finish in the 56th minute that reinforces Spurs’ decision.
Melia is beginning to outgrow this level. Just ask Nikola Djoric, who he turned inside-out before accelerating away from the Hegelmann centre half. As two more defenders closed in, a weighted pass allowed Leavy to settle and make it 3-0 on aggregate.
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There was another half-hour to play when Melia had a legitimate penalty shout waved away by Danish referee Mads Kristoffersen, after he weaved past two players only to be knocked over by Vilius Armalas.
As studs began to show on the artificial surface, Stephen Kenny replaced his young striker with Aidan Keena.
Melia – who moves to London in January – scored his first European goal after five minutes to put Hegelmann 2-0 behind on aggregate. Vincentas Sarkauskas could only glove James McClelland’s effort towards the teenager who reacted quickest to confirm St Pats’ superiority over a multinational Lithuanian squad.
Kenny marked out midfielder Lazar Kojic as a threat beforehand, but the Serbian’s frustration with Jamie Lennon’s insatiable energy earned him a yellow card before half-time.
St Pats will take on another club from a Baltic nation in the second round after Estonian side Kalju won 1-0 away to Albania’s Partizani, in a game that went to extra-time. The first leg will take place at Richmond Park next Thursday.
The dream scenario is beginning to take shape; St Pats, Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne could all qualify for the Conference League group stages this season.
Rovers’ campaign begins next week away to St Joseph’s of Gibraltar after they secured an 3-2 extra-time win over Cliftonville at Solitude on Thursday night to take the tie 5-4 on aggregate.
Shelbourne welcome Qarabag of Azerbaijan to Tolka Park on Wednesday in the Champions League second round. If Qarabag beat Shels over two legs, Joey O’Brien’s men will still have a seeded route into the Conference League.
The FAI have managed to get out all three clubs way, by not scheduling any of their Premier Division fixtures until August.
St Pats do have an FAI Cup second-round tie at home to UCC on Sunday, when Kenny is expected to rotate his squad.
HEGELMANN: Sarkauskas; Upstas, Armalas, Doric, Duke; Kojic, Antanavicius (Harouna, 70); Kazlauskas (Kausinis, 70), Ribeiro (Azouazi, 84), Shchedryi; Njoya Abdel.
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Anang; McLaughlin, Grivosti, Redmond, McClelland (Forrester, 79); Leavy (Kazeem, 88), Lennon, Baggley; Power (Breslin, 79), Melia (Keena, 72), Mulraney (Elbouzedi, 46).
Referee: Mads Kristoffersen (Denmark).
