2017 Season Report Card: St Patrick's Athletic
Team: St Patrick’s Athletic
Manager: This was Liam Buckley’s 6th season in charge after taking over from Pete Mahon in December of 2011.
Top Scorer: The Saint’s had two players who ended the season on the same amount of goals and they were Kurtis Byrne and Christy Fagan. Byrne scored ten in league play while Fagan only managed to score the ten in all competitions
Highest Attendance: The highest attendance from a game at Richmond Park this season was 2,361 for their crunch clash against Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers on Monday the 26th of September, with The Hoops also pulling the second-highest attendance at Richmond Park with 2,000 on Saturday the 25th of March.
Lowest Attendance: Two cups ties brought the lowest crowds to the Inchicore side this season. A Leinster Senior Cup Quarter Final tie against Firhouse Clover on the 8th of August only had an attendance of just 350, while a First Round EA Sports Cup tie against Bluebell United on the 4th of April brought in 500.
Star Player: Conan Byrne has been Pat’s main man throughout the whole season with the fans really taking to the winger with his non-stop running and determination down the right hand side. Even before the July transfer window where the Saints only managed to win three games at that point, Byrne was still a bright spark for Liam Buckley’s side. He chipped in with nine goals, though it did feel like a lot more.
Best Young Player: With The Saints' cut budget going into this season there was for sure going to be some younger players being used with JJ Lunney really making an impression of the course of the season. A hard working midfielder, Lunney put in some impressive performances on the left-hand side on the winger and at full-back for St.Pat’s. He was called up to the Ireland under-19 squad in September with the result being a 1-0 win over Austria in Tallaght Stadium.
Best New Signing: The July transfer window was a vital one in terms of keeping the Inchicore club in the Premier Division with The Saints going out and breaking in some quality players to strengthen their survival hopes. Dutch defender Jordi Balk was brought in from FC Oss to steady the ship at the heart of defence which had conceded 28 goals in the first half of the season before his arrival. Balk went from strength to strength as soon as he walked into the door of Richmond Park with fans taking to him from minute one due to his ball-playing style of defending and his commitment to keeping Pats in the league. Another plus point for the Dutchman was his goal that started the comeback against Cork City on the second last day of the season a game which put Liam Buckley’s side in the driver’s seat to avoid the drop.
What we expected they would do: After a disappointing 2016 season and missing out on Europe for the first time since 2009, Liam Buckley had a budget which was much less than the previous years’ and that forced him into relying on the young talent that was available at the club instead of bringing in huge names. With three teams going down this season it was predicted that the Saints could find themselves in a relegation dog-fight after losing the likes of Sean Hoare and keeper Brendan Clarke.
What they actually did: The Saints' worst fears began to come through from minute one of the 2017 league season. Buckley’s side only managed to win three games before the July break leaving them bottom of the table with signings needed desperately if they were going to stand any chance of not being relegated for the first time in their history. Killian Brennan, Owen Garvan and Jordi Balk were the three noticeable signings in July and it seemed to give the squad at Inchicore a huge boost going into the final games of the season managing to only lose three games while picking up 22 points from a possible 39 in the last 13 games making sure that they finished in eighth place, securing their Premier status for next season.
What they need to improve on for next year: For The Saints not be in the same situation as they were for this season they will need a huge clear-out of players to have a decent enough budget so that they can stay away from the drop zone. Keeping the likes of Kurtis and Conan Byrne will be vital along with Christy Fagan. Even if he hasn’t had one of his better seasons in the league there still could still be interest in the prolific striker.
A much better performance in the first-half of the season will also be needed if they are to stay clear from the drop. The lack of confidence throughout the team before the break in July was frightening to see with Buckley’s side playing nowhere near the attractive brand of football that they have played under his tenure as they only picked up 17 points from the first 20 games and with the manager Buckley is he will for certain address this.
Moment of season: It would have to be Kurtis Byrne’s goal against Cork City to all but wrap up the game for the Saints on the second last game of the season.
As good play between Dennehy and Bermingham down the left happened, the former Bohs man was completely unmarked as the play was unfolding, Dennehy managed to go past the City defender’s before getting to the by-line and putting in a delightful ball in the direction of Byrne.
He made no mistake as he headed home to make it 4-2 with the Richmond crowd going into raptures as the ball hit the back of the net with Byrne knee-sliding towards the Saint’s supporters to celebrate the moment of relief that the game was dead and buried and that The Saints were in the driving seat in terms of securing a Premier Division place for next season.
