- Luke Jordan
- Thu, Jul 13 2023
A late Mark Doyle strike in Luxembourg keeps the tie alive and gives the Saints a chance to overturn the one goal deficit in Richmond Park next Thursday.
The Athletic will be disappointed with the concession of the two goals, but Doyle’s last-minute goal and some heroics by Dean Lyness in the Saints net means the Irish side still have an opportunity to get through to the next round of the Europa Conference League.
Manager Jon Daly sprung a surprise in his line up with Canadian defender David Norman Jr. getting the nod ahead of Jay McGrath and Noah Lewis in centre back. Harry Brockbank also got a start at right back once again meaning Sam Curtis continued in the middle of the back four.
Pats started brightly with tireless Conor Carty making runs in behind which was causing one or two problems for the Luxembourg side. Jamie Lennon, arguably one of players of the season, was showing his class in the centre of the park.
Dudelange weathered the early Irish storm and began to show their European experience, forcing the Saints defenders into a couple of blocks and clearances.
The deadlock was broken just after 20-minute mark when Oege-Sietse Van Lingen left footed strike beat Dean Lyness in the Pats goal to make it 1-0 to the home side.
It could have been two shortly after when Van Lingen went through one on one, but Lyness stood up strong to make the save. The first of many throughout the evening.
The English stopper was called into action again when a long distance hit from Agovic took a deflection and he managed to stop it with his legs as he dived the other way.
Just after the restart, Dudelange appealed for a penalty after a Sam Curtis tackle but the complaints were waved away by the Bulgarian referee.
Lyness, again, was forced into another stop this time from Hadji as he got down to the strike with a strong hand to beat the ball away.
Despite the string of saves by Lyness, the pressure tolled as Dutch winger Yahcuroo Roemer got the better of Norman too easy and his low shot beat the 31-year-old to make it 2-0 to the Luxembourge side.
Roemer thought he made it three to the home side but somehow Lyness got a hand to his effort and tipped the ball over the bar.
Both sides made multiple changes throughout the half as the 24-degree heat looked to affect the Irish players more as St. Pats looked tired as the half wore on.
Just as the game looked to heading for a 2-0 win to the hosts, a hopeful hit across the box by substitute Tommy Lonergan, Dudelange failed to clear their lines and fellow substitute Mark Doyle was alive to pounce to score to send the big travelling support of Pats fans wild in the away end.
A crucial goal to set up the second leg perfectly for a big night in Inchicore next Thursday.
F91 Dudelange: Didier Desprez; Vincent Decker, Kino Delorge, Dejvid Sinani; Edis Agovic, Bruno Freire Fernandes, Dylan Kuete, Sylbio Ouassiero (Yannick Schaus 74), Oege-Sietse Van Lingen (Ivan Englaro 90); Samir Hadji, Yahcuroo Roemer (Marc Thomas 73).
Subs not used: Enzo Esposito, Valentino Tallarico, Gaël Mbala, Evann Mendes, Jules Diouf, Sinan Altun, Filip Bojić, Luka Rakic, Enzo Fonseca Lima.
Booked: Bruno Freire Fernandes (47), Sylbio Ouassiero (53).
St. Patrick's Athletic: Dean Lyness; Anto Breslin, Harry Brockbank (Noah Lewis 70), Sam Curtis, David Norman Jr.; Chris Forrester, Jamie Lennon, Ben McCormack (Thomas Lonergan 70), Jake Mulraney, Adam Murphy (Jason McClelland 81); Conor Carty (Mark Doyle 81).
Subs not used: Danny Rogers, Matt Boylan, Jay McGrath, Mason Melia, Thijs Timmermans, Alex Nolan.
Booked: Jamie Lennon (44), Conor Carty (57).
Referee: Radoslav Gidzhenov (Bulgaria)
extratime.com Player of the Match: Dean Lyness (St. Patrick’s Athletic)
