The Saint (Vol 34 #11)

2022 Europa Conference League • Vol. 34 • No. 12 • €4.00

Richmond Park, Inchicore, Dublin 8 • KO:7.45PM

QR2 - 1st Leg

VERSUS

Thu 21 July 2022

Jamie Lennon

CARDIAC ARREST KNOW THE SCORE

• Unconscious and • Unresponsive and • Absent or abnormal breathing

Would you like to join a Dublin City Council Community Cardiac Programme in Inchicore Community Sports Centre?

Editorial

Ronan O’Flaherty

Ruairi Kavanagh

@stpatsprogramme

Good Evening Welcome to Richmond Park on a very

challenge in terms of producing

special evening, where for the first time in

programmes, so thanks to all in terms of

three years, the Saints lock horns in

contributions and design (in particular) for

European competition. Being honest,

turning this issue around hot on the heels of

considering the exit against Norrkoping

the Drogheda game. We also have an FAI

three summers ago, it actually feels longer

Cup tie looming, but as for European

since we have had a European tie to savour

matters, let's hope this isn't the last edition

here in Inchicore, so let's hope tonight

we produce in 2022. So let's create a great

brings something special to D8 once more.

atmosphere for the team and show our

I'd also like to welcome all supporters of

welcome visitors what Richmond Park is

NS Mura to our ground, be they members

capable of on a European match night.

of Ireland's Slovenian community, or if they Enjoy the game!

have travelled to support our side.

European competition always presents a

Ruairi Kavanagh Editor

pleasant but considerable logistical

The Saint

Contents 08 Oh my Word!

20 LOI Clubs in Europe

11 Dodge’s Data!

24 Eurozone

14 Opposition Watch

26 A View from Afar

16 On This Day

28 Club History

Programme Production Editor Ruairi Kavanagh

Design Joe O’Rourke

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

Photography Sportsfile & Inpho 3

Saints v NS Mura St Patrick’s Athletic Manager:

Fáilte Tá áthas orainn fáilte a chur roimh an mbainistíocht, imreoirí agus lucht tacaíochta NS Mura go Phairc Richmond anocht.

Welcome We are pleased to welcome the management, players and supporters of NS Mura to Richmond Park tonight.

Dobrodošli Z veseljem pozdravljamo vodstvo, igralce in navijače NS Mura nocoj v Richmond Parku.

Tim Clancy

Head Coach: Damir Čontala

Asst Manager: Jon Daly

Asst Coach: Andrej Kvas

1 Joseph Anang

GK o

23 David Odumosu

GK o

1 Klemen Mihelak

GK o

28 Vid Šumenjak

GK o

69 Matko Obradović

GK o

3 Ian Bermingham (C) D

o

4 Joe Redmond

D

o

2 Kai Cipot

F

D

o

o

5 Tom Grivosti

D

6 Jamie Lennon

M

o

3 Klemen Pucko

o

7 Serge Atakayi

F

o

4 Gregor Balažic

D

o

8 Chris Forrester

M

o

6 Amar Beganović

D

o

9 Eoin Doyle

F

o

7 Alen Kozar

M

o

8 Luka Bobičanec

M

o

9 Matic Maruško

M

o

10 Ronan Coughlan

F

o

11 Jason McClelland

F

o

12 Harry Brockbank

D

o

11 Žiga Kous

M

o

14 Mark Doyle

F

o

13 Marin Karamarko

D

o

15 Billy King

F

o

14 Nik Lorbek

M

o

16 Adam O’Reilly

M

o

17 Josip Majić

F

o

18 Ben McCormack

M

o

18 Vito Štrakl

D

o

19 Anto Breslin

D

o

19 Mirlind Daku

F

D

o

o

22 Sam Curtis

D

24 Ben Curtis

D

o

21 Miha Kompan Breznik

o

D

25 Thijs Timmermans

M

o

23 Jan Đapo

o

28 Cian Kelly

D

o

24 Tio Cipot

M

o

29 Paddy Barrett

D

o

30 Martin Šroler

M

o

30 Ross Fay

M

o

31 Srđan Kuzmić

D

o

o

32 Samsondin Ouro

M

o

D

o

31 Kian Corbally

M

32 Darius Lipsiuc

M

o

44 Tarik Bagola

33 Kyle Robinson

F

o

47 Mihael Klepač

F

o

34 Adam Murphy

M

o

70 Darick Kobie Morris D

o

/stpatsfc

35 Anthony Dodd

M

o

80 Nikola Petković

F

o

stpatsfc

45 Tunde Owolabi

F

o

99 Dardan Shabanhaxhaj

F

o

/stpatsfc

Match Officials (Malta)

/stpatsfctv

Referee Ishmael Barbara

info@stpatsfc.com stpatsfc.com

4

NS Mura

Half-Time

Assistant 1 Roberto Vella

Full-Time

Assistant 2 Duncan Spencer

4th Official Emanuel Grech

MOTM

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

President’s Welcome Tom O’Mahony

@jimmyedwards41

Good Evening You're very welcome to Richmond Park for tonight's Europa Conference League tie against NS Mura. We extend a particularly warm welcome to the players, officials and supporters of our Slovenian visitors.

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC FOOTBALL CLUB Richmond Park 125 Emmet Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8, Ireland Tel: +353 1 454 6332 Fax: +353 1 454 6211

Slovenia is a beautiful country which I had the opportunity to explore a few years ago. It has a lot in common with Ireland including quite beautiful mountain scenery. A small country like ourselves, its people love sport and there's great national pride in the achievement of their sporting greats, such as the cyclists Roglic and Pogacar. Needless to say, Mura's victory over the mighty Spurs in the group stages of last year's Conference League caused great jubilation throughout Slovenia.

That result, and indeed the very fact that Mura were competing in the group stages, suggests that we haven't been that fortunate in this year's draw, particularly in comparison to the other Irish qualifiers. By the wonders of technology I was able to stream the Moldovan TV coverage of their first round match away to FC Sfintul Gheorghe and I was very impressed with what I saw. Mura play fast, skilful football and will be a huge challenge for us tonight. However, I know that our team will be very well prepared and motivated, and of course we have some exceptionally talented players of our own. I also know that our supporters are more than capable of turning Richmond Park into an intimidating cauldron for opposing teams. So I am quite hopeful that we will be going to Slovenia next week with a result that keeps our hopes of progression alive.

We've had many memorable European nights at Richmond and hopefully this will be another.

Enjoy the game!

Tom O'Mahony President St Patrick's Athletic FC

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

For media enquiries, please email press@stpatsfc.com Opening Hours: 9.30am-5pm (Mon-Fri).

See our facebook page for additional opening hours on match days.

HONOURS LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 1951/52, 1954/55, 1955/56, 1989/90, 1995/96, 1997/98, 1998/99, 2001/02, 2013 FAI CUP 1958/59, 1960/61, 2014, 2021 LEAGUE CUP 2000/01, 2003, 2015, 2016 PRESIDENT'S CUP 2014 LEINSTER SENIOR CUP 1947/48, 1982/83, 1986/87, 1989/90, 1990/91, 1999/2000, 2011, 2014, 2019 LOI SHIELD 1959/60 FAI SUPER CUP 1999 DUBLIN CITY CUP 1953/54, 1955/56, 1975/76 LFA PRESIDENT'S CUP 1952/53, 1953/54, 1955/56, 1971/72, 1990/91, 1996/97 FAI INTERMEDIATE CUP 1947/48, 1948/49, 1952/53 (Reserves) FAI JUNIOR CUP 1940/41 FAI YOUTH CUP 1944/45

5

OUR GAME IS ON THE BALL

NEO SWERVE THE OFFICIAL MATCH BALL OF THE SSE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE AVAILABLE AT UMBRO.IE

The Dugout

Ronan O’Flaherty

Tim Clancy I would like to welcome the management, players and everyone connected with our opponents to Richmond Park for this evening's Europa Conference League game.

Domestic football is of course our bread and butter. We want to finish as high up the league table as possible – that dominates our focus from week to week. But now that this game has come around, everyone at the club is excited and the players can't wait to get going.

It is an honour for all at St Patrick's Athletic to be involved in European competition and we will be giving it our very best to try and earn a positive result ahead of the away leg.

All players want to be involved in European competition. The same goes for managers, coaches and backroom personnel. These are special nights that require people to be at their very best.

I am not forgetting how big an occasion this is for the supporters. Unfortunately, the terraced areas are closed off, as per the rules when hosting a game of such stature on the UEFA calendar. The support has been very strong this season, especially here at Richmond Park, so it's a real shame that we have to limit ticket numbers to less than 3,000. With that said, the most important thing is that we are playing the home game here in Inchicore.

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

The fact that the tickets sold out so quickly offers an insight into just how well the team is supported. We want to deliver the kind of performances and results that not only keep current fans coming back, but also encourage new supporters to join the St Pat's family.

I have talked about the league dominating our focus. To a certain extent, similar sentiments could be offered up for the FAI Cup since the draw for the first round was made. Nobody here needs reminding that the FAI Cup trophy has resided in the club offices since last November. Our defence of the cup starts with a home tie against Waterford. We were delighted to get the home draw but Waterford are dangerous opponents.

The cup means a lot to this club and we will look forward to the Waterford game – and be well prepared for it – when it comes around. However, today our sole focus is fixed on the Europa Conference League.

The rewards associated with progressing through a round – in terms of finance and elevating the profile of the club – are huge.

With your strong vocal backing, we have every chance.

Enjoy the match, Tim Clancy

7

Oh My Word!

Ronan O’Flaherty

We've missed these nights. It's only been three years since a St Patrick's team last took part in European competition, but it feels like longer. So meek was the surrender to Norrkoping that we could be forgiven for erasing it from the memory bank.

You have to rewind another three years, to

the way he had at Shamrock Rovers and Cork

the summer of 2016, for the last time a round

City. In hindsight, that may have been

was successfully negotiated. Luxembourg's

expecting too much of him to begin with.

Jeunesse Esch provided the opposition.

Billy's contribution to keeping the club in the

Christy Fagan had us dreaming of unlikely

top flight cannot be understated as he came

scorelines when he netted as early as the

into his own in the latter stages of the 2017

tenth minute of the first leg at Richmond Park.

campaign.

However, it didn't signal the start of a flood and the score stayed 1-0 for the remainder of

And a season earlier, his younger brother

the match.

notched one of the most important goals in the history of the club in the away leg against

Jeunesse will have fancied their chances of

Jeunesse Esch. With 17 minutes remaining in

progressing when Patrick Stumpf levelled the

the tie, Darren Dennehy diverted Keith

tie after 22 minutes at Stade de La Frontiere.

Treacy's corner beyond Marc Oberweis and into the net. Stumpf did score again for Esch

The Dennehy brothers, Billy and Darren,

before the finish, but Dennehy's priceless

never quite scaled the heights associated

away goal secured a Europa League second

with fan favourites during their time with St

qualifying round meeting with Dinamo Minsk.

Patrick's. They arrived together ahead of the 2016 season and were straight away seen as

We had been spoiled in each of the

important players in a team – and club –

European campaigns of the not-too-distant

entering an extended phase of transition.

past when two rounds were negotiated. What was first a breakthrough achievement then

By the end of his two-season stint, it was

started to feel like something that could be

probably felt of Billy that he failed to shine in

emulated every year the team qualified for

8

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

@ronanoflaherty Europe. Hope had given way to belief,

Like 2019, 2015 saw the Red men fall at the

followed by expectation.

first hurdle. Skonto Stadium had been the venue for the Saints' first away win in Europe.

The first leg in Minsk did nothing to dampen

But Skonto of 2015 were a considerably

such expectations. Fagan's second-half

tougher proposition than JFK Olimps of 2008.

leveller, which cancelled out Uladzimir

Aaron Greene gave us high hopes when he

Karytska's opener, was a thing of rare beauty.

fired the visitors into the lead. However, the

If his goal in Warsaw in 2014 was the best

teams were level by half-time and Vladislavs

team goal St Patrick's had ever scored in

Gutkovskis's second-half goal ensured that

Europe, this may well have been the finest

the Latvians travelled to Dublin with a lead to

individual effort. After receiving the ball from

defend. They didn't just defend it, but went in

Ian Bermingham, Fagan turned and, with

search of more goals and won 2-0 on the

minimal backlift, fired a precision effort into

night, 4-1 on aggregate.

the corner of the net from outside the box.

We have pressed the collective reset button.

Getting a draw in the Belarusian capital – and

What was once expectation then became

finishing the stronger in the process – set the

belief and is now hovering around hope.

return leg up nicely. For whatever reason, it felt flat from the first whistle that evening. The

Far from expecting the team to successfully

fizz of the performance in Minsk had gone

clear two rounds before a ball has been

away.

kicked, let's instead take it one leg at a time.

It wasn't even that Minsk were any great

Oh, and enjoy the ride while you're on it. Who

shakes. Gleb Rassadkin's 27th-minute goal

knows when it will come around again.

was greeted with bemusement by the majority in Richmond Park. It felt as though that goal didn't belong in the script. St Patrick's huffed and puffed thereafter, with plenty of intricate play around the middle that tended to come to nothing before a proper attack was launched.

Any views expressed in this article are the contributor's own.

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

9

Ronan O’Flaherty Safety at Richmond Park Stadium Regulations • All persons entering the stadium are admitted only subject to the following ground regulations and to the regulations of the Football Association. Entry to the ground shall be deemed to constitute unqualified acceptance of all these rules and regulations.

• There is a no smoking policy in effect in both stands.

• The climbing of walls, floodlight pylons, stands or any structure inside theg round is strictly forbidden.

• Any persons found damaging or defacing the property of St Patrick’s Athletic FC will be liable to prosecution.

• Firework, smoke canisters, bottles, glasses, cans, flags, banners, poles, flares and any other articles or containers which could or might be used as a weapon or likely to cause a nuisance to other people in the stadium are not permitted within the stadium and any person in possession of such an article or container may be refused entry or ejected from the stadium.

• Any excessive noise, such as that from the use of radio sets megaphones and/or behaviour likely to cause confusion or nuisance i.e.: Laser lights of any kind is not permitted inside the stadium.

• Foul or abusive language is not permitted inside the stadium and will result in ejection from the stadium.

• Children under 12 years of age must be accompanied by an Adult and that adult must accept respon sibility for those in his/her charge.

• No form of racist abuse will be tolerated inside the stadium and will result in ejection from the stadium and may result in a prosecution by An Garda. St Patrick's Athletic shows the red card to racism.

• Spectators are not permitted to bring alcohol or any banned substances into the stadium.

• Any person who does not comply with instructions from a steward may be ejected from the stadium.

• In general, the right of admission is reserved to the Club Management of St Patrick’s Athletic FC. • St Patrick’s Athletic FC reserves the right to refuse admission or eject any person from the stadium who refuses to be searched by a police officer.

• Any person who blocks, or obstructs a gangway in any way and refuses to move on request may be ejected from the stadium.

• St Patrick’s Athletic FC reserves the right for its servants or agents to remove from the stadium any person who does not comply with the stadium regulations or whose presence inside the stadium could reasonably be construed as a source of danger, nuisance or annoyance to any spectator.

Safety Notice • St Patrick’s Athletic Football Club are committed to ensuring the safety of all spectators at Richmond Park.

It is therefore important that the following information is read and strictly adhered to.

• Anyone requiring medical attention during the game should alert their nearest steward or club official and will be directed to the St John’s Ambulance attendant or First Aid Room.

• Parents, Guardians or any adult responsible for children inside the stadium should ensure that children are supervised at all times.

• Cigarettes should be properly extinguished as they can be a major cause of fire.

• The use of flares inside the stadium is strictly forbidden.

Emergency Procedure WC

CAMAC TERRACE

WEST STAND

SHED END

E1

E2

G

F

E D C B MAIN STAND

A E4

WC

In the event of an emergency at Richmond Park requiring evacuation of the ground in part or whole, spectators are requested to remain where they are and listen for announcements over the public address system. The announcements may direct spectators in a specific area of the ground, or the stadium as a whole, to evacuate the through exit gates to the outside of the stadium, or through perimeter gates onto the pitch. Club stewards and members of the Garda Siochana will assist in directing spectators. If requested to vacate a specified area of the ground, spectators should do so as calmly and quickly as possible to assist in a safe and speedy evacuation. Do not, under any circumstances, re-enter an evacuated area. Please take note of your nearest exit.

EMMET ROAD

10

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

Ronan O’Flaherty Dodge’s Euro Data!

John Owens

@seidodge

SAINTS ALL TIME RECORD IN EUROPEAN COMPETITION SEASON COMPETITION

OPPOSITION

NATION

H

A

AGG 1st

QUALIFICATION

1961/62 European Cup Winner's Cup

Dunfermeline Ath

Scotland

0-4

1-4

1-8

a

1961 FAI Cup Winners

1967/68 Inter Cities Fair's Cup

Bordeaux

France

1-3

3-6

4-9

h

1967 Shield Runners Up

1988/89 UEFA Cup

Hearts

Scotland

0-2

0-2

0-4

a

1988 League Runners Up

1990/91 European Cup

Dynamo Bucharest

Romania

1-1

0-4

1-5

a

1990 League Champions

1996/97 UEFA Cup

Slovan Bratislava

Slovakia

3-4

0-1

3-5

h

1996 League Champions

1998/99 Champions League

Celtic

Scotland

0-2

0-0

0-2

a

1998 League Champions

1999/00 Champions League

Zimbru Chisnau

Moldova

0-5

0-5 0-10

h

1999 League Champions

2002

Inter-Toto Cup

NJK Rijeka

Croatia

1-0

2-3

3-3

a

2002 League 3rd place

2002

Inter-Toto Cup

KAA Gent

Belgium

3-1

0-2

3-3

a

2007/08 UEFA Cup

OB Odense

Denmark

0-0

0-5

0-5

h

2006 FAI Cup Runners Up

2008/09 UEFA Cup

JFK Olimps Riga

Latvia

2-0

1-0

3-0

a

2007 League Runners Up

2008/09 UEFA Cup

Elfsborg

Sweden

2-1

2-2

4-3

a

2008/09 UEFA Cup

Hertha Berlin

Germany

0-0

0-2

0-2

a

2009/10 Europa League

Valletta FC

Malta

1-1

1-0

2-1

h

2009/10 Europa League

Krylya Sovetov

Russia

1-0

2-3

3-3

h

2009/10 Europa League

Steaua Bucharest

Romania

1-2

0-3

1-5

a

2011/12 Europa League

IBV

Iceland

2-0

0-1

2-1

a

2011/12 Europa League

Shakter Karagandy

Kazakhstan

2-0

1-2

3-2

a

2011/12 Europa League

Karpaty Lviv

Ukraine

1-3

0-2

1-5

a

2012/13 Europa League

IBV

Iceland

1-0

1-2

2-2

h

2012/13 Europa League

NK Siroki Brijeg

Bosnia

2-1

1-1

3-2

a

2012/13 Europa League

Hannover 96

Germany

0-3

0-2

0-5

h

2013/14 Europa League

Zalgiris Vilnius

Lithuania

1-2

2-2

3-4

a

2012 League 3rd place

2014/15 Champions League

Legia Warsaw

Poland

0-5

1-1

1-6

a

2013 League Champions

2015/16 Europa League

Skonto Riga

Latvia

0-2

1-2

1-4

a

2014 FAI Cup winners

2016/17 Europa League

Jeunesse Esch

Luxembourg

1-0

1-2

2-2

h

2015 League 4th place

2016/17 Europa League

Dinamo Minsk

Belarus

1-1

0-1

1-2

a

2019/20 Europa League

IFK Norrkoping

Sweden

0-2

1-2

1-4

a

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

2008 League Runners Up

2010 League 5th place

2011 League 4th place

2018 League 5th place

11

Ronan O’Flaherty Dodge’s Euro Data!

John Owens

@seidodge

10 OR MORE APPEARANCES FOR THE SAINTS IN EUROPE 24

Ian Bermingham

18

Brendan Clarke

16

Ger O'Brien

15

Christy Fagan

14

Ryan Guy

12

Greg Bolger, Kenny Browne, Jamie Harris, Mark Quigley, Gary Rogers

11

Chris Forrester, Damian Lynch

10

Keith Fahey, Paul Osam

ALL SCORERS FOR SAINTS IN EUROPE 6

Christy Fagan

4

Declan O'Brien

3

Mark Quigley

2

Noel Campbell, Derek Doyle, Jamie Harris, Ger McCarthy, Evan McMillan, Paul Osam

1

Killian Brennan, Conan Byrne, Conor Clifford, Ian Daly, Gary Dempsey, Darren Dennehy, Pat Fenlon, Jason Gavin, Johnny Glynn, Aaron Greene, Ryan Guy, Jackie Hennessy, Mbabazi, Johnny McDonnell, David McMillan, Ger O'Brien, Garett O'Connor, Ricky O'Flaherty, Stephen O'Flynn, Ginger O'Rourke, John Russell, Eddie Ryan

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

13

Opposition Watch Paul Maguire

NŠ Mura started life in 2012

Yugoslavia in 1991. Mura

the PrvaLiga, finishing 4th in

in an all too familiar fashion

finished second in the

their first season, winning the

to LOI viewers when they

Slovenian National League

cup in 2020 and following up

rose from the ashes of ND

which qualified them for the

with a league title a year

Mura 05 who in turn were

UEFA Cup Preliminary

later. This season will be their

born out of the original club

Rounds the following year

fourth year in a row to qualify

founded in 1924 - NK Mura.

which also saw them win the

for European football and

NK were dissolved during

Slovenian Cup. The 90s saw

undoubtedly the most

the 2004/05 season due to

NK play in Europe for four

famous result in their short

financial issues and while

seasons but never

history was a 2-1 win over

they were allowed to

progressed further than a

Tottenham Hotspur in the

complete their fixture

2nd qualifying round of the

group stages of last seasons

schedule, all operations

UEFA Cup in 1998/99.

Europa Conference group

ceased as soon as the season

stages.

ended. Much like St Pats they

A potential successor club

had their best years in the

called ND Mura 05 was

NŠ Mura qualified for this

1990s after Slovenia gained

established in 2005 but they

years competition by

independence from

are not legally considered to

finishing in 4th place in the

be the same club and their

league last season and

records and honours are kept

started their league

separate by the Slovenian FA.

campaign last Sunday with a

Mura 05 was later disbanded

2-0 loss away to Olimpija

in 2013 which leads us to the

Ljubljana. Mura played 6 pre-

present incarnation, NŠ Mura

season friendlies (W2, L3,

or Nogometna šola Mura to

D1) in the run-up to their first

give them their full title

qualifying round tie with FC

(translation = Mura Football

Sfîntul Gheorghe of Moldova,

School). Founded in 2012 it

the first leg of which was

took only 6 years to reach the

played in Zimbru, a location

top tier of Slovenian football,

all too familiar to Pats fans...

Tio Cipot

14

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

@PaulGoS

Mura took the lead when a

a tight first half Mura took

Luka Bobičanec shot was

the lead soon after the

tipped on to the bar and the

break when Mirlind Daku

rebound landed at the feet

found Žiga Kous in front of

of Tio Cipot who celebrated

goal and although his shot

a new contract by tapping

was saved Nikola Petković

home. Their second also had

was on hand for a debut goal. An equalizer for Sfîntul came from a penalty in the 77th minute but the game was secured when

Samsondin Ouro

Kosovo international Daku scored in the 82nd minute

Nikola Petković

to give Mura a 4-2

squad have under-age

aggregate win and set up

international caps.

tonights tie. As previously

Interesting fact - defender

stated, Mura have qualified

Gregor Balažic (2 Slovenia

for European football for the

caps) was an unused sub for

last four years and have

Karpaty Lviv when they beat

played the likes of PSV,

the Saints 5-1 on aggregate

Maccabi Haifa, Zalgiris

in 2012.

an element of good fortune

(remember them?), Spurs of

when a shot from Amar

course and Vitesse Arnhem

Beganović was tipped onto

so they have plenty of

the post but hit the back of

experience at this level.

the Sfîntul keeper and rolled

Samsondin Ouro is an

into the net. A late goal

international for Togo,

conceded meant the tie was

Dardan Shabanhaxhaj is on

very much alive for the

loan from Sturm Graz in

home tie in Fazaneria. After

Austria and several of their

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

Any views expressed in this article are the contributor's own.

15

Irish Independent Friday 22 July, 2011 UEFA Europa League • 2nd Qualifying Round • 2nd Leg • Richmond Park JULY

21 2011

ST PATRICK'S ATH 2 SHAKHTER KARAGANDY 0

BETTER teams have lost at Richmond Park in recent years, but the plot-line of this tie ranks this achievement up there with the best of St Patrick's Athletic's laudable European exploits.

After an arduous 5,000 kilometre trip to Kazakhstan last week, which devoured the financial reward of progressing past Icelandic opposition in the first round, a bug in the Saints camp hindered their preparations for the return against a team with the resources to have a smoother journey.

It didn't prevent Pete Mahon's men from producing a display of immense spirit to advance to the third round of the Europa League qualifiers. For the third time in four years, a Pat's side has progressed through two stages of European competition.

The dubious prize is another lengthy jaunt to Ukraine, where Sligo Rovers will also be in action next Thursday. Whatever happens, the Saints can reflect with pride on how they have flown the flag for a league that badly needs nights like this.

It was always going to be a nervous evening for

16

the Richmond Park faithful, with Shakhter's approach to the game hardly conducive to relaxation. They have a side packed with aerial threats, none more so than giant centre half Nikola Vasiljevic, who scored both goals for Karagandy in their 2-1 win last Thursday.

The second of those came from a long throw and, sure enough, any time the visitors won a throw in the Saints half, the cavalry marched forward. It was more Kazakhstoke than Kazakhstan.

That said, they had some tidy ball players too, and could have silenced the Inchicore din in the opening exchanges, with the lone striker in their 4-2-3-1, Sergiei Khiznichenko, fluffing his lines.

Pete Mahon deployed a similar system and with the natives threatening from set-pieces, the concentration of both defences was severely tested.

In the 14th minute, the Kazakhs were outfoxed.

Daryl Kavanagh burrowed down the right to force a corner, which skipper Stephen Bradley swung into the danger zone. Amid a crowd of bodies, centre-half Evan McMillan rose highest

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

errors from the Dubliners that gave them encouragement. Maksat Bayshanov skipped into space with the Saints stretched and called Gary Rogers into action; fortunately, the loose ball fell to a red and white shirt.

Relief turned to jubilation as Pat's responded by doubling their advantage. The catalyst was the determination of right back Derek Pender, who stormed forward to deliver a teaser which left Utabayev and goalkeeper Aleksandr Mokin in a quandary. Derek Doyle had the conviction to throw his body at the ball and stab it into the unguarded net.

Derek Doyle celebrates after scoring St Pat’s second goal of the game.

to dispatch and put the Saints ahead on away goals.

To their credit, Mahon's men didn't switch off.

Scares were frequent. Another long throw was flicked on to Vasiljevic who skimmed the bar and slammed the ground with anguish.

The feeling of injustice belonged to the League of Ireland side at the interval, however, after the Belgian ref Sebastian Delferiere waved away an obvious penalty claim in a particularly bruising stage of a physical encounter. Saints players were apoplectic when the fit-again Daniel North had a shot blocked by the outstretched hand of Kairat Utabayev, who had gone to ground.

Still, Pat’s were in the driving seat, and Karagandy coach Viktor Kumykov didn't keep his players too long in the dressing room. They emerged with purpose and forged a chance within a minute.

But it took them another 20 to really create a notable one. It was only sporadic unforced

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

With a cushion of sorts, the Saints found their passing range for a brief spell until a handful of let-offs, with deep breaths all round as a wellworked free was wasted by Shakhter's Gediminas Vicius.

The respective benches were utilised in the final quarter, with Shakhter forced to commit and the hosts sensing blood on the counter-attack – Mokin brilliantly tipped over a Bradley free arising from one such break.

After that, the priority was containment. They saw out the remainder to grab deserved acclaim.

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC Rogers, Pender, Shortall, E McMillan, Bermingham; Bradley, McFaul; Kavanagh, Daly [Mulcahy 83], Doyle (Murphy 84); North (D McMillan 76).

SHAKHTER KARAGANDY Mokin, Utabayev (Bormantaev 80), Dzidic, Vasiljevic, Kirov; Bayshanov, Vicius; Konysbayev, Petronijevic (Dosmanbetov 73), Kukeyev; Khiznichenko.

REFEREE: S Delferiere (Belgium).

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Patron Saints 18

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

Pensive PointsRonan O’Flaherty Jimmy Edwards

@jimmyedwards41

Welcome All to Richmond Park for tonight’s European game ( it’s great to be able to say that once again ). I write tonight about three young men who have departed the club in recent weeks, Josh Keeley, James Abankwah and Darragh Burns.

Three great young men who have come through the St Pats Academy up into the first team. The three Lad’s are a credit to their families and to all the coaches at all the clubs that have helped develop

2020 despite being only 15 at the time. James went onto win the FAI Cup in 2021 with Pats having come on as a second half substitute aged 17 for the injured Paddy Barrett in the final and impressing everyone with his cool calm defending in such a big game in front of 40,000 people. Seria A side Udinese Calcio FC agreed a deal with St Pats in January to sign James but allowed him to stay with Pat’s on loan until July in order to finish his leaving

sold out Tolka Park when Darragh picked up the ball out wide and jinked inside across a couple of players and unleashed a 30 yard curling drive into the top corner to put us 1 up in a 3-0 win. Darragh went onto to play his part in the FAI Cup final win last November and he has also won the U17 and U19 league titles along with the Leinster Senior Cup. He has also underage caps for Northern Ireland but switched back to the Republic of

them into the players they are today.

cert exams. James has now moved Udinese to start pre- season with the first team. If he fulfils his potential then I have no doubt’s we will see James playing at a very high level for many years to come.

Ireland and has recently represented the U21’s in a number of squads. One of the things that always stood out for me about Darragh was how giving he was with the all the supporters, especially the younger ones when he would always stop for a photo and a chat or to sign a jersey or picture. He recently signed for MK Dons in England in league one but I have no doubt he will go on to a higher level before long. Darragh signed off his time at St Pat’s by going into the singing section with the fans and banging the drum to epitomise the connection he has with the supporters.

Josh Keeley has won the the league with Pat’s at U15, U17 and U19 and he won the FAI Cup last November with the Saints having played his part in an earlier round v Bray Wanderers keeping a clean sheet in a 6-0 win. He also has played one league game for the first team in a 2-2 draw v Finn Harps. Josh is tall and quick and has all the attributes to make a fine goalkeeper at professional level.

Josh only signed for Tottenham in July and he has impressed Antonio Conte enough for him to name him in the squad to South Korea for preseason alongside all the stellar names like Kane, Son, Lloris and the rest but I’m sure Troy Parrot and Matt Doherty will look after Josh and help him settle in at his new club.

James Abankwah came to Pats from Cherry Orchard in January 2019. He won a league and cup double at U15’s in his first season before winning the under 19 league title in

What can I say about Darragh Burns that hasn’t already been said in the papers and on social media?

Nothing is the answer because we all know and have seen regularly just what a talent this kid is from his eye catching goals, to his strength and speed and to his effervescent bubbly personality when being interviewed. I will only to mention two of his goals ( because the editor will kill me for using up too much space ) that will always live in the memory. The first one was in the semi-final of the FAI Cup last year when he broke clear to score our third goal, a beautiful chip over the keeper in a 3-1 win to seal our place in the final. It was a fantastic feeling of joy and emotions for every Pat’s fan in the ground on the night. The second goal that stands out was in the first league game of this season away to Shelbourne in a

I think I speak on behalf of all the supporters when I say we wish the three lads nothing but the highest of success for the future. Hopefully we will see the three of you back in Richmond Park at some point cheering on the Saints just like we will be cheering you on from afar.

Best of luck lads.

Up the Saints, Jimmy.

Any views expressed in this article are the contributor's own.

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

19

LOI clubs in Europe Seán Creedon Ireland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) on January 1, 1973 and regular readers might remember a piece I did for this publication a few years back on a long forgotten game at Wembley in January of that year between ‘The Three’ and ‘The Six.’

motorways or ask a farmer!

The three were: Great Britain, Republic of Ireland and Denmark and they beat an XI drawn from the six original EEC members: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and West Germany.

Four years later the Saints made their European debut, a Cup Winners’ Cup tie against Dunfermline. The Scottish club, who were then managed by a 39 year-old named Jock Stein, won the first leg 4-1 at East End Park on September 12, 1961.

Ginger O’Rourke got the Saint’s first-ever goal in Europe. The second leg was played at Tolka Park, which was a popular venue for Dublin clubs as it had floodlights, and it ended in a 4-0 win for Dunfermline.

However, 16 years earlier we had joined the European soccer club community when Shamrock Rovers became the first League of Ireland club to play a game in the European Cup. As a nation we had played international friendlies under the auspices of the FAI since 1926 and World Cup qualifiers since 1934. And we were one of the 17 countries that competed in the inaugural European Nations Cup launched in 1958 with Liam Tuohy getting our first-

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Rovers made history in September 1957 when they played Manchester United at Dalymount Park where two of United’s goals in their 6-0 win were scored by United’s Cabra-born star Liam Whelan.

Henri Delaunay

ever goal in a 2-0 win over Czechoslovakia in April 1959.

The idea for a pan-European football tournament was first proposed by the French Football Federation’s secretary-general Henri Delaunay in 1927, but it was not until 1958 that the tournament was started, three years after Delaunay’s death.

So we have definitely been ‘good Europeans’ and there is no doubt that European money has been good to Ireland, just look at our

Drumcondra had the honour of being the first League of Ireland club to play in the old Fairs Cup when they were paired with Danish club Odense. Drums made history when they won the first leg 4-1 at Tolka Park on October 3, 1962 thus becoming the

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

first LOI club to win a game in Europe.

Drums lost the second leg in Odense 4-2, but they progressed to the second round 6-5 on aggregate, making more history by becoming the first LOI club to advance to a second round, where they lost to Bayern Munich.

So Drums were the first to win a European game, but Dundalk hold the record for the first away win in Europe.

That came in September 1963, when after losing 3-0 at home to Zurich, they won the second leg 2-1 in Switzerland. One of the scorers that night was the late Jimmy Hasty, whom we featured on these pages two seasons back.

When the UEFA Cup replaced the Fairs Cup in 1971 Shelbourne were our first representatives and they were paired with Hungarian club Vasas. After losing the first leg 1-0 in Budapest, the Reds drew the second leg 1-1 in Dublin.

Derry City are unusual in that they played in Europe while representing the Irish League and the League of Ireland. In 1964-65 they lost 5-0 on aggregate to Steaua Bucharest in the first round of the Cup Winners’ Cup. The following season in the European Cup they beat Lyn of Oslo 8-6 on aggregate, but then the IFA ruled that the Brandywell surface was not fit to host their home tie against Anderlecht in the second round. The Candystripes travelled to Belgium where they were beaten 9-0 by Anderlecht.

time. Dundalk equalled Rovers’ achievement when they too qualified for the group stages of the Europa League in 2017.

Derry joined the League of Ireland in 1985 and qualified for the FAI Cup final in 1988.

They lost the final to Dundalk, but the County Louth club had already won the League and so they went into the European Cup, with the Candystripes getting the Cup Winners’ Cup spot where they lost 4-0 on aggregate to Cardiff City.

Shamrock Rovers played their 92nd game in Europe earlier this month, Dundalk are next with 90 European games and Bohemians are third with 73 games. The Saints are in fourth place with 56 games and Shelbourne, who have not played in Europe since 2006, are fifth with 53 games. Derry City are next with 41, followed by Sligo Rovers on 26 and Waterford on 22.

In August 2011 Shamrock Rovers won 2-1 away to Partizan Belgrade to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League for the first

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

All ten of the clubs currently in the Premier Division of the League have played in Europe. In the first division Wexford Youths, Cobh Ramblers and Treaty United from Limerick are the only clubs who have yet to play in Europe, but Limerick F.C. played 12 times in Europe and their opponents included famous clubs like Real Madrid.

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2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

23

Eurozone Seán Brennan

Women’s Football in Scandinavia – Another Nordic Success Story 100,000 registered female footballers.

Secondly, success breeds success.

Nordic countries were early adopters to women’s football, and used that as a springboard for further development. Sweden won the first European Championships in 1984 and Norway beat the Swedes in the final of the following tournament.

Just like how in Ireland a young girl would take up boxing after seeing Kelly Harrington or Katie Taylor winning Olympic gold,

The curious LdB Malmö skincare sponsored shirt

Scandinavian girls have had With five Nordic teams competing

Firstly, Iceland, Norway, Sweden

plenty of inspiration from their

in this summer’s European

and Finland are ranked the top 4

national teams. A tradition of

Championships, we look at their

most gender equal societies in

female success in Winter

progress in the women’s game.

the world by the World Economic

Olympics in Norway and Sweden

Forum. The pay gap is minimal,

has also helped improve public

Scandinavia is often held up as

the parental leave is generous,

and commercial interest in

the most advanced form of

and women arrive to high

women’s sport in general.

society; Finland’s education

positions of power, such as Sanna

system, Sweden’s welfare state,

Marin’s female dominated Finnish

Scandinavian leagues were also

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund,

government cabinet. Statistically,

pioneers in the professionalisation

not to mention economic success

gender equal societies have a

of the sport. Sweden and

and plenty of music and TV

higher rate of female sporting

Denmark joined Italy (destination

exports. With these three,

participation, and thus a bigger

of Inchicore native and former

Denmark and Iceland all

and better pool of players.

qualifying for the Euros, one

Norway and Sweden for instance,

Lazio star Anne O’Brien) as the

wonders what is the formula for

are two of only six European

standard bearers of female

their success?

countries to have more than

professional football in the 1970s

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2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

@SBahnManc

and have maintained a strong position since then. Strict licensing structures in Denmark and Sweden also ensure a high degree of professionalism and business competence. That the six times FIFA World Player of the Year Marta played at the peak of her career with Umeå IK in northern Sweden is testament to the standard of the league and the professional contracts it offers.

Finance and the media also play a siginificant role in the

Norwegian players celebrating a goal in their group stage win over Northern Ireland

sport’s evolution. Norway’s largest tabloid, Dagbladet, has

much maligned commercial

It is true that in recent years

been covering women’s football

product. In 2007 Malmö FF’s

Germany, Spain, and England

since the 1970s. Today, one game

women’s team split from the

have overtaken Sweden, Norway

per round of the Toppserien is

men’s club to form LdB Malmö.

and Denmark to become the

broadcast on TV, while high

LdB here stands for ‘Lait de

dominant forces in Europe.

profile sponsors such as the state

beauté’, the club’s naming rights

Nonetheless, with professional

betting company Norsk Tipping

being sold as part of a €2.5M deal

structures, public interest and

back the league financially.

to their new owners, skincare

commercial revenue, women’s

Average attendances in Sweden

brand Hardford. With women

football in Scandinavia seems to

were a respectable 925 last

being the main target market of

be in a safe position for future

season, while during Marta’s era,

this, the arrangement made

generations.

Umeå IK were getting over 3,000

commercial sense, although the

through the turnstiles every home

proximity of commerce and a

game.

club’s identity would likely sit uncomfortably with many football

The finance required to develop a

fans.

sport can however change it to a 2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

25

A View from Afar Ian Templeman When the draw paired Saints with the winners of the First Qualifying Round tie between FC Sfintul Gheorghe of Moldova and tonight’s opponents NS Mura of Slovenia, I’m guessing that I was not alone in not having heard of the former, and the latter rang a bell as a result of their win over Tottenham Hotspur in last season’s competition, but not much else.

One of the many benefits of the internet these days is that when a European draw pairs us with opponents who we know little or nothing about, there are plenty of ways to find out about them, and that goes for match reports and coverage of games too.

In this instance, we had two opportunities to follow the progress of tonight’s opponents to Richmond Park, with the two legs of the First Qualifying Round ties being played a fortnight and a week ago, and I undertook to follow both games and report back for tonight’s issue of The Saint.

Thanks to various sources, such as the UEFA website and NR Mura’s website which handily can be translated into English, I’ve been able to piece together a picture of how the first leg panned out on the night. However, covering the second leg was much easier, as a well-known betting website screened the game in Slovenia live, so my views on that game are obviously much better informed.

The first leg took place on Thursday 7th July, in the Stadionul Zimbru in Chisinau, and at 6 pm our time, Latvian referee Vitālijs Spasjoņņikovs got the game underway, with the temperature in

26

the stadium at 24 degrees.

Mura lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, and coach Andrej Kvas’s starting eleven comprised five Slovenians, alongside four Croatians, a Serb and a Bosnian. The game began in a rather slow and cagey manner, and the first goalscoring opportunity of note came on 22 minutes when Paireli of FCSG had a shot on goal that Matko Obradović in the Mura goal saved.

At the other end, Mura’s first goal attempt was on 26 minutes when Nikola Petković saw his shot safely gathered by home goalkeeper Calancea.

The remainder of the half produced little in the way of noteworthy chances for either side, and the close fought nature of the game continued in the early stages of the second half.

However, just after the hour mark Mura coach Andrej Kvas decided to shake things up with a triple substitution and almost immediately, it seemed to galvanise the visitors who began to turn the screw, first of all winning four successive corners before taking the lead in the 65th minute.

A Luka Bobičanec shot from distance was pushed onto the crossbar by FCSG keeper Nicolae Calancea, and the ball fell kindly into the path of midfielder Tio Cipot who opened the scoring from close range.

After substitute Shabanhaxhaj forced Calancea into a save with 18 minutes remaining, the night got worse for the FCSG keeper as Mura doubled their lead when Amar Beganović’s shot rebounded off

the woodwork and bounced back into the net off the unfortunate keeper who was credited with an own goal.

As the desperate Moldovans tried to get back into the game, space was left at the back, and Shabanhaxhay and Cipot both had chances to further increase the lead.

But just as it seemed that Mura would end the evening with a clean sheet, slackness at the back allowed FCSG to pull a goal back through Jibril Ibrahim just a minute from the end.

It must have been a disappointing end to the night for Mura, given that Matko Obradović in goal had a relatively untroubled evening, but none the less they went into the second leg as firm favourites, with bookies typically offering odds in the region of 5/1 or 6/1 on that Mura would win.

Having the chance to take in the second leg live from my own boudoir was obviously an opportunity not to be missed, and I settled down at 7 o’clock one week ago tonight to watch with interest and size up tonight’s opponents.

A check on the UEFA website showed that Mura had made one change to the starting eleven from the game in Moldova, with Kosovan striker Mirlind Daku replacing the Croatian Mihael Klepač up front. The same 4-4-2 formation was being adopted.

The temperature inside the Mestni stadion Fazanerija in Murska Sobota was 31 degrees when Dutch referee Joey Kooij got the game underway, and the opening

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

Ronan O’Flaherty @iantemplemanloi half hour was dominated by Mura, with Sfintul Gheorghe coming into the game a bit more as half time approached.

Mura began on the front foot and created two chances in the opening five minutes, first when Matic Maruško headed wide at the far post and then Mirlind Daku fired a shot across the face of goal.

Four minutes later another Maruško effort went just wide and then Daku shot over as the home side turned the screw.

Mura’s best chance of the half arrived on 29 minutes, when some nice one touch passing teed up Maruško for a shot that was pushed onto the crossbar by Sfintul Gheorghe goalkeeper Calancea.

The visitors had rarely threatened the home goal up to that point, but just after the half hour Vadim Paireli had two chances inside a minute, first just failing to connect with a cross driven low into the box, and then shooting over after good build up play from Jibril Ibrahim.

On the stroke of half time Mura keeper Obradovic made his first save of the night, gathering a header low down at the post, and the half time stats flashed up on screen showed the possession had been 54-46 in Mura’s favour. Over the 45 minutes they had looked pretty comfortable, and they certainly came out of the blocks quickly straight from the restart, when Nikola Petković, who up to that point had had a quiet game, opened the scoring with a shot from inside the box, and it was almost two a minute later when Mura captain Žiga Kous screwed a

shot wide from only a couple of yards out.

Luka Bobičanec then had a shot deflected wide and another saved, and as the game moved into the final quarter it did rather look like it was going to fizzle out, until Sfintul Gheorghe surprisingly grabbed an equaliser on the night with 13 minutes left. A lovely finish it was too, with substitute Serghei Svinarenco pouncing on a loose ball and burying a shot across the keeper into the far corner of the net.

The Moldovan glimmer of hope only lasted three minutes however, as Mura then wrapped up the tie with their second goal of the night, and this was another great finish.

This time, a long ball out of defence found Daku in space, and he outpaced the covering defender before taking a touch and finding the back of the net off the inside of the post.

With no further scoring, the match ended after five minutes of stoppage time, and I have to say Mura were deserved winners.

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

Based on what I saw, they are a side who like to play out from the back, and pass the ball around, although at the same time are always looking for a long ball over the top or a cross into the box.

Kosovan striker Mirlind Daku always looked a threat, and Croatian Luka Bobičanec was always willing to get forward from midfield. The most recognisable player in the Mura line up is the tall figure of Tio Cipot, whose bleached blonde hair makes him stand out like a beacon in the midfield areas.

My impressions are that Mura are a good side, whose quick passing style will be suited to the excellent surface here at Richmond Park.

They will be tough opponents for the Saints, but at the same time, given that both sides possess players who can get the ball down and play, I think there is a more than decent chance we could be in for two very good games of football, both here in Inchicore and next week in Murska Sobota.

May the best team win!

27

Club History Dermot Looney

Alex Stevenson – Our First ‘Gaffer?’ advertising in England for the new role of “player-manager.” One man who spotted the ad was Alex Stevenson, then in place as the FAI’s national coach. The Press reported that the 41 year-old was “tired of teaching from the sideline and is keen to take down his boots to play again.” Stevenson, referred to in many of the papers of the time as Alec, would go on to play a crucial role at St Pat’s for the next four years.

The 1953/54 season, Pat’s third in League of Ireland football, was a disappointment, with considerable criticism of selection issues, forward play and tactics in the newspapers at the time. Mid-way through the season, it was clear that changes were needed off the pitch as well as on it.

Born in 1912 to a mother with Italian roots and a father whose family came from Scotland, Stevenson’s early years had been spent in the North Strand and East Wall areas on Dublin’s northside. He had started at local junior club St Barnabas, winning the Leinster Junior Cup in 1930, in the season before St Patrick’s Athletic entered competitive football. The tricky insideforward moved to League of Ireland club Dolphin for the 1931/32 season, helping them to Leinster Senior Cup success and an FAI Cup final which they lost to Shamrock Rovers. He impressed so much that he won his first cap for the senior national side while still at Dolphin, moving shortly afterwards to an unlikely destination – Glasgow Rangers.

The management and coaching of teams 70 years ago was in stark contrast to the highlyqualified roles employed across football today.

There was no recognised coach at St Pat’s until the year before this impasse, when Scotsman Jimmy Nelson arrived in as player-coach from Waterford. It is unclear how much influence such a coach held on team tactics. Team selection remained the preserve of a committee of officials.

With the Saints struggling, it was evident that the Nelson experiment had failed. The Pat’s committee turned across the channel,

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2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

@dlooney

both the FAI’s national team and the IFA national team (both referred to as ‘Ireland’) but made more appearances for the latter. He remained puzzled about the lack of game-time with the FAI side until his dying days, but research by football historian Gerry Farrell has shown that Everton were unwilling to release him for FAI games for much of his career.

He was the first and to this date only male player capped by the FAI senior side (now the Republic of Ireland) to be signed by Rangers; our current assistant manager Jon Daly signed for Rangers as an Under-21 international, while Ciara Grant became the first women’s international to sign for the Gers earlier this year.

Stevenson’s Protestant religion was in line with the Rangers policy of not signing Catholics which lasted from the 1920’s to 1989. After two years in Glasgow, he transferred to Everton in the English First Division. He would last fifteen years with the Toffees, although several of those were taken up with war duties as a member of the RAF’s ground crew. During these years Stevenson, like many of his contemporaries, played for

Stevenson’s Everton career came to an end in 1949 just short of his 37th birthday, and he went to Lancashire Combination side Bootle Athletic as player-manager until 1950 before returning to Dublin in 1953 to take over as the FAI’s national team coach.

This role was significantly removed from our modern understanding of a national team manager, with a selection committee from the FAI picking the side until the late 1960’s. Gerry Farrell has noted that “with many senior international players based in Britain, Alex got to do very little actual coaching, and what coaching he did do seemed to be limited to series of evening lectures. It was a role he soon grew tired of.”

the FAI agreed to release him given that the Pat’s offer was for a longer contract and included a permanent residence in Dublin.

Interestingly, in a remark which betrayed his unhappiness with the FAI’s role, Stevenson stated that “he could be of greater benefit to the game in his new appointment as he felt coaching should be of the practical kind.” ‘Half-Back,’ the Evening Herald correspondent, noted Stevenson was “very keen on field work and probably feels that with a club under his command he will be able to bring his plans to action.”

Having applied for the playermanager position at the Saints,

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

29

Club History Dermot Looney

retain his starting place and was selected as captain in several games to come.

Stevenson officially took up the Pat’s job on February 2nd 1954 with a two year contract as player-manager. He was to last more than four. The Irish Press included an unusual feature the following day; a picture of the 41 year old signing as “player, manager and coach.”

“Stevenson believes in St Patrick’s Athletic,” reported the Irish Independent, “and in his own coaching powers. He has proved that, by throwing up the job of National Coach worth £600 a year to return to the playing field.” It is unclear what Stevenson’s appointment meant for the contract of Jimmy Nelson, who had been player-coach, but Nelson did

30

A gate of £258 paid into Milltown on February 7th for Stevenson’s debut, and ‘Wee Alec’ didn’t disappoint. “Alec Stevenson was the brains behind a great 6-1 Pats win” was the headline in the following day’s Irish Press.

Reporter Seamus Devlin noted the inside-left had “mesmerised the Dundalk defence” and that while he had helped himself to two goals, Stevenson “played with such finesse and distributed the ball to such an extent as to be the moving genius in each of the six.” His first goal “was as good as any seen in Milltown for some years,” while the second came from a penalty late on.

Although Stevenson played most of the rest of the season

and would go on to play occasional games until 1955, his primary focus was now on coaching. Tactically, he employed a pressing game of sorts, with the Irish Press congratulating him “for getting his men to force the pace, keep the ball moving” and never letting the opposition dictate the play.

Stevenson was particularly adept at bringing young players through, with Seamus Devlin in the Irish Press crediting him with a “youth to the fore” policy. “St Patrick’s Put The Accent On Youth” reported John McDonnell in the Sunday Independent, with Stevenson working with young and “tractable” players who he could mould. He combined both on and off the pitch with teenager Joe Haverty in his first season at the club, before Haverty moved to Arsenal, while the likes of Paddy ‘Ginger’ O’Rourke, Dinny Lowry and Christy Fitzgerald became mainstays early on in his tenure. “The young players are sure of the best advice, delivered in breezy style, for Stevenson has the gift of getting fine team spirit” reported WP Murphy in the Irish Independent. He certainly had an eye for talent too, signing the great Tommy

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

@dlooney

second-last place in 1953/54, Pat’s jumped right back to the top of Irish football in 1954/55, winning the League for the second time. Remarkably, they repeated the feat the following season, 1955/56.

Dunne from Shamrock Rovers among others.

Some of Stevenson’s coaching innovations were remarkable.

“The accent in training is on ball practice,” declared the Irish Independent. “Even lapping around in threes, the players use a number of balls.”

He reportedly instructed players training in Richmond Park to stand in the River Camac in their new boots to help soften them. Stevenson was supported off the field by trainer Willie Mullen, Dick Peacock, Con Murray and his assistant and eventual successor, Jimmy Collins, making a team of “back-room boys” according to the Irish Press.

Stevenson’s appointment revitalised the Saints; from

“No praise can be too high for the coach who has achieved so much with the material at his disposal since taking over the helm,” wrote KJ Kenealy in the Evening Herald at the end of that two-in-a-row season. By then Stevenson was also installed as manager of the LOI Inter-League side. In that role he guided the team to several successes and a famous draw against the English League in 1956. His playing days were now firmly behind him as he recovered from a cartilage injury in training towards the end of the 1955/56 campaign.

Cup Final the following season, with the old apprentice triumphing to help Pat’s lift the Cup for the first time.

By 1960 Stevenson finished at Waterford and returned to England with his career in toplevel football at a premature end. After a spell running a pub in Chester, he lived much of the rest of his life as a Council worker in Bootle.

Despite continuing adoration from fans of nearby Everton, his life came to a sad end in 1985 at the age of 73.

In our next issue we will look at Alex Stevenson’s first major campaign at St Pat’s; the 1954 FAI Cup run which ended in defeat in the Saints’ first final, with one particular decision from the boss going down in Pat’s infamy.

Stevenson continued in the Pat’s role until the end of the 1957/58 season, when he moved to Waterford, with Jimmy Collins taking the reins at the Saints. As Gerry Farrell has noted, “there was some newspaper speculation as to personal differences between Stevenson and the St Pat’s board but the exact cause of his departure seems unclear.”

In an ironic twist, Stevenson and Collins would lead out their respective sides in the FAI

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

31

Results & Lineouts 2022 DATE

OPPOSITION

VENUE

COMP

SCORE

Fri 11 Feb

SHAMROCK ROVERS

Fri 18 Feb

SHELBOURNE

Fri 25 Feb

SLIGO ROVERS

STARTING XI

AWAY

FINAL

1-1

ANANG

SCOTT

BRESLIN

ABANKWAH

REDMOND

LENNON

BURNS

AWAY

SERIES 1

3-0

ANANG

SCOTT

BRESLIN

ABANKWAH

REDMOND

LENNON

BURNS

HOME

SERIES 2

1-2

ANANG

SCOTT

BRESLIN

ABANKWAH

REDMOND

LENNON

BURNS

1

Mon 28 Feb BOHEMIANS

AWAY

SERIES 3

0-1

ANANG

SCOTT

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

LENNON

MCCLELLAND

Fri 04 Mar

SHAMROCK ROVERS

HOME

SERIES 4

1-0

ANANG

SCOTT

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

O’REILLY

BURNS

Fri 11 Mar

FINN HARPS

AWAY

SERIES 5

2-0

ANANG

SCOTT

1 BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

BERMINGHAM

O’REILLY

Mon 14 Mar UCD

HOME

SERIES 6

2-0

ANANG

SCOTT

BERMINGHAM

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

O’REILLY

BURNS

Fri 18 Mar

DERRY CITY

AWAY

SERIES 7

1-2

ANANG

SCOTT

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

1 REDMOND

O’REILLY

BURNS

Fri 01 Apr

DROGHEDA UNITED

HOME

SERIES 8

1-1

ANANG

SCOTT

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

O’REILLY

BURNS

Fri 08 Apr

DUNDALK

HOME

SERIES 9

0-0

ANANG

ABANKWAH

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

O’REILLY

BURNS

Fri 15 Apr

SHAMROCK ROVERS

O’REILLY

BURNS

1

AWAY

SERIES 10

0-1

ANANG

ABANKWAH

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

Mon 18 Apr UCD

AWAY

SERIES 11

2-1

ANANG

SCOTT

BERMINGHAM

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND 1 FORRESTER

BURNS

Fri 22 Apr

FINN HARPS

HOME SERIES 12

2-0

ANANG

ABANKWAH

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

O’REILLY

BURNS

Fri 29 Apr

DERRY CITY

HOME SERIES 13

0-4

ANANG

SCOTT

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

BERMINGHAM

O’REILLY

Fri 06 May DROGHEDA UNITED

AWAY

SERIES 14

4-0

ANANG

S CURTIS

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

O’REILLY

BURNS

Mon 09 May DERRY CITY

AWAY

SERIES 23

0-0

ANANG

S CURTIS

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

O’REILLY

MCCLELLAND

Sat 14 May SLIGO ROVERS

AWAY

SERIES 15

1-1

ANANG

S CURTIS

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

O’REILLY

MCCORMACK

Fri 20 May SHELBOURNE

HOME SERIES 16

1-2

ANANG

S CURTIS

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND 1 O’REILLY

MCCORMACK

Mon 23 May BOHEMIANS

HOME SERIES 17

3-0

ANANG

S CURTIS

BRESLIN

GRIVOSTI

REDMOND

BERMINGHAM

O’REILLY

Fri 27 May DUNDALK

AWAY

SERIES 18

0-1

ANANG

S CURTIS

BRESLIN

REDMOND

BERMINGHAM

O’REILLY

MCCLELLAND

Fri 17 Jun

UCD

HOME SERIES 20

2-1

ANANG

S CURTIS

BRESLIN

REDMOND

GRIVOSTI

O’REILLY

MCCLELLAND

Fri 24 Jun

FINN HARPS

AWAY

SERIES 21

2-2

ANANG

S CURTIS

BRESLIN

REDMOND

GRIVOSTI

O’REILLY

KING

Mon 27 Jun SHAMROCK ROVERS

HOME SERIES 19

1-2

ANANG

SCOTT

BRESLIN

REDMOND

GRIVOSTI

O’REILLY

BURNS

Fri 01 Jul

DROGHEDA UNITED

HOME SERIES 22

3-0

ANANG

SCOTT

BRESLIN

REDMOND

GRIVOSTI

O’REILLY

KING

Fri 15 Jul

DUNDALK

HOME SERIES 24

1-1

ANANG

BROCKBANK

BRESLIN

REDMOND

GRIVOSTI

O’REILLY

MCCORMACK

Thu 21 Jul NS MURA

HOME QR2-Leg1

1-1

Thu 28 Jul NS MURA

AWAY

QR2-Leg2

1-1

Sun 31 Jul WATERFORD

HOME

FAI R1

1-1

Fri 05 Aug

SHELBOURNE

AWAY

SERIES 26

1-1

Fri 12 Aug

SLIGO ROVERS

HOME SERIES 27

1-1

GET WELL SOON!

Fri 19 Aug

UCD

AWAY

1-1

Fri 02 Sep

FINN HARPS

HOME SERIES 29

Fri 09 Sep

DROGHEDA UNITED

AWAY

Fri 30 Sep

DERRY CITY

HOME SERIES 31

Fri 07 Oct

DUNDALK

AWAY

Fri 14 Oct

BOHEMIANS

HOME SERIES 33

Fri 21 Oct

SHAMROCK ROVERS

AWAY

SERIES 34

Sat 28 Oct

SLIGO ROVERS

AWAY

SERIES 35

Fri 04 Nov

SHELBOURNE

HOME SERIES 36

TBA

BOHEMIANS

AWAY

SERIES 28

SERIES 30

SERIES 32

SERIES 25

FAI Cup Weekend ending Sun 28 Aug

R2

Weekend ending Sun 18 Sept

QF

Weekend ending Sun 16 Oct

SF

Weekend ending Sun 13 Nov

FINAL

32

Best wishes to Saints Mick Banks as 1-1 he continues his recovery 1-1 from a head injury a 1-1 month ago while playing 1-1 1-1 5-a-side with his friends 1-1 and fellow Saints fans, 1-1 Westland Rovers.

1-1 supporter

1-1

Mick hopes to be back on the Camac sooner rather than later to cheer on the Saints.

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

1

2

1

Pres Cup

League

FAI Cup

Europe

1st Sub

2nd Sub 3rd Sub

4th Sub

5th Sub 1 Goals Scored OG Own Goal For

* Own Goal

Yellow Card

Red Card

SUBSTITUTES

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

1 M DOYLE

KING

OWOLABI

MCCLELLAND BERMINGHAM CORBALLY

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

M DOYLE

1 KING

MCCLELLAND 1 GRIVOSTI

O’REILLY

OWOLABI

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

M DOYLE

KING

OWOLABI 1 MURPHY

S CURTIS

BERMINGHAM GRIVOSTI

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

M DOYLE

OWOLABI

BURNS

KING

ABANKWAH

O’REILLY

FORRESTER 1 E DOYLE

M DOYLE

KING

OWOLABI

BERMINGHAM ABANKWAH

BURNS

OWOLABI

ABANKWAH

MCCLELLAND COUGHLAN

BRESLIN

OWOLABI

MCCLELLAND COUGHLAN COUGHLAN

O’REILLY

GRIVOSTI

MURPHY

MCCORMACK KEELEY

MCCORMACK S CURTIS

MCCLELLAND MCCORMACK O’REILLY

BERMINGHAM MCCORMACK B CURTIS

KEELEY

MCCORMACK S CURTIS

MURPHY

KEELEY

KING

MCCORMACK S CURTIS

MURPHY

KEELEY

ABANKWAH

MCCORMACK S CURTIS

MURPHY

KEELEY

MCCLELLAND LIPSIUC

CORBALLY

MURPHY

ODUMOSU

BERMINGHAM S CURTIS

MCCLELLAND COUGHLAN

E DOYLE

1 M DOYLE

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

1 M DOYLE

1 KING

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

M DOYLE

KING

OWOLABI

ABANKWAH

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

M DOYLE

KING

ABANKWAH

MCCORMACK MURPHY

OWOLABI

COUGHLAN

MURPHY

E DOYLE

COUGHLAN

KING

MCCLELLAND

M DOYLE

OWOLABI

CORBALLY

MCCORMACK BERMINGHAM S CURTIS

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

MCCLELLAND

KING

M DOYLE

COUGHLAN

OWOLABI

MCCORMACK SCOTT

MCCLELLAND

COUGHLAN

M DOYLE

OWOLABI

KING

E DOYLE

MCCORMACK 1 O’REILLY

ABANKWAH

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

KING

SCOTT

M DOYLE

MCCLELLAND COUGHLAN

BERMINGHAM OWOLABI

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

BURNS

COUGHLAN

OWOLABI

MCCORMACK MCCLELLAND ROBINSON

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

KING

M DOYLE

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

KING

BURNS

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

KING

BURNS

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

MCCLELLAND

OWOLABI

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

KING

OWOLABI

M DOYLE

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

2 BURNS

M DOYLE

MCCORMACK BERMINGHAM OWOLABI

ABANKWAH

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

BURNS

M DOYLE

ABANKWAH

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

1 KING

M DOYLE

MCCORMACK OWOLABI

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

1 MCCORMACK

M DOYLE

FORRESTER

E DOYLE

1 KING

M DOYLE

KING 1 MCCORMACK

KING

1 BERMINGHAM M DOYLE BURNS

1 M DOYLE SCOTT

3 ROBINSON

1 OWOLABI ATAKAYI

KEELEY

MURPHY

FORRESTER

2 MCCORMACK

LOST 5-4 ON PENS

BERMINGHAM ODUMOSU

S CURTIS

MCCLELLAND ODUMOSU ROBINSON

ODUMOSU

BERMINGHAM S CURTIS

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

BRESLIN

S CURTIS

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

S CURTIS

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

S CURTIS

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

FAY

MCCLELLAND OWOLABI

ROBINSON 1 FAY

SCOTT

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

ROBINSON

BERMINGHAM OWOLABI

MCCORMACK FAY

SCOTT

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

ROBINSON

BERMINGHAM OWOLABI

MCCLELLAND B CURTIS

SCOTT

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

BERMINGHAM MCCLELLAND OWOLABI

ROBINSON

B CURTIS

M DOYLE

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

M DOYLE

MCCORMACK BURNS

KING

B CURTIS

SCOTT

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

BURNS

MCCORMACK GRIVOSTI

ABANKWAH

ROBINSON

SCOTT

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

SCOTT

KING

ROBINSON

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

MCCORMACK SCOTT

OWOLABI

BERMINGHAM CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

MCCLELLAND ABANKWAH

BERMINGHAM B CURTIS

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

MCCLELLAND ROBINSON

BERMINGHAM B CURTIS

FAY

DODD

CORBALLY

ODUMOSU

OWOLABI

MCCLELLAND BARRETT

FAY

DODD

TIMMERMANS ODUMOSU

MCCLELLAND ROBINSON

1 Who is the last player to score a goal for the Saints in a European game?

ROBINSON

LENNON

6

Which team scored a 90th minute winner against Real Madrid at the bernabeu in the group stages of the Champions League last season?

2

Who was the first Irish club to win 4 consecutive games in European competition?

7

3

Which club did St Pats knock out of Europe in 2011 and 2012?

Who scored Chelsea's fastest ever Champions League goal, against Zenit last season?

8

Who was the first manager to win the Champions League, World Cup and the European championship?

9

Who scored two late goals for Real Madrid to force extra time against Man City in the semifinal of the Champions League last season?

4

When did Slovenia first qualify for a major tournament?

5

Which club did Dundalk score 4 goals against in 2021 to equal their record win in Europe?

10 Which city will host the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final?

1 Conor Clifford. 2 Bohs. 3 IBV Vestmannaeyjar. 4 Euro 2000. 5 Newtown. 6 Sheriff Tiraspol. 7 Timo Werner. 8 Vicente del Bosque. 9 Rodrygo Silva de Goes 10 Prague.

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

33

Apps & Goals 2022 League of Ireland

1 23 25 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 24 25 28 29 31 33 34 45

Joseph Anang David Odumosu Josh Keeley Jack Scott Ian Bermingham Joe Redmond Tom Grivosti Jamie Lennon Serge Atakayi Chris Forrester Eoin Doyle Ronan Coughlan Jason McClelland Harry Brockbank Mark Doyle Billy King Adam O’Reilly Darragh Burns Ben McCormack Anto Breslin James Abankwah Sam Curtis Ben Curtis Thijs Timmerman Cian Kelly Paddy Barrett Kian Corbally Kyle Robinson Adam Murphy Tunde Owolabi

President’s Cup

UP TO AND INCLUDING GAMES PLAYED ON SUN 17 JULY 2022

FAI Cup

Europa Conference

TOTAL

Pld

Goals

Pld

Goals

Pld

Goals

Pld

Goals

Pld

Goals

24 0 0 12+4s 6+5s 24 22+1s 3+1s 1s 23 23+1s 2+6s 7+9s 1 16+7s 20+2s 20+3s 18+4s 6+8s 22+1s 5+5s 7 0 0 0 0 0 6s 1+2s 4+15s

0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 10 0 1 0 3 4 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4

1 0 0 1 0 1 1s 1 0 1 1 0 1s 0 1 1 1s 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1s

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

25 0 0 13+4s 6+5s 25 23+2s 4+1s 1s 24 24+1s 2+6s 7+10s 1 17+7s 21+2s 20+4s 19+4s 6+8s 23+1s 6+5s 7 0 0 0 0 0 6s 1+2s 4+16s

0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 11 0 1 0 3 4 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4

PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE

Pld

W

D

L

F

A

GD

Pts

LAST 5 MATCHES

1

SHAMROCK ROVERS

23

16

3

4

37

14

23

51

W

L

2

DERRY CITY

23

12

7

4

40

22

18

43

D

D W W W

3

DUNDALK

23

11

9

3

32

16

16

42

W D W

L

4

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC

24

10

6

8

33

22

11

36

W D

W D

5

SLIGO ROVERS

23

8

8

7

31

26

5

32

D W D W

6

BOHEMIANS

23

8

8

7

31

29

2

32

W

L

L

7

SHELBOURNE

22

8

4

10

21

28

-7

28

L

L

D

L

8

DROGHEDA UNITED

23

6

7

10

23

36

-13

25

D

D

L

W

L

9

FINN HARPS

23

2

6

15

19

42

-23

12

L

D

L

L

L

10

UCD

23

2

6

15

15

47

-32

12

L

L

L

L

W

2022 Season • Vol. 34 • No.12 • Europa Conference League • QR2 - 1st Leg

W W W

L

D

L

W W W

35 35