Mura vs St Patrick's Athletic

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 ...

In the next round, they face Bulgarian outfit CSKA Sofia, who beat North Macedonian side Makedonija Gjorče Petrov 4-0 on aggregate this evening. It means they progress to the competition’s third round, joining Sligo Rovers who enjoyed a similarly impressive win over Motherwell earlier this evening. ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC earned a dramatic penalty shootout win over Slovenian side Mura in the Europa Conference League this evening.

MURA 0 ST PAT'S 0 (5-6 on penalties)CHRIS FORRESTER got a clip around the ear - and Joe Anang watched a clipped penalty fly over his bar to send St Pa.

But a shootout was needed and Anang and the Saints held their nerve. But the visitors were later questioning why Daku - booked in the first half - was not sent off for a blatant dive after the break in an effort to win a penalty. Forester’s corner was headed on by Redmond and Cotter was given the freedom of the six-yard box but missed the target. The Saints had a great chance to go in front midway through the first half when Barry Cotter headed over from close range when unmarked off a corner. Yet the fact that they had a man advantage for the final 20 minutes of normal time plus the 30 minutes of extra time meant it was a game there for the taking. It was a dramatic ending as it was 3-3 after five penalties, as Josip Majic and Barry Cotter both missed early before Mihael Klepac’s miss gave the Saints a chance to win it.

St Patrick's Athletic players got to revel in the ecstasy of winning a penalty shootout on what was a sensational night for Irish football.

There was also a stroke of luck bestowed upon them from the referee as with 15 minutes of regulation left, substitute Matic Marusko was shown a straight red for slapping out at Chris Forrester after the playmaker had initially had a swat at him. While Sligo Rovers had it relatively straightforward in the end as they led throughout their 2-0 win at home against Motherwell, The Saints had to absorb plenty of pressure over 120 minutes in Slovenia before eventually coming out on top. St Patrick's Athletic players got to revel in the ecstasy of winning a penalty shootout on what was a sensational night for Irish football.

Tim Clancy's side hold nerve in Slovenia to make it through to third qualifying round of Europa Conference League.

Eoin Doyle, Ronan Coughlan, Jason McClelland, Thijs Timmermans, Serge Atakayi and Joe Redmond all fired past Matko Obradović, while Anang superbly turned away a Mihael Klepač strike. Tim Clancy’s Saints dominated possession in the second half of extra-time, but it was going to take a battle of wits from 12 yards to produce an outcome. St Patrick’s Athletic defeated NŠ Mura in a tense penalty shoot-out at Fazanerija City Stadium to progress into the third qualifying round of the Uefa Europa Conference League.

ST PATRICK'S Athletic boss Tim Clancy hailed the heroics of his two Joes - Redmond and Anang - as the Saints came through a penalty shoot-out in Slovenia to ...

We could have won it, Tom Grivosti misses, their keeper makes a great save, then a couple of lads took some great penalties, their lad missed it and we're delighted," said manager Tim Clancy. "Joe has been excellent since he came in from West Ham, he's getting exposure in big games like this that you don't get in the U23s over in England, it's a loan that's been beneficial to him, it's temporary as Joe will have an amazing career after us, we're delighted to see him progress for as long as he's here, some of the saves he made in 90 minutes and extra time were exceptional and he saved one of the penalties as well. "To go through was a big result for us, after the first leg we believed we could compete with them, we came out here, Joe Anang made some great saves during the game, we had some good chances ourselves, when you get to extra time and penalties it's a lottery.

JOE REDMOND held his nerve while Tio Cipot bottled his in a dramatic shootout as the Saints went marching on! Penalties may be a lottery but St Pat's more ...

And Clancy said: “Mura were better tonight than in our place. You feel out of control because you’re just wanting someone to miss and another person to score. But the Saints decision making in the final third was poor throughout and continued that way for the remainder. Daku was lucky not to walk after the break for a blatant dive under a Brockbank tackle - and St Pat’s continued to make the hosts sweat in the heat. But the way St Pat’s held their nerve was just reward for their attack-minded approach a week ago, and then a well calculated one in the 29-degree Slovenian heat. But St Pat’s were more than a match for the Slovenians over the two legs and paid no heed to their group stage status of last year when they beat Tottenham.