Hegelmann fall narrowly to St Patrick’s: All to play for in second leg

A Lyga side Hegelmann FC endured a tough away test in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League’s opening round, falling to a narrow 0–1 defeat at the hands of St Patrick’s Athletic of Ireland’s Premier Division. The Lithuanian club will not need to win in next week’s return leg in Kaunas to have a chance of moving on.

Under the evening sun at Richmond Park, the home side were dominant from the very first whistle. The Saints, managed by former Ireland boss Stephen Kenny, came flying out of the blocks and created a flurry of early chances.

Mason Melia, the highly rated teenager bound for Tottenham Hotspur, twice found himself in promising positions inside the opening ten minutes but couldn’t apply the finishing touch. First, he failed to convert a pinpoint cross from Simon Power, and moments later, blazed over after being teed up by Brandon Kavanagh.

Hegelmann had a brief glimpse of goal on the counter after a cleared corner, but their breakaway ended in a bizarre mishap as two players collided, drawing jeers from the St Pat’s faithful.

Controversy followed when St Pat’s players and fans appealed for a handball outside the box by Hegelmann keeper Vincentas Šarkauskas, but the linesman waved play on despite replays suggesting the Lithuanian may have stepped beyond his area.

As the first half drew to a close, Hegelmann finally registered a chance through Domantas Antanavičius, whose cross-shot was comfortably dealt with by St Pat’s goalkeeper Joseph Anang.

The second half continued much like the first, with St Pat’s dominating possession and opportunities. Just 90 seconds after the restart, Barry Baggley burst through the Hegelmann defence only to be denied by a superb stop from Šarkauskas. The Lithuanian side remained a threat on the break, however, with Leo Ribeiro wasting a golden opportunity by dragging his shot wide from inside the box.

The game’s most contentious moment came in the 74th minute when Nikola Đjorić appeared to handle the ball in the box. Yet referee Jan Boterberg judged that Melia had fouled the defender moments earlier, waving away loud appeals from the home crowd.

But the breakthrough finally came six minutes later. After Melia showed exceptional control to bring the ball down, it spilled to Barry Baggley, who was clattered from behind. This time, the referee didn’t hesitate – penalty to St Pat’s.

Aidan Keena stepped up and coolly slotted home his seventh goal of the season, sending the Richmond Park faithful into raptures.

Despite only converting once, St Pat’s were full value for their victory and will head to Lithuania with a deserved advantage. With more composure in front of goal, they could have put the tie to bed — but as it stands, next Thursday’s second leg in Kaunas remains finely poised. Hegelmann, meanwhile, will be relieved to return home trailing by just a single goal.

St Patrick’s Athletic vs Hegelmann FC – 1:0 (0:0)
Goals: Keena 81′ (Penalty kick)
STP: Anang, McLaughlin, Grivosti, Redmond, McClelland, Baggley, Lennon (Forrester 73′), Kavanagh (Keena 74′), Mulraney (Leavy 83′), Melia, Power (Elbouzedi 74′)
HEG: Šarkauskas, Upstas, Armalas, Djoric, Duke, Antanavičius (Harouna 82′), Kojic, Shchedryi (Kaušinis 73′), Kazlauskas (Popescu 65′), Njoya (Yusuf 82′), Ribeiro (Freire 73′)