St Pats have secured a remarkable 1-0 victory away to CSKA Sofia in their Europa Conference League third qualifying round tie.
The result was thoroughly deserved for St Pats, as they looked the much likelier team to score in the second half. Chris Forrester and Eoin Doyle both came close before Serge Atakayi grabbed the winner in the 87th minute.
It was the substitute's first goal for St Pats, and he had been a nuisance since coming off the bench, pressuring the defence and forcing mistakes.
He set up Eoin Doyle's chance by harrying the Sofia defenders and forcing a messy clearance from their keeper, before he forced a misjudged headed back pass which gave him a 1 on 1 for the goal.
Despite five minutes of stoppage time and some nervy moments, St Pats were able to see out the win.
Atakayi The Hero For St Pats In Sofia
WHAT A MOMENT FOR ST PAT'S!
Serge Atakayi latches on to a long ball, rounds the keeper and potentially secures a famous win for the Inchicore side away to CSKA Sofia#rtesoccer
📺 Watch Live - https://t.co/lu7hcoyPvA
📱 Live updates - https://t.co/YGPDPe4q4G pic.twitter.com/sZAwBzZlbJ— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) August 4, 2022
4 August 2022; St Patrick's Athletic supporters during the UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round first leg match between CSKA Sofia and St Patrick's Athletic at Stadion Balgarska Armia in Sofia, Bulgaria. Photo by Yulian Todorov/Sportsfile
The European dreams of Sligo Rovers are all but over, after they suffered a 4-0 defeat away to Norwegian side Viking FK.
After upsetting the odds against Motherwell in the previous round of the Europa Conference League, hopes were high that Sligo Rovers could snatch another unexpected result and come away with a draw.
These hopes were dashed almost immediately however, as Viking strolled into a 2-0 lead after just eight minutes. And while Sligo Rovers seemed to have steadied the ship somewhat by going into half-time with the same scoreline, Viking hammered home their advantage, going 5-0 up, before David Cawley pulled back a consolation goal from the penalty spot late on.
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