Match Preview

St Patrick's Athletic vs Elfsborg

BRIEFLY looked to be on course for a cruel defeat at Richmond Park last night, St Patrick's Athletic scored twice in the dying minutes of a frantic and utterly compelling Uefa Cup tie to book their place in this afternoon's draw for the first round proper.

Goals from Jason Gavin and Mark Quigley sealed the tie in favour of the Dubliners who had come from two goals down in Sweden two weeks ago. Their resilience could be rewarded in some style at noon today with Milan, Tottenham Hotspur and Sevilla amongst the sides they could be paired with next time out.

Though the Elfsborg players were understandably distraught at the final whistle, they had few enough complaints. The home side's advantage coming into this second leg had been a slender one but from the outset it was clear that they were intent on extending it rather than digging in to hold on to what they had and ultimately their enterprise over the 90 minutes earned them their victory.

Both sides contributed to a hugely enjoyable game brimming with open, attacking football from beginning to end.

During the early exchanges the home side created their fair share of chances but it was Keith Fahey who looked the most likely to grab a goal with the midfielder forcing Johan Wiland into saves from both close and long range.

At the back, though, they looked less than watertight at times and Lars Nilsson, in particular, will wonder how differently the night might have turned out had he taken the chances that came his way.

For a while it seemed as though it wouldn't matter. Central midfielder Daniel Mobaeck had been amongst the visiting side's most effective players all night and when his close range shot was blocked 19 minutes into the second period, Stefan Ishizaki stepped up to rifle the loose ball home from a tight angle.

The visitors's relief was all too apparent and they then set about battling their way through to the end without conceding. They almost made it but when Fahey floated in a corner from the left three minutes from time Gavin rose high inside the six yard box to turn it towards the goal and Fredrik Berglund could only help it in.

In an instant, the locals had the edge again but they put things beyond doubt as the game moved into stoppage time with Quigley making a nonsense of the Swedes' attempt to play an offside trap to get onto the end of Derek O'Brien's long ball down the left before rounding the goalkeeper and, already celebrating, tapping home.

"We deserved this win and I'm delighted for the club: the players, management and the fans," said manager, Johnny McDonnell. "The players never panicked when we went a goal down. We had a plan and we stuck to it. Right from the start the team attacked them.This was no fluke for we matched them in fitness and quality. In fact, we were fitter than them.

"Their player Anders Svensson has 86 caps," he continued, "and they have loads of Swedish internationals but we were the better team.

"Keith Fahey was magnificent but it's not just about Keith. It's about every player, including the substitutes. And it's great for the League of Ireland in what has been a week of doom and gloom. It does the league's co-efficient a lot of good and that is important."

© Irish Times

Date	Competition	Home Team		Away Team
September, 22nd 2025	League	St Patrick's Athletic	4	Cork City	0	REPORT
September, 19th 2025	League	St Patrick's Athletic	1	Galway United	1	REPORT
September, 14th 2025	FAI Cup	St Patrick's Athletic	3	Galway United	1	REPORT
September, 5th 2025	Leinster Senior Cup	St Patrick's Athletic	2	Drogheda United	0	REPORT
August, 17th 2025	FAI Cup	St Patrick's Athletic	2	Shelbourne	0	REPORT
August, 10th 2025	League	St Patrick's Athletic	3	Sligo Rovers	0	REPORT
July, 24th 2025	UEFA Conference League	St Patrick's Athletic	1	Nomme Kalju	0	REPORT
July, 20th 2025	FAI Cup	St Patrick's Athletic	8	UCC	0	REPORT
July, 10th 2025	UEFA Conference League	St Patrick's Athletic	1	Hegelmann FC	0	REPORT
July, 4th 2025	League	St Patrick's Athletic	0	Bohemians	0	REPORT

Date	Competition	Home Team		Away Team
September, 27th 2025	League	Sligo Rovers	1	St Patrick's Athletic	0	REPORT
August, 29th 2025	League	Derry City	2	St Patrick's Athletic	2	REPORT
August, 22nd 2025	League	Drogheda United	0	St Patrick's Athletic	1	REPORT
August, 14th 2025	UEFA Conference League	Besiktas	3	St Patrick's Athletic	2	REPORT
August, 3rd 2025	League	Waterford	0	St Patrick's Athletic	2	REPORT
July, 31st 2025	UEFA Conference League	Nomme Kalju	2	St Patrick's Athletic	2	REPORT
July, 17th 2025	UEFA Conference League	Hegelmann FC	0	St Patrick's Athletic	2	REPORT
June, 27th 2025	League	Cork City	0	St Patrick's Athletic	0	REPORT
June, 20th 2025	League	Galway United	3	St Patrick's Athletic	1	REPORT
May, 30th 2025	League	Sligo Rovers	0	St Patrick's Athletic	1	REPORT

Date	Competition	Home Team		Away Team
August, 28th 2008	UEFA Cup	St Patrick's Athletic	2	Elfsborg	1	REPORT
August, 14th 2008	UEFA Cup	Elfsborg	2	St Patrick's Athletic	2	REPORT

Date	Competition	Home Team		Away Team
September, 30th 2008	UEFA Cup	St Patrick's Athletic	0	Hertha Berlin	0	REPORT
September, 16th 2008	UEFA Cup	Hertha Berlin	2	St Patrick's Athletic	0	REPORT
August, 28th 2008	UEFA Cup	St Patrick's Athletic	2	Elfsborg	1	REPORT
August, 14th 2008	UEFA Cup	Elfsborg	2	St Patrick's Athletic	2	REPORT
July, 31st 2008	UEFA Cup	St Patrick's Athletic	2	JFK Olimps	0	REPORT
July, 17th 2008	UEFA Cup	JFK Olimps	0	St Patrick's Athletic	1	REPORT
August, 2nd 2007	UEFA Cup	Odense BK	5	St Patrick's Athletic	0	REPORT
July, 19th 2007	UEFA Cup	St Patrick's Athletic	0	Odense BK	0	REPORT