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Groundhopping: St Patrick’s Athletic (v İstanbul Başakşehir, Tallaght Stadium)

Competition: Europa League 4th Qualifying Round

Date: 22 August 2024

Result: St Patrick’s Athletic 0 – 0 İstanbul Başakşehir

Tickets:  €20 adults, €8 kids

Attendance: 6,219

Game/ Experience Rating:  ☆☆☆☆

The Game: The first, home leg of the final qualifying round for the Europa Conference League group stage, so a massive game for St Pat’s in a season where Shamrock Rovers have already qualified – two teams in the group would be massive for Irish football, and for Pat’s team currently in a fairly uninspiring 7th in the League of Ireland. Başakşehir are a government funded Turkish side with a squad that far exceeds Pat’s in value, but they simply weren’t very good on the night.

They should, on paper, have been significantly overmatched here, but instead the game was controlled by the Inchicore side, who will be really frustrated not to have won it. They created a series of chances – a close range header, a shot from outside the box that slammed against the post, and a cross that just failed to connect two yards out. The ‘nearly’ moments that might be key, but nonetheless, a really excellent effort against a team they should have struggled against. Of course, going out to the heat of Istanbul for the return leg and getting anything is a huge ask, and they’ll probably go out now. But it was a great watch, a memorably strong performance. No harm in those extra UEFA points either.

The ground:  I’ve now sat basically everywhere in Tallaght except behind the goals. In the rain, it was surreal today, with fans packed in back from the touchline to stay dry. A decent turnout, with the noise all over in the traditional away end, and a collection of Turkish fans in the South Stand.

Extras: There was a programme, but as usual I didn’t buy it.

Assorted asides: I found the Turkish fans confusing, largely clad in Galatasary and Fenerbarche tops. I wasn’t even 100% sure they were supporting the Turkish side at times, and the noise from them was loud but very intermitant. I don’t think they were too impressed with their side.

My totals for the year so far:

Games: 8. Home wins: 2 Draws: 4 Away wins: 2

Goals: 22. Home goals: 11. Away goals: 11. Goals per game: 2.75

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Groundhopping: St Patrick’s Athletic (v Sabah FK, Tallaght Stadium)

Competition: Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round

Date: 8 August 2024

Result: St Patrick’s Athletic 1 – 0 Sabah FK

Tickets:  €25 adults, €9 kids

Attendance: 4,352

Game/ Experience Rating:  ☆☆☆☆

The Game: St Patrick’s Athletic are having something of a horror season in the League of Ireland under former national poss Stephen Kenny, but Kenny has a reputation for doing damage in Europe and this was perhaps the best performance in Europe I’ve seen from an Irish side since the day of Dundalk doing damage.

Pat’s saw their own post hit in the first minute… and that was about it. From then on they piled on the pressure, with Sabah FK, admittedly not exactly a big name, but arguably more favoured than Pat’s, looking overmatched to the point that I stood somewhere in the second half where I couldn’t see the Pat’s goal, and it didn’t effect my enjoyment of the match one bit.

Pat’s scored a great goal in the first half, a volleyed finish from the edge of the six yard box, and then Sabah had a man sent off. From then on, they’ll be huge disappointment that they didn’t win by more, which makes a trip to Azerbaijan a tough challenge. It could easily have been a rout.

The ground:  We’re regulars at Tallaght Stadium, but still haven’t managed to get ourselves into the new North Stand (tickets wouldn’t go through this time, odd as it was clearly sparsely populated). Pat’s had made it their own, with the Invincibles in the traditional away section, complete with plenty of banners and making a decent noise throughout.

The atmosphere has definitely improved now there are stands on all four sides, and I noticed even the west stand seats have been replaced.

Extras: The small number of Sabah FK fans getting progressively more irritated in the heart of the West Stand was quite entertaining. I think they expected a win.

Assorted asides: I think this was a touch overpriced to be honest. Great game, better than most I’ve attended in Ireland, but if they’d knocked the price down a bit from €26 including fees for adults they could have sold a lot more tickets.

My totals for the year so far:

Games: 7. Home wins: 2 Draws: 3 Away wins: 2

Goals: 22. Home goals: 11. Away goals: 11. Goals per game: 3.14

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Groundhopping: St Patrick’s Athletic (v Waterford, Richmond Park)

Competition: League of Ireland Premier Division

Date: 19 April 2024

Result: St Patrick’s Athletic 1 – 1 Waterford

Tickets:  €18 adults, €5 kids

Attendance: 4,376

Game/ Experience Rating:  ☆☆☆

The Game: I must admit I saw less of the action at this game than I’d have liked to – the drawback of bringing a two year old who needs to be watched, and the need to keep her happy by giving her space to run around in the corner of the Camac Stand. From what I saw, it was of modest quality at best, with both sides scrappy in midfield and creating relatively few chances. Waterford led early on from a corner, with Pat’s equalising in the second half and then pushing for a winner that never really particularly looked like coming.

Both seem to lack a bit of patience and control, and I think they’ll be mid table at the end of the season in a League of Ireland that has a couple of quite poor teams this year (and a few other really decent looking ones).

The ground:  I’ve been to Richmond quite a few times and this is the first time I’ve seen it quite as packed as it was tonight, and my first time in several years since moving away from the area – the growth of the league of Ireland continues, and I believe this must have bene very close to a sell out, if not a total sell out, judging by how packed the stands were. So far as I can tell it’s close to impossible to get into the main (Inchicore side) stand this season due to season tickets.

There’s one main covered seated area that has space for home and away fans, another large uncovered seating area behind one goal and the rest is terraced standing. It’s all a bit old school but I’ve always liked that, nice to see so many packed in.

Extras: I liked the almost hidden food stall right at the far end of the Camac. Richmond seems to have decent facilities these days, but with the four kids in tow, I passed on the trip to the club shop or any search for a programme, and ended up buying small heaps of sweets.

Assorted asides: The kids were fascinated with the river running behind the terrace, in particular when a ball was blasted into it and they could watch it float down.

My totals for the year so far:

Games: 4. Home wins: 1 Draws: 2 Away wins: 1

Goals: 13. Home goals: 7. Away goals: 6. Goals per game: 3.25

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