St Pats have suffered a devastating 2-0 defeat to CSKA Sofia, Tallaght this evening.
An 82nd minute penalty from the Bulgarian sees them though to the Europa Conference League group stages, with a 2-1 aggregate win.
St Pats 0 CSKA Sofia 2
Sofia made a strong start, scoring after just 11 minutes following some poor defending by St. Pats, as Maricio Garcez was allowed a free header from a corner.
After a shaky start to the game, St. Pats found their rhythm and were the better side for large spells of the match.
Adam O'Reilly missed a golden chance in the 23rd minute after he was put through on goal, but Sofia keeper Gustavo Busatto came out quickly to smother his shot.
St Pat's 0-1 CSKA Sofia (1-1 on agg) - Lovely move from Pat's but Adam O'Reilly is denied
Updates: https://t.co/dAnLwqdW0w #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/AXb5SCd3BY— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2022
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The home side had the better chances in the second half, and again missed a glorious opportunity to take the lead. Anthony Breslin got ahead of his marker to get on the end of Chris Forrester cross, but his shot was weak and straight at Busatto.
Substitute Serge Atakayi, the goalscorer in Bulgaria, was put through on goal soon after, but was denied by Busatto from a tight angle.
The misses proved the undoing of St Pats as Harry Brockbank conceded a penalty for handball in the 82nd minute. It was unlucky for Brockbank as it ricocheted onto his arm, and may have hit the arm of Garcez first, while Sofia were also awarded a questionable free-kick in the lead up to the incident. Ivan Turitsov made no mistake from the spot.
St Pat's 0-2 CSKA Sofia (1-2 on agg) - Disaster for St Pat's. Harry Brockbank is ruled to have handled in the box, Ivan Turitsov duly rolls home the penalty https://t.co/dAnLwqdW0w #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/suMap9ArFm
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2022
St Pats threw everything they had at them for the final ten minutes, but it was all in vain as they bowed out against a team they feel they should have beaten.
A scuffle broke out between the two sides and some members of the management after full-time, but it was unclear what set it off.
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