Barcelona, are you watching? Andres Iniesta may have left a huge hole in the Catalan side's set-up, but perhaps they should look no further than St. Pat's for his replacement.
Such was the quality of the League of Ireland team's first goal against Derry City last week that you would be mistaken for thinking that this was a Spanish side capable of turning any team inside out with their tiki-taka passing style.
It wasn't looking like it was going to be the Inchicore side's day when they conceded an extremely soft goal in the opening minutes of the tie. The goalkeeper hit a suicide pass to his defender, allowing the Candystripes to capitalise with the opening goal of the game.
Never ones to panic, St. Pat's hit back straight from kick-off. Nine passes was all it took to break down the Derry defense, as Jake Keegan finished off the move he started in the sixth minute.
Jamie Lennon gave it to Kevin Toner, who passes it to Lee Desmond. His pass to Simon Madden is returned to him, before another one-two between Conan Byrne and Darragh Markey unleashes the former down the line to swing in the cross that completed one of the best team goals we are sure to see in the League of Ireland this season.
Enjoy our first goal v Derry City. @jake__keegan to @jamielennon98 to @kevintoner60 to Lee Desmond to Simon Madden to Lee Desmond to @conanbyrnecb7 to @dmarkey111 to @conanbyrnecb7 to @jake__keegan to the back of the net #BuckoBall 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/HtkIUuST7S
— St Patrick's Athletic FC (@stpatsfc) May 21, 2018
The highly entertaining game ultimately ended 5-2 in their favour after going behind twice to Kenny Shiels' charges.
St. Pat's have earned a reputation for silky football under Liam Buckley over the years, and his persistence with his philosophy despite their poor form last season has reaped rewards in this campaign. The Dublin club currently sit in fifth position in the table and are in serious contention for European qualification.
Unfortunately due to the league's policy on sharing clips from matches on social media, the club's Twitter account could not share Friday night's wonderful goal until Monday, the day that RTE run their highlight's programme Soccer Republic.
It's a shame that one of the great games of this season couldn't be shared online for several days, but the highlights are well worth catching up on nonetheless.
St. Pat's face Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght tonight at 8pm
