Mason Melia shows his class as Saints march on
Pat's boss Stephen Kenny was critical of the rough treatment that Melia received from Hegelmann in the first leg, but it didn't seem to matter to the gifted attacker in Lithuania as he turned on the style in front of the 200 Saints supporters who made the trip to Kaunas. It was Melia who was fouled for the late penalty in Inchicore that Aidan Keena dispatched and it was Melia who eased any nerves among Pat's players as he poked the ball into the net for his first European goal after only six minutes with a lovely poacher's finish after Jay McCelland's initial shot had been parried by the home goalkeeper Vincentas Sarkauskas.
Just as they did in the first leg, Pat's dominated possession with their goalkeeper Joseph Anang having a pretty quiet night. Hegelmann's Brazilian playmaker Léo Ribeiro fired a warning early in the second half by unleashing a rasping shot towards Anang's goal, but chances were few and far between for the home side and Melia engineered the goal that put the tie beyond doubt 10 minutes into the second-half. Mason Melia showed why Tottenham Hotspur shelled out €2million for him in January. Pic: Evaldas Semiotas/Sportsfile
Picking up the ball on the halfway line, Melia drove at the defence and turned Serbian Nikola Doric inside out before releasing the overlapping Leavy with a subtle pass. Leavy took one touch before rifling the ball above Sarkauskas and into the roof of the net. The goal ensured that the Saints could start planning for the next round of European competition, with the first leg against Albanian or Estonian opposition in Inchicore next Thursday. It also meant that the club are guaranteed €700,000 in UEFA prize money but that could rise to €1.7 million if they manage to negotiate the next hurdle.
Despite the plastic pitch and the number of different nationalities on the Lithuanian side, this always felt like a comfortable and routine evening for Kenny's team, who are starting to find the net again. And with Melia in their ranks until he turns 18, they will fancy their chances of going on a journey through the Conference League, perhaps all the way to the group stages.
Indeed, all three League of Ireland clubs – Shelbourne, St Pat's and Shamrock Rovers, who have yet to begin their campaign – making it through to the Conference League groups is now a distinct possibility. That will be a real sign of the growing strength of the game here. But for now, Pat's are just grateful they have Melia until next January and it looks like Spurs have made a smart investment.
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