Stephen Kenny explains substitution of hat-trick hunting teenager Mason Melia

Irish Daily Mirror

24-05-2025

Stephen Kenny has explained his decision to substitute two-goal hero Mason Melia with 14 minutes still to play in Friday's 2-2 draw with Waterford.
St Patrick's Athletic were leading 2-1 when Kenny sent on Aidan Keena for the 17-year-old Tottenham-bound striker.
Melia's two goals brought his tally so far this season to six - with four of those coming in his last four appearances. However, Pat's busy recent schedule had taken its toll on the youngster, who had started his fourth game in just 14 days.
'He did brilliantly,' said Kenny. 'I'd like to have left him on, but it was his third game in a week.
'Waterford probably had the advantage of not having a midweek game, so he was obviously very tired after two tough games against Cork and against Rovers. But Mason did brilliantly overall, his two goals were excellent. Really good.'
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Pat's extra game was last Monday's 4-0 hammering at the hands of Shamrock Rovers - a match that was moved forward due to both teams' European commitments later in the summer.
Ireland Under-21 striker Melia's brace on Friday was hailed by his manager.
'They were brilliant finishes, absolutely terrific and he did really well,' Kenny said.
'He is scoring different types of goals. He missed three months, so he has come back and done really well in the last few weeks."
Kenny described the draw with Waterford as a 'fair result.' However, he added: 'We're disappointed not to hold out for the win as well.
'I think when you are not at your best you have to try to find a way to win. To concede in the first minute was really poor from our point of view, so to dig in and come back into it and score two goals was terrific.
'We are disappointed but the players gave everything, got two great goals and Waterford played well against us.
'They've had a lot of good results, they have beaten Shelbourne, Bohemians and Derry, and you can see why. Their front two are a real handful and they proved so tonight. But we've got to keep going.'
There was more bad news on the injury-front on Friday night when Chris Forrester, who returned ahead of schedule from a groin injury, appeared to suffer a recurrence early in the second-half.
'Well, we'll have to see,' said Kenny, when asked about Forrester. 'He trained fully (on Thursday) and he was okay. We'll have to see.
'I didn't think Chris would be back until after the break, but he trained yesterday, put himself in the picture and wanted to play.
'I wasn't really pushing him, he wants to play himself. He showed a great attitude in that regard.'