St Patrick's Athletic draw 0-0 with Istanbul Basaksehir

Ellen O'Donoghue

St Patrick’s Athletic held Istanbul Basaksehir to a very impressive 0-0 draw in their Europa Conference League playoff first leg at Tallaght Stadium this evening.

St Pats had a good first half while the Turkish side were better in the second.

Kian Leavy, having come off the bench at the end of the first half for an injured Romal Palmer, had the best chance of the game in the 59th minute, but his left-footed strike came off the post.

There was a change in referee in the 73rd minute, giving both teams a chance to regroup and Stephen Kenny took full advantage, bringing the St Pat’s players into a huddle.

With ten minutes of injury time added on, St Pat’s continued to search for a winner, but it did not come for them.

St Pat’s can be proud of their efforts as they travel to Istanbul for the second leg next Wednesday night, just a single game away from getting to the group stages of European competition for the very first time.