ST PATRICK'S Athletic failed in their bid to become the first Irish team to reach the group stages of the Uefa Cup as they were knocked out by Hertha Berlin last night.
Despite producing a battling performance, the Eircom League of Ireland side
were unable to find the net, so Hertha progressed by virtue of the 2-0 advantage they held from the first leg at the Olympic Stadium in Germany.
The match was switched from the Inchicore outfit's Richmond Park to the RDS Stadium – home of Leinster Rugby – but it ended on a sour note when St Patrick's defender Damian Lynch was sent off three minutes from time.
The home side had the first chance just after the half-hour mark when Mark Quigley delivered a dangerous ball into the penalty area which was met by the head of Gary Dempsey, only for Hertha goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny to palm the ball to safety.
The Saints had another chance in the 37th minute when Hertha struggled to deal with a cross from Dave Rogers but Hertha defender Josip Simunic cleared before Glenn Fitzpatrick could get his head to the ball.
Keith Fahey began to exert his influence on the game for the hosts in midfield, but it was Hertha who almost broke the deadlock a minute before half-time. Hertha striker Rafael threaded the ball through to Lukasz Piszczek but his shot was cleared by the home defence.
After the break, Cicero drew a great save from Barry Ryan before former Liverpool striker Andriy Voronin should have scored when he got away from Harris, only for the Ukraine international to blast wide.
The best chance for John McDonnell's side fell to Ryan Guy after Fahey's long-range shot had bounced back off the post, but the striker was unable to beat Drobny with the rebound. Dempsey also struck the post in the 75th minute but the Bundesliga side's superior fitness began to show and they cruised through the latter stages before Lynch was sent off in the 87th minute after he was shown a second yellow card.
St Patrick's: Barry Ryan, Lynch, Gavin, Harris, Rogers, Guy, Dempsey, Fahey, Kirby, Glenn Fitzpatrick, Quigley. Subs: Friesz, Bialek, O'Cearuill, O'Neill, O'Brien, Bobby Ryan, Partridge.
Hertha Berlin: Drobny, Friedrich, Simunic, Von Bergen, Chahed, Nicu, Lustenberger, Cicero, Piszczek, Rafael, Voronin. Subs: Gang, Kaka, Kacar, Arguez, Riedel, Domovchiyski, Dardai.
Referee: Michail Koukoulakis (Greece)
The full article contains 421 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
