UEFA Conference League Third Qualifying Round: Beşiktaş - St. Patrick's

The UEFA Europa Conference League 2025–26 season third qualifying round featured a match between Türkiye’s representative Beşiktaş and Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Athletic. The two-legged tie saw the first leg played on 7 August 2025 in Dublin and the return leg on 14 August 2025 in Istanbul. After securing a 4–1 away victory, Beşiktaş won the home match 3–2, advancing to the play-off round with a 7–3 aggregate score.

First Leg: St. Patrick’s Athletic 1 – 4 Beşiktaş

Date: 7 August 2025

Venue: Tallaght Stadium – Dublin, Ireland

Referee: David Šmajc (Slovenia)

Pre-Match

This was the first time in Beşiktaş’s history that they faced an Irish club. The black-and-white side were playing their 14th match in the UEFA Conference League, having previously recorded eight wins, one draw and four defeats in the competition. St. Patrick’s Athletic had previously faced Turkish teams twice in European competitions but had not won either match.

Lineups

St. Patrick’s Athletic

Anang, Redmond, Grivosti (46' L. Turner), McClelland, R. McLaughlin, Forrester (82' B. Baggy), J. Lennon, Leavy (82' C. Carty), Mulnarey (64' A. Sjoberg), Power, Melia (88' Kavanagh)

Beşiktaş

Mert Günok, Svensson (46' T. Bingöl), Paulista, Uduokhai, Jurásek (90' T.T. Sanuç), D.E. Tıknaz (76' K.K. Yılmaz), Orkun Kökçü (90' A. Hadziahmetovic), João Mário, Rafa Silva, Muçi (59' K. Arroyo), Tammy Abraham

First Leg: St. Patrick’s Athletic – Beşiktaş (AA)

Match Summary

Beşiktaş started the match with high intensity, immediately dominating play and pushing the opposition into their own half. In the 8th minute, João Mário received a cross from the right flank by Orkun Kökçü, controlled the ball inside the penalty area and fired a low shot past the goalkeeper’s left post to open the scoring. Beşiktaş did not allow St. Patrick’s time to recover and doubled their lead in the 14th minute. In a swift counterattack, Tammy Abraham, following a pass from Muçi, found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Anang and slotted the ball into the far corner.

Beşiktaş continued to press forward. In the 23rd minute, Abraham rose above the defense to head home a cross from Jurásek on the left flank, making it 3–0. As the first half progressed, pressure on St. Patrick’s defense intensified. In the 42nd minute, Grivosti handled the ball in the penalty area, resulting in a penalty. In the 43rd minute, Abraham converted the spot-kick with a precise shot into the top corner, completing his hat-trick.

St. Patrick’s started the second half more organized and reduced the deficit in the 49th minute when Simon Power delivered a well-placed shot from just outside the penalty area. After the goal, St. Patrick’s created several chances, particularly in the 55th and 63rd minutes through Power and Carty, but failed to capitalize. Beşiktaş maintained control of the game, slowed the tempo and focused on retaining possession in their own half while looking for counterattacking opportunities. Both teams had further goal attempts in the closing stages, but the score remained unchanged. The match ended 4–1 in favor of Beşiktaş.

First Leg: St. Patrick’s Athletic – Beşiktaş (AA)

Manager and Player Statements

Beşiktaş head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said after the match: “We did not give the opponent much space in the first half, made the right decisions in attack and returned with a favorable score.” Tammy Abraham added: “I am here to contribute to the team. Scoring a hat-trick is nice, but our main goal is to advance to the next round.”

Second Leg: Beşiktaş 3 – 2 St. Patrick’s Athletic

Date: 14 August 2025

Venue: Tüpraş Stadium – Istanbul, Türkiye

Referee: António Nobre (Portugal)

Pre-Match

Entering the return leg with a 4–1 advantage from the first match, Beşiktaş played their 256th match in European competitions. Head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stated before the match: “We will play with the advantage of the away goal, but we will compete with the same seriousness on our home pitch.”

Lineups

Beşiktaş

Mert Günok, Svensson, Paulista, E. Topçu, Jurásek (46' F. Uduokhai), D.E. Tıknaz, Orkun Kökçü (64' J. Mario), K. Arroyo (46' E. Muçi), R. Silva, Rashica, Tammy Abraham [64' E. Hekimoğlu (67' K.K. Yılmaz)]

St. Patrick’s Athletic

Anang, R. McLaughlin (80' T. Grivosti), A. Kazeem, Redmond, Sjöberg, Turner, Baggley, J. Mulraney, Leavy (46' S. Power), D. Robinson (46' J. Lennon), Carty (62' M. Melia)

Second Leg: Beşiktaş – St. Patrick’s Athletic (AA)

Match Summary

St. Patrick’s Athletic started the return leg with an unexpected burst of energy. In the 3rd minute, a cross into the penalty area led to a handball by Paulista, resulting in a penalty. Conor Carty converted the spot-kick with a low shot to the right of goalkeeper Mert Günok, giving his team a 1–0 lead. Despite Beşiktaş’s attempts to regain control, St. Patrick’s doubled their advantage in the 34th minute. R. McLaughlin, on the right flank, cut inside and fired a powerful shot from a tight angle into the net.

The 0–2 deficit galvanized Beşiktaş. In the 43rd minute, Rashica delivered a cross from the right flank into the penalty area, where Demir Ege Tıknaz struck it cleanly to reduce the deficit to 2–1. The first half ended with that scoreline.

Beşiktaş began the second half with greater intensity and equalized in the 49th minute through Tammy Abraham. Following a lay-off pass from Orkun Kökçü, Abraham slipped behind the defense and calmly finished past the goalkeeper. After the equalizer, Beşiktaş completely dominated the game. Through coordinated wing play and intricate passing around the penalty area, they wore down the opposition defense and took the lead in the 79th minute. A cross from Svensson on the right flank found João Mário, who met it with a powerful header off the back post into the net.

In the remaining minutes, the tempo slowed as Beşiktaş managed the game calmly and secured a 3–2 victory. With a 7–3 aggregate score, the black-and-white side advanced to the play-off round.

Second Leg: Beşiktaş – St. Patrick’s Athletic (AA)

Manager and Player Statements

After the match, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “The first half was difficult for us, but we dominated the second half.” João Mário expressed his joy at scoring the winning goal, while Tammy Abraham noted that scoring four goals across the two matches had significantly boosted his confidence.