Resilient Saints rescue draw

St. Patrick’s Athletic 2 Zalgiris 2

Liam Buckley’s side were never overawed by the Lithuanian league leaders, despite giving away a bad early goal.

Byrne deservedly levelled matters early in the second half during their visitors best spell of the game.

Žalgiris responded with Luka Peric putting them back in front on 70 minutes but a brilliant second equaliser from right-back Ger O’Brien on 83 minutes gave St. Patrick’s a fully merited draw.

In a dramatic finale, the floodlights went out deep in stoppage time, but the Slovenian referee blew it up seconds later.

St. Patrick’s settled well on the all-weather surface and had the first real sniff on four minutes with Žalgiris skipper Andrius Skerla having to make a timely tackle in the box to take the ball off Christy Fagan’s toe after good approach play from Chris Forrester, John Russell and Ian Bermingham.

The impressive Komolov then punished poor defending to give the hosts a 22nd minute lead.

That rattled St. Patrick’s a little, but they should have been level on 33 minutes — Byrne’s effort being saved by Armantas Vitkauskas.

Enjoying a good deal of the ball in the early exchanges of the second half, it came as no surprise when St. Pat’s levelled on 55 minutes.

Kenna won a header which Greg Bolger controlled to play a sublime ball through for the run of Byrne and he made amends for wasting his first half chance to lob Vitkauskas, who’d raced off his line.

Žalgiris found a way back in and regained the lead on 70 minutes.

Clarke made a fine one-handed save from Andro Svrljuga’s header from a Mantas Kuklys cross. But Luka Peric was lurking to side-foot home the loose ball.

St. Pat’s didn’t lie down and hit back with a Floriosu second equaliser on 83 minutes.

Substitute Shane McFaul laid the ball off for the run of O’Brien who found the top corner with a rising right-foot shot on the run.

ZALGIRIS: Vitkauskas; Vaitkunas, Skerla, Peric, Silenas; Zulpa (Janusauskas, 62); Svrljuga, Kuklys, Komolov (Gerc, 83), Radavicius (Velicka, 60); Bilinski.

ST. PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Clarke; O’Brien, Kenna, Browne, Bermingham; Russell, Bolger, Brennan (McFaul, 85); Byrne, Fagan (Hughes, 88), Forrester.

Referee: Mitja Zganec (Slovenia).