We just didn’t play well enough, says frustrated Buckley

Liam Buckley was gutted that St Patrick’s Athletic’s Champions League dream "passed them by" at Tallaght Stadium last night.

The Inchicore side went into their second round, second leg clash with Polish giants Legia Warsaw with realistic hopes of causing an upset having earned a terrific 1-1 draw in the away leg last week.

But it came crashing down around them last night as they lost 5-0 on the night to go out 6-1 on aggregate

“We’re very disappointed, especially after last week and doing quite well out there,” said St Pat’s boss Buckley.

“The first half wasn’t too bad. We kept a reasonable shape, but we forgot to play. We didn’t get our foot on the ball enough we didn’t link it in enough We gave them too much respect. For sure, I know we can play better than that.

“As I said to the boys afterwards, it passed us by.

“When you throw in a performance like that when playing such a good team you will be in trouble. And that’s exactly what happened.

“We just didn’t play well enough, that’s cutting to the chase.

“In fairness to Legia, they worked hard in getting it back. But that doesn’t excuse us not getting on the ball and playing to our potential. We just didn’t give them enough trouble.”

Legia manager Henning Berg was naturally delighted with his team’s emphatic win.

“We’re very happy with the result, we played well in the second half,” said Berg.

“It’s good for the players to be able to win in the way they did and in this kind of pressure game.

“When we got it to 2-0 St Patrick’s had to come forward and they then had some injuries as well and we were able to take advantage. I have to give them credit as they played some good football.

“The game at home wasn’t reflected in the result as we did play quite well. In this game, the result was better than the performance. Over the two games we were the better team.

“We’re happy we are through and we look forward to Celtic,” he added on their third round opponents.

“Of course, they are a step further than us at the moment. But we will have a go. It’s a fantastic tie for the club and it will be a great occasion. They are a big club with good fans and I think the atmosphere will be fantastic.”