St Pat's Europa League adventure all but over

St. Patrick’s Athletic 0 Hannover 96 3

St. Patrick’s Athletic’s Europa League adventure is all but over ahead of their trip to Germany next week as they were roundly beaten in their third round, first leg clash before a crowd of 4,236 at Tallaght Stadium

Needing to keep their shape and keep the ball when they had it was St. Pat’s plan. But they started nervously and failed to do neither and were a goal down inside six minutes.

Winger Lars Stindl burst through the middle to find striker Didier Ya Konan who laid the ball back to the advancing Leon Andreasen. And the 29-year-old Danish international midfielder took a touch before finding the top right-hand corner of Brendan Clarke’s net with a rising right foot drive from 20 yards.

St. Pat’s had more purpose about them from the start of the second half and ought to have been level within three minutes form the first corner of the game.

Hannover failed to deal with Sean O’Connor’s delivery which fell to Christy Fagan. But the little striker, who’s scored three times during this campaign, saw his close-range shot blocked by Stindl.

Hannover were always capable of stepping up a gear, though, and St. Pat’s had a right let off on 61 minutes when substitute Konstantin Rausch, through one-on-one with Clarke, shot wide.

St. Pat’s then conceded a dreadful second goal on 68 minutes when left-back Christian Pander’s low free kick from some distance beat the wall and Clarke to fly in at the keeper's left-hand post.

The tie was effectively over with Hannover scoring a third goal on 80 minutes. A shot from Rausch ricocheted into the path of Ya Konan and the Ivorian turned to shoot to the net form close in.