Details

Date Time League Season
29 July 2021 5:30 pm UEFA Conference League 2021/22

Match Report

Patching perfect as Dundalk deliver in Europe

Will Patching's 92nd minute winner, ensured Dundalk advanced in the Europa Conference League, as they knocked out Estonian League leaders Levadia Tallinn at the A Le Coq Arena this evening.

The victory ensures they face Dutch side SBV Vitesse next week, despite falling a goal in arrears in this away clash..

Dundalk responded well and managed the game with ample possession but it was once again the execution at key moments that proved to be decisive.

There may have been a lot of changes for the Louth men, however, the experience by some came to the fore to overcome this tricky and tense tie. Patching will etch his name in history with late winner to send the Lilywhites through.

Dundalk started the brighter of the two sides but they were hit with another early goal that made the tie swing in Levadia’s favour. Ernest Agyiri broke free down the left and hit an absolute fantastic strike from the edge of the area that rifled into the top of the net. This made it advantage Levadia but it was Dundalk who responded the brighter.

Sam Stanton moments after the goal had a strike that cannoned off the crossbar while Patrick McEleney tested Karl Andre Vallner gloves with a low struck effort. It looked as if Levadia would go into the half ahead only for David McMillan to score his 14th goal in European football.

Greg Sloggett collected the ball in the area and despite the shot being on for the midfielder, he laid it off to McMillan whose low effort left Vallner flat-footed and the Lilywhites equalised just before halftime.

The second half was a tight and close-knit affair with Levadia more alert to the danger of the visitors attacking threat. With a corner, the hosts had numerous half-chances on goal but none of them tested Abibi. For Dundalk, Greg Sloggett got the ball 40 yards from goal but his effort was well saved by Vallner.

As the game headed towards the ninety McEleney had a chance to win it as he collected the ball on the edge of the area but his curling effort just went wide of the far post. Dundalk left it late to snatch the winner as Will Patching latched onto a loose pass and he calmly fired the ball past Vallner to seal the tie for the Lilywhites.

Vindication for a man who was left out in the cold last season, life comes at you fast.

Dundalk

1Alessio Abibi Goalkeeper
4Andy Boyle Defender
6Sonni Nattestad Defender
10Greg Sloggett Midfielder
18Will Patching Midfielder 90'
11Patrick McEleney Midfielder
13Raivis Jurkovskis Defender
15Darragh Leahy Defender
27Daniel Kelly 16 Midfielder
29David McMillan 9 Forward 44'
14Peter Cherrie Goalkeeper
9Patrick Hoban 29 Forward
16Sean Murray 27 Midfielder
19Wilfried Zahibo Midfielder
23Cameron Dummigan Midfielder
25Val Adedokun Forward
28Ryan O’Kane Forward
30Niall Brady Goalkeeper
31Mark Hanratty Midfielder
77Han Jeong-woo Forward
8Sam Stanton Midfielder
  • FULL TIME!!!!! Dundalk delight! Will Patchings last minute goal secures the tie!

  • 90'

    ITS THERE!!!!!! Will Patching latching onto a loose pass and he slams it past Vallner!

  • 90'

    Three added minutes, will there be late drama or are we headed for extra time.

  • 87'

    What a run by Sam Stanton who then lets one fly but it is very well blocked down.

  • 85'

    There is very little between these sides, it's really a case of who blinks first now.

  • 74'

    That was close, McEleney collected the ball on the edge of the area and his curling effort just goes wide of Vallners far post.

  • 70'

    Kelly comes off after what appears to have picked up a knock.

  • 70'

    Sean Murray comes on for the winger Daniel Kelly.

  • 64'

    Zakaria Beglarishvili is replaced by Robert Kirss in an attacking change for Levadia

  • 62'

    And here comes Hoban, he will offer something different for Dundalk and a real headache for the Levadia defence.

  • 62'

    The goalscorer comes off, another great shift from McMillan.

  • 60'

    That was a chance for Dundalk from a corner! Sonni heads it towards goal and it's only parried by Vallner and he had to gather under pressure from Leahy. A good passage of possession and chances here for Dundalk.

  • 59'

    The first chance of note for Dundalk as Greg Sloggett gets the ball 40 yards out and hits one that Vallner was able to save with ease.

  • 55'

    Levadia has a corner and despite the numerous half-chances on goal non of them test Abibi. Levadia sensing the danger has been on top this half so far.

  • 50'

    A fantastic cross from Sam Stanton with a deep cross into the area and Daniel Kelly nearly connected but it goes wide.

  • 46'

    We are back underway, massive second half for both sides. Who will face SBV Vitesse next week? Time will tell.

  • 45'

    HALF TIME: Levadia 1-1 Dundalk Dundalk was hit with a sucker punch when Ernest Agyiri hit a thunderbolt but Dundalk have dominated most of the half and David McMillan grabs his 14th goal in Europe to equalise. Strap yourself in we could be in for a long night.

  • 44'

    Cometh the hour cometh the man! David McMillan once again collects the ball at a tight angle and he slots it past Vallner to equalise. A fantastic pass from Greg Sloggett to set up McMillan when the shot was on but he played the extra pass to the striker who makes no mistake.

  • 41'

    It looked as if McEleney had picked out Kelly with a great pass but the pacy winger had just strayed offside.

  • 35'

    Chance for Dundalk as Patrick McEleney turns on a sixpence and hits a low effort that Vallner does well to save.

  • 33'

    Mark Oliver Roosnupp has come on as an early sub for danger man Bogdan Vaštšuk who went down injured.

  • 32'

    Milan Mitrović is given a yellow card for his foul on Daniel Kelly.

  • 32'

    Since taking the lead, Dundalk has had the lions share of possession. It looks as if Dundalk could have got a penalty but the referee points right on the edge of the area.

  • 28'

    OFF THE BAR! Sam Stanton with a fantastic strike on the edge of the area that leaves the keeper grasping for air but it cannons off the crossbar and over!

  • 21'

    Ernest Agyiri breaks down the right again and Vaštšuk is his target in the middle however the ball evades him and flashes across the face of the goal, this game could get away from Dundalk fast if they don't keep hold of that pacy right-winger.

  • 16'

    Ernest Agyiri with an absolute fantastic strike from the edge of the area that rifles into the top of the net and the hosts take the lead and take the lead in the tie 3-2.

  • 12'

    First big chance for Dundalk as Darragh Leahy sends in a teasing cross for McMillan to attack but Karl Andre Vallner was first to the ball and catches it with ease.

  • 11'

    Zakaria Beglarishvili has a good opportunity to test Abibi from the corner but Dundalk clear their lines.

  • 10'

    Ten minutes in, not much to report. Dundalk has settled well into the game but there hasn't been a chance of note to test either keeper.

  • 3'

    Sam Stanton gets the ball from McEleney after some clever hold-up play from McEleney but his effort goes over the bar.

  • 1'

    We are underway, Dundalk kick us off in Tallinn and its Will Patching opens the play.

  • And here come the teams, Dundalk wearing the traditional black and white kit with Levadia wearing green.

  • We are just less than ten minutes to kick-off, European nights have become part and parcel of Dundalk's season and they are hoping it continues further than tonight. Dundalk heads into the next round as the seeded side where they face if they win tonight Dutch side SBV Vitesse.

  • Our referee tonight is Iceland national Thorvaldur Árnason. He is assisted by his fellow countrymen Birkir Sigurdarson and Andri Vigfusson. The fourth official is also Icelandic and he is Vilhjalmur Thorarinsson.

  • Dundalk FC's Twitter is reporting that there will be 3,000 supporters in the A Le Coq Arena and there could be the possibility of some black and white fans in the stadium!

  • This was Dundalk managers Vinny Perth thoughts before tonight: “It’s important to put on a show because that’s what football is all about but, ultimately, we want to win. It’s a difficult tie and it’s always difficult away from home but they need to score to beat us so we have to make sure we are set up correctly. At the same time, we have to understand that we have huge attacking threats in our game and we have to exploit that and give people the opportunity to go and score goals.”

  • Speaking on last weeks performance Levadia boss Marko Savic said. “The first game was a good, high-quality game with equal performance on both sides. I hope we can show this level again and even add 10 or 15%. We want to attack, and they want to attack. We want to play with the ball, they too. We just have to do everything a little better. We were good in the attack, we had to play a little more without the ball in the second half than we would have liked, but we also managed the defence.”

  • It’s the 40th European appearance of his career this evening for Patrick McEleney. He was only 10 days back at Dundalk from Oldham last time the Lilywhites played in Tallinn but he missed both legs.

  • Greg Sloggett is the one change to the Dundalk side from the first leg last week. He makes his 10th European appearance this evening. Five years ago tonight he scored the second in a 5-1 win for UCD over Athlone Town at a time when Dundalk was preparing for a second leg v BATE Borisov. Another 3-0 would most certainly do tonight for Dundalk.

  • Levadia subs: 81 Artur Kotenko 99 Dmitri Pjatajev 5 Luka Luković 6 Rasmus Peetson 9 Mark Oliver Roosnupp 16 Markus Jürgenson 17 Robert Kirss 19 Amar Yunis Abdallah 20 Hannes Anier 22 Trevor Elhi 38 Artjom Komlov 55 Karl Rudolf Õigus 67 Ilja Antonov

  • FCI Levadia Starting Eleven: 12 Karl Andre Vallner 25 Maksim Podholjuzin 4 Maximiliano Uggè 3 Milan Mitrović 11 Milijan Ilić 10 Brent Lepistu 7 Frank Liivak 70 Marko Putinčanin 59 Bogdan Vaštšuk 14 Ernest Agyiri 49 Zakaria Beglarishvili

  • There is also one change on the Levadia team in defence as Milan Mitrović comes in for Ilja Antonov.

  • Patrick Hoban who has recovered from a medical issue is amongst the Dundalk subs tonight.

  • There has been one change in the Dundalk team from the 1st leg v Levadia as Greg Sloggett comes in for Wilfried Zahibo.

  • Good evening from Final Whistle HQ for tonights live coverage of FCI Levadia vs Dundalk from the A. Le Coq Arena. We will be updating the team news now as we are just over sixty minutes away from kick off.

Past Meetings

(2nd Qualifying Round)
2 - 2
UEFA Conference League
Tallaght Stadium

Dundalk v Levadia

Ground

Kadriorg Stadium
Kadriorg stadium, Roheline aas, Kadriorg, Kesklinna linnaosa, Tallinn, Harju maakond, 15170, Estonia

Ciaran Callan is a part-time sports journalist based in Dundalk, Co. Louth. He has more than 10 year’s experience working with media companies including both extensive radio broadcasting experience along with print and digital media reporting for the SSE Airtricity League as well digital media work with the national sports company eirSport. He joined FinalWhistle in February 2021 as is their main correspondent for Dundalk Football Club.