St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Valletta FC

• Eoin Manning
• Thu, Jul 16 2009


St.Patrick’s Athletic begin this season’s European adventure in the 1st leg of their second qualifying round Thursday night at Richmond Park where they take on Valletta FC of Malta (Kick Off 7:45 PM).

Pat’s go in to the game minus their long-term absentees as Mark Quigley, Mark Leech , Gary Dempsey and Gints Freimanis all remain on the injured list.

Added to that is Jason Gavin who injured his groin against Galway United last Friday, John Lester who has failed to overcome a calf injury and Glen Fitzpatrick who’s on-going health problems remain a concern, while Damien Lynch is suspended.

They do welcome loan signing Declan O’Brien into their squad for the first time since his move from Dundalk on Tuesday and Darragh Ryan also returns from injury.

The little known Maltese outfit have no reported injury concerns ahead of the game which means Pat’s fans are likely to see former Manchester United and Barcelona player Jordi Cruyff pulling the strings from midfield.

The tie comes as a welcome distraction for the Inchicore club due to some very indifferent league form while Valetta themselves are yet to commence their domestic campaign.

It makes for an intriguing prospect and a game Pat’s should edge 2-1.