ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC produced another memorable Europa League victory at Richmond Park to dump Kazhak side Shaktyr Karagandy out of the competition.

St Patrick’s Athletic 2 Shaktyr Karagandy 0

Pete Mahon’s side secured a Third Qualifying Round meeting with Ukrainians Karpaty Lviv thanks to goals by Evan McMillan and Derek Doyle to progress 3-2 on aggregate.

 Karagandy started strongly and had the Saints defence under pressure in the opening moments. Their two giant defenders Aldin Dzidic and Nicola Vasilijevic were thrown forward for every set-piece.

 Home keeper Gary Rogers had to make a critical save to keep out a flicked effort by Sergei Khizhnichenko after a fifth minute cross from the right by Kairat Utabayev. St Pat’s struggled to clear and a follow-up shot from Aleksandr Kirov also brought out a save from Rogers.

 Five minutes later Kirov had another strike on goal after the Saints failed to convincingly clear a corner and once again Rogers got down well to save.

 Remarkably St Pat’s took the lead four minutes later. Given the size of the Kazhaks, it was perhaps surprising that the home side went ahead through a set-piece themselves.

 Stephen Bradley fired in an excellent corner delivery and Evan McMillan emulated his brother David’s exploits from the first leg by finding the target with a well-placed header.

 That meant the tie was level at 2-2 with the Saints leading on away goals.

 Six minutes later, Maksat Bayshanov produced another low strike from 30 yards for the visitors and once more it was comfortably saved by Rogers.

 Karagandy probably should have levelled in the 31st minute when a corner by Zhambyi Kukyev was flicked on at the near post and Dzidic’s follow-up header clipped the top of the home crossbar.

 From then it on it was all St Pat’s for the remainder of the half with Daryl Kavanagh once again looking very comfortable on the European stage.

 Kavanagh was unlucky with a shot over from the edge of the box in the 33rd minute after good work by Ian Daly and Derek Doyle in the build-up.

 Three minutes later Kavanagh turned marker Kirov brilliantly and appeared to be taken down in the area but Belgian referee Sebastien Delferiere dismissed the calls for a penalty.

 McMillan came close to pinching a second goal from a set-piece in the 40th minute when he appeared at the back post from a Bradley free-kick. The ball ended up in the side-netting with home fans claiming a defender was the last to touch the ball.

 In first half injury-time the Saints had another penalty claim waved away when a low shot by Danny North appeared to be stopped by a defender’s arm.

 The second half was a cagier affair and the Saints were thankful for another good save by Rogers to deny Bayshanov in the 66th minute after he cut inside a defender. McMillan completed the work by booting the loose ball clear.

 Three minutes later St Pat’s got the second goal they craved when Derek Doyle volleyed home brilliantly from a fantastic right wing cross by Derek Pender, who did extremely well to create the crossing opportunity.

Kirov had a chance to level the tie on aggregate – an crucially away goals – in the 77th minute but his snap-shot after a clever free-kick routine spun narrowly wide.

 Bradley then forced keeper Alexsandr Mokin to tip over spectacularly from a free-kick in the 80th minute as the Saints looked to kill the game off.

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Rogers; Pender, Bermingham, E McMillan, Shortall, Kavanagh, Bradley, McFaul, Doyle (Murphy 86), Daly (Mulcahy 82), North (D McMillan 77).

SHAKTYR KARAGANDY: Mokin; Utabayev (Bormantaev 79), Džidić, Vasiljević, Kirov, Konysbayev, Bayzhanov, Vičius, Kukeyev, Khizhnichenko, Petronijević (Dosmanbetov 74).

Referee: Sébastien Delferiere (BEL)