St Mirren faced Valur tonight for their UEFA Conference League second qualification round second leg. At St Mirren Park the men from manager Steve Robinson tried to score goals after their 0-0 draw against the Reykjavík side last week. After a match full of chances for the home side the fans in Paisley could celebrate their first European victory in over three decades, winning the game decisively with 4-1.
After 37 years European football returned to Paisley. In front of a sell out crowd and a bright blue sky St Mirren pushed for the opener straight from the opening minutes. The Saints got their first attempt towards goal via Seam Rooney in the third minute. The long range effort from outside the box ended up high and wide off target. A minute or two later a good ball in from captain Mark O’Hara from the left only narrowly missed striker Jonah Ayunga in the opposition box. Valur bravely repelled several more waves of St Mirren counter attacks in the opening stages.
In the 16th minute St Mirren’s forward pressure resulted in a corner. O’Hara’s ball delivery into the box found the head of Rooney. The incoming defender landed a powerful downward header at goal that flew past the Valur goalkeeper and into the net, to the delight of the home crowd. The debutant made his first goal for his new club, taking the tie to 1-0.
Mere moments after the opening goal it was Valur that attempted a quick equalizer on the other end. The Icelandic side got the ball into the box for the first time and forced Ellery Balcomb into a tremendous save from close range, forcing the ball over the net. After Valur’s revival, St Mirren retook the initiative once more, causing widespread problems to the defence of the Icelandic side defence through various dangerous crosses into the box. No small thanks to strong performing goalkeeper Frederik Schram, the visitors got away with keeping the score at 1-0 by half time.
After half time
The Icelandic got a dangerous attempt at goal right after the restart. A deep cross found the head of the Valur attacker, but could not hit it clear, ultimately resulting in an easy save for Balcombe. After the failed attempt, it was St Mirren that regained control of the game.
In the 52nd minute a ball got headed onward past the Valur defence. The ball got laid back to Toyosi Olusanya in the box, resulting in an easy tap in for the English attacker. The fans in Paisley could jump up from their seats again as they saw the ball roll into net, taking the score to 2-0. The home side kept the gas on the peddle searching for more. Moments after the second goal, Ayunga forced Schram into an acrobatic save after getting a powerful strike at goal from inside the box that was heading for the top left corner.
In the 65th minute a throw got headed onward towards the edge of the box. The ball landed in front of O’Hara, who delivered a spectacular drop kick that smashed the ball in the top of the Valur goal. The goal brought the score to a deserved 3-0 for the home side.
A rash challenge by Jaden Brown in the 74th minute on Jónatan Ingi Jónsson resulted in a penalty for the visitors. Tryggvi Hrafn Haraldsson grabbed the opportunity for the Icelandic side. The Icelandic attacker kept cool and slotted the ball in the bottom right corner, with Balcombe diving in the wrong direction. The 3-1 momentarily silenced the crowd at St Mirren Park.
In the 87th minute the St Mirren fans could celebrate one last time. A corner got flicked on and found the feet of Iacovitti, who tapped the ball into the net from close range for the 4-1. The near perfect European night for St Mirren ended at 4-1.
Kilmarnock in Brugge
In Brugge Killie played their UEFA Europa League second round qualification second leg against Cercle Brugge. After getting a goal behind in the first half the fans from Kilmarnock saw their side struggle to find a way back into the game. The referee ended the game at 1-0, resulting in a 2-1 loss on aggregate.
The result means that Kilmarnock will no longer be able to qualify for the UEFA Europa League play-off round. However, the European journey isn’t over for the fans from Kilmarnock. Killie will drop to the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round, keeping the dream of further European League Stage football alive. In the next round they will face Norwegian side Tromso.
For St Mirren their win means a progression to the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round as well. They will be facing another Norwegian side in the form of Brann as their next European opponent.
