St Pat's claim Dublin derby bragging rights with win over Bohs
GOALBOUND: St. Pats' Barry Cotter scores a goal. Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady
Goals at the start and end by two Munster men - Barry Cotter and Adam O’Reilly – boosted St Patrick’s Athletic’s European hopes and dented Bohemians’ in this Dalymount Park Dublin derby.
Cotter, on loan from Shamrock Rovers, produced a brilliant cameo on eight minutes to score his first for the club before Chris Forrester added a second on the stroke of the break. Rory Feely gave Bohs some semblance of hope by halving the arrears on 61 minutes but Cork native Adam O’Reilly sealed the points with a Pat’s third with a minute remaining.
The defeats leaves Bohs 12 points behind the final European spot and most likely relying on FAI Cup success to clinch a Conference League berth.
This was a rematch of last year’s FAI Cup final but the degree of upheaval at both clubs since that occasion at Aviva Stadium on November 28 was reflected by the paucity of survivors.
Just five players who started that day began this game – the Bohemians trio of Ciaran Kelly, Liam Burt, Tyreke Wilson outnumbering by a single body the St Pat’s pair Jamie Lennon and Chris Forrester. Earlier this month, Lennon was honest enough to admit the lack of similar surgery at Shamrock Rovers was key to their dominance.
Through no fault of their own, St Pat’s had also lost their manager from that Cup triumph, Stephen O’Donnell, to Dundalk. Keith Long remains in situ but is arguably enduring the stickiest patch of his reign which reaches eight years in two months’ time. Only Ollie Horgan, appointed a year earlier, has been in charge for longer at a current Premier Division club.
A return of just eight wins from 27 league games has made the crowd restless and after some touching tributes to their long-serving activist Derek Monaghan, who died last week, their hackles were spiked by a shambolic opening 45 minutes.
Bar a chance they spurned after just four minutes, when Liam Burt nodded a cross from his opposite winger Kris Twardek wide, they were markedly off the pace and defensively ragged.
Doyle fired the first warning on six minutes by flashing a near post header wide before Cotter sliced through their defence to finish a peach of an opener.
Receiving the ball in his own half near the right touchline, the Ennis native exchanged passes with Adam O’Reilly to dash into enemy territory.
It appeared a pass was the best option but he didn’t require assistance for he slalomed past three red shirts, drifting to the edge of the box where his shot deflected off Kelly into the net.
Such was the space he created that he mightn’t have needed the nick off a defender and he was entitled to revel in the acclaim with the full house of away support at the school end.
Twice Declan McDaid got sniffs of goal, the second brilliantly foiled by an intervention from teenager Sam Curtis, but Serge Atakayi went closer at the other end with a shot that whistled past the post.
Goalkeeper Jon McCracken was left static for that attempt and it was similar for the goal that extended the lead on the stroke of half-time. Atakayi was patient in his build-up to await support from Forrester and the talisman found the bottom corner with a sweet strike just outside the box on the right side.
That chance came about through a stray pass by Josh Kerr and it was surprising that he was the only casualty of Long’s half-time overhaul.
Former Bohemians playmaker Chris Forrester was afforded the room to showboat his array of skills and his Saints side seemed in control until Bohs responded just past the hour mark.
A driving run from the right and shot by substitute Ali Coote forced Danny Rogers to turn around the post and from Coote’s corner, ex-Saint Rory Feely rose high to nod past the new goalkeeper.
He wasn’t tested thereafter and the visitors were deserving of their victory, crowded with a third by O’Reilly.
He led the breakaway from a Bohs attack and when Tunde Owolabi’s shot from 20 yards was blocked, he followed up to slip the ball past McCracken.
J McCracken; J Kerr (J Doherty 46), R Feely, C Kelly, T Wilson; J McManus, J O’Sullivan (J Clarke 57); K Twardek (J Mullins 77), D McDaid (A Coote 57), L Burt; E Varion.
D Rogers; S Curtis, J Redmond, H Brockbank; B Cotter, J Lennon, C Forrester A O’Reilly, A Breslin; E Doyle (T Owolabi 84), S Atakayi (B King 90).
Paul McLaughlin (Donegal).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
