Bohemians top of table after derby win against St Pat's

ON THE MARK: Jonathan Afolabi of Bohemians celebrates with team-mate Grant Horton after scoring during the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division match against St Patrick's Athletic. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

St. Pats 0 Bohemians 2

A comprehensive 2-0 victory for Bohemians over St. Pats in front of a raucous derby crowd at Richmond Park last night saw Declan Devine’s side move into top spot.

Derry City’s stalemate with Dundalk ensured that the Gypsies move to the top of the pile in the league with four wins from their opening five games.

The lively home crowd almost got the start they dreamed of when Chris Forrester had the ball in the net inside three minutes but Neil Doyle had blown the whistle on deaf ears for a foul on Talbot from the corner.

Despite the early warning signs from Pats, it was Bohs who had the brighter of the opening exchanges with the midfield pairing of McManus and McDonnell linking up well with Afolabi up front.

Neil Doyle was content to let the game flow with a flurry of Former Bohs man Anto Breslin curled a perfectly weighted ball right into the melting pot. Jake Mulraney almost timed his run to perfection but was just a second late as the ball flew agonizingly past him just meters from goal.

The wake up call that the visitors needed as they took the lead through Afolabi just minutes later to rapturous roars from the Bohs faithful behind the goal. Ali Coote’s deep cross to the back of the box was met by the waiting Afolabi who waited patiently before directing a delightful header past the helpless Odumosu.

Pats were struggling to deal with the pacy attacking game that Bohs were playing with Ali Coote and Akintunde causing major problems for the Pats rear guard with no let up at all. The tell tale sign – Joe Redmond and Jay McGrath both receiving yellow cards in their attempts to keep the relentless attack at bay.

Pats responded strongly having conceded and they carved out some decent chances as they looked to get back on level terms but with little penetration or test of Talbot in the Bohs goal.

The Pat’s fans in the stands were calling out for more positive attacking play and they began the first half with real intent. Kreida found Mulraney with a deft dink into the box but the Pats man couldn’t direct his header at all to the relief of Talbot.

Pats should have been level on fifty five minutes but were denied when a close range header from Thomas Lonergan was brilliantly saved by Talbot. Just ten minutes after the restart and Clancy’s men were already moving with more purpose.

Declan Devine lost the influential Afolabi close to the hour mark as the influential striker hobbled off having ran the line well for his side all evening. The striker has improved with form this week finding the net in successive games and Devine will be hoping it isn’t too serious.

Things went from bad to worse for St. Pats as the second half progressed when Jamie Lennon was shown his second yellow of the evening for a heavy challenge on Paddy Kirk in full view of the main stand.

Having witnessed an upturn in performance levels as the second half progressed the sending off ensured a tricky task for the home side in trying to unlock the Bohs defence suddenly became a lot more difficult.

Bohs used the numerical advantage to their advantage for the remainder of the game as they nullified the threat that Pat’s had showed early in the half and with the game entering injury time doubled their lead and all but confirmed the result.

A mix up at the back from the Saints left McDaid and substitute Dean Williams to combine with Williams finishing with ease to the net.

The pressure ramps up on Tim Clancy with a different type of pressure to deal with for Declan Devine but he won’t mind as his side continue their good form and lead the table for the weekend.

St Pats: David Odumosu; Anto Breslin, Joseph Redmond, Tom Grivosti (Noah Lewis 16), Sam Curtis, Jay McGrath (Conor Carty 75); Vladislav Kreida, Jamie Lennon, Chris Forrester, Jake Mulraney (Serge Atakayi 70); Thomas Lonergan (Eoin Doyle 70) 

Bohemians: James Talbot; Patrick Kirk, Krystian Nowak, Kasper Radkowski, Grant Horton; Jordan Flores, Ali Coote, James McManus, Adam McDonnell (James Clarke 86); Oluwaseun Akintunde (Declan McDaid 63), Jonathan Afolabi (Dean Williams 58) Referee: Neil Doyle