St Pat’s 3-2 Bohemians
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH Christy Fagan bagged a brace to help send St Patrick’s Athletic through to the FAI Ford Cup semi-finals. The striker’s goals in both halves were scored either side of Killian Brennan’s excellent second-half free-kick.
Bohemians had led through Derek Pender’s first goal of the season but crucially only Aidan Price managed to score with the visitors a man up after a second-half red card for Greg Bolger.
The game sparked into life after a scrappy opening 20 minutes — first blood drawn by the visitors. Eoin Wearen, back in the side after a suspension, found Kevin Devaney who fed the ball through to Pender in the box and the full back calmly slotted it over Brendan Clarke.
Just three minutes into their celebrations the travelling support down at the shed end watched the equaliser unfold in front of their eyes. Conan Byrne floated a free kick from just inside the left touchline and Fagan barged through a crowd of bodies to nod the ball in from close range.
Dean Delany pulled off a couple of excellent saves as the home side found their groove, creating the better chances before the break. Mark Quigley picked out Keith Fahey inside the area but Delany was quick to rush out and make the save.
Quigley then nutmegged Roberto Lopes before firing a shot just under the crossbar but Delany showed quick reflexes to push the ball over and out for a corner.
The Bohemians netminder will be angry with himself over the goal that gave the opposition the lead. Just four minutes into the second half, Brennan stepped up to take a free on the edge of the box. The midfielder bent the ball expertly around the wall and beat Delany on his blind side.
The hosts looked home and dry 10 minutes later when Byrne came in off the wing to play an excellent through ball to Fagan. The striker oozed confidence as he dinked the ball into the net over the onrushing Delany.
The calm exterior of manager Liam Buckley must have been close to cracking when yet again Greg Bolger was sent for an early bath. The midfielder was dismissed for a second yellow card in the 68th minute — the first came just six minutes earlier.
However, even with a man down, the home side never looked in danger until 10 minutes before the final whistle. Devaney whipped in a superb corner and Price got in among the pack to head his team to within a goal of a replay, but it was as close as they got.
St Patrick’s Athletic: Clarke, O’Brien (c), Bermingham, Oman, Bolger, Byrne (Forrester, 45+3), Fahey, Fagan, Quigley, Brennan (Chambers, 85), Hoare. Substitutes: Foran, Fitzgerald, McCormack, Jennings, McGrath.
Bohemians: Delany, Pender, Lopes, Mulcahy (c), Price, Moore (Kavanagh, 56), J. Byrne, Corcoran, Wearen, Devaney, Beattie. Substitutes: Memery, Hyland, Evens, Buckley, Walsh, Shanahan.
Referee: Neil Doyle