Hello folks, how we doing?
It’s almost showtime at the sold-out Aviva Stadium, where Bohemians and St Patrick’s Athletic will battle it out for FAI Cup supremacy in front of 48,000 fans.
Bohs are seeking their eighth cup title (as well as a berth in the Europa Conference League qualifiers). Saints are looking for a third cup win in 10 years, and a fifth overall.
The two sides met in front of over 37,000 fans in this fixture a couple of years ago, when St Pat’s won their fourth FAI Cup on penalties.
It’s bigger and better today: this will be the biggest attendance for a game between two League of Ireland sides since the 1945 Cup final between Bohs and Shamrock Rovers at Dalymount Park.
Here are your teams from the Aviva.
Jordan Flores starts at left-back for Bohs. Danny Grant is chosen over Ali Coote.
Pat’s line out as expected, really.
It’s Gavan Casey with you here, by the way! I’ll be bringing you live updates throughout the game from 3pm in the event that you can’t make the stadium or a TV.
My colleague, Gavin Cooney, will have a match report and reaction from Lansdowne Road — so keep an eye out for all of his work after full-time.
In the meantime, here’s a thread with all of our pre-match reading on The 42. If you click on Gav’s tweet, here, and scroll down, you’ll see the lot.
Thread here of The 42's Cup final pieces, starting with this stunning piece by @DavidSneyd with Colin Hawkins and Stephen McGuinness
— Gavin Cooney (@gcooney93) November 12, 2023
All of these and much more available for only a fiver a month for 42 subscribers #buyasub https://t.co/B6v0z1KT4j
Will it be an eighth Cup for Bohs or a fifth for Saints?
Poll Results:
Amhrán na bhFiann done and dusted. The football is delivered via a remote-control truck which rolls onto the pitch. The teams enter their final pre-game huddles. And the Aviva is engulfed in flare smoke. It’s Cup final time.
Here we go!
1′ – Bohs 0-0 St Pat’s: Saints get us underway at Lansdowne Road. At least, I think it was them — very hard to see through the smoke!
Bohs in their traditional red and black, St Pat’s in changed yellow to avoid a colour clash.
The Aviva looking magnificent moments before the smoke from both sets of flares converged near midfield and created a scene reminiscent to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago:
7′ – Bohs 0-0 St Pat’s: Bohs have enjoyed the better of the very early goings, here.
Jonathan Afolabi tore down the right, there, on the counter, and brought half of the stadium to their feet. His attempted pull-back was intercepted, though.
For the moment, Pat’s are moving the ball around in their own half, just settling into things.
8′ - PENALTY!!! The ball ricochets to Jonathan Afolabi in the area and Anthony Breslin comes through the back of him!
Bohs have a huge chance to open the scoring, out of nothing!
9′ — GOOOOOOAAAALLLLL! Bohs 1-0 St Pat’s: AFOLABI SCORES! The striker rolls it into the bottom right-hand corner, with Dean Lyness diving the wrong way.
That’s Afolabi’s 20th goal of the season — and Bohs lead the Cup final inside 10 minutes!
What a start for Declan Devine’s men!
14′ – Bohs 1-0 St Pat’s: The restart was delayed as debris was cleared from each goalmouth.
Saints have made a positive response to Bohs’ opener but are yet to fashion any opportunities of note.
Bohs seem content to invite Saints on and look to hit them on the break — at least for the moment.
20′ – Bohs 1-0 St Pat’s: A more proactive spell from Bohs in the last five. A well-worked corner routine to the edge of the area sees the dangerous Afolabi slice a snapshot high and wide right.
Moments later, James Clarke’s effort from the edge of the area flies over.
St Pat’s, now, with a free-kick on the right-hand side which Jake Mulraney will float in left-footed.
21′ – GOOOOOOAAALLLLLLL! Bohs 1-1 St Pat’s: OH, WHAT A DELIVERY BY MULRANEY! And it’s Mark Doyle who steers it home with his head!
We’re level in the Cup final!
A tidy header by Doyle but honestly, this one is all about the in-swinging delivery by Mulraney. He could have opened a tin of beans with that cross.
What a start to this game!!!
28′ – Bohs 1-1 St Pat’s: Ooooft, Bohs come knocking again.
Strong play by Afolabi initially and Dylan Connolly dribbles to the byline on the right-hand side of the Pat’s area.
Connolly whips a lovely ball across the six-yard box and, just as James Clarke charges in to tap it home, young Sam Curtis sticks out a leg and makes a crucial intervention.
Lovely play by Bohs, and superb defending by the 17-year-old Curtis.
31′ – Bohs 1-1 St Pat’s: Bohs with another sniff: Another nice move and Clarke shoots from the edge of the area but pulls it a couple of yards right of Lyness’ goal.
Good response to Saints’ equaliser by The Gypsies.
43′ – Bohs 1-1 St Pat’s: Bit of an arm wrestle over the last while. Bohs getting crosses into the area but Pat’s dealing with them well.
I was just about to say there’s not a whole lot coming back the other way — and then Chris Forrester rasps one from 30-odd yards, narrowly over James Talbot’s crossbar!
Great effort by Forrester, who scored in this fixture a couple of years ago.
45′ – Bohs 1-1 St Pat’s: Sam Curtis has been so impressive at the back for Saints. Super-composed, technically excellent, and reads the game so well. What an unbelievably exciting future this guy has.
48′ – Bohs 1-1 St Pat’s: Five minutes of first-half stoppage time, I would imagine mostly because of the delay after Bohs’ opener.
A tight enough game but not without moments of serious excitement.
A flying start by Bohs — who led through Jonathan Afolabi’s early penalty — is cancelled out by Mark Doyle’s header from a pinpoint Jake Mulraney free-kick delivery.
That takes us to the turnaround at the Aviva.
47′ – Bohs 1-1 St Pat’s: Back underway — and James McManus is booked for hauling down Kian Leavy as he attempted to twist into space.
A chance for Mulraney to deliver another peach, here, from the right-hand side…
48′ – GOOOOOOAAAALLLLLL! Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: IT’S HAPPENED AGAIN! SAINTS LEAD IN THE CUP FINAL!
It’s another beautfiul in-swinger by Mulraney which zips through bodies at pace, and oh! It’s an own goal this time by Krystian Nowak, who was under pressure by Joe Redmond and accidentally steers the ball past his own ‘keeper.
That’s gutting for Nowak, who has been outstanding all season for Bohs.
Jubilation, though, for Pat’s who have made the perfect start to the second half!
52′ – Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: Bohs and James McManus lucky, there, that the midfielder didn’t receive a second yellow.
He’s called ashore instantly by Declan Devine. Paddy Kirk on. Jordan Flores into midfield.
And almost immediately, Flores has a low drive from the edge of the area that stings the hands of Lyness! Good stop, and Saints clear the resulting corner.
54′ – Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: Wow — Saints come within a whisker of extending their lead.
It’s another unbelievable cross from deep-right by James Mulraney, and Krystian Nowak — perhaps rattled, or perhaps at the command of Talbot — lets it bounce over his head and out for a goal kick. But Mark Doyle was coming in behind him, and was about six inches from getting his head on it from point-blank range.
Electrifying start to this second half.
The officially recorded attendance, by the way, is just under 44,000 — a new record.
57′ – Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: Mason Melia — who completed his Junior Cert in early summer and this week signed a three-year pro contract with Saints — replaces Doyle who seemed to injure himself trying to get a head to that earlier Mulraney cross.
Double chance for Bohs! An initial shot from the edge of the area is blocked out for a corner. Then, Bartlomiej Kukulowicz — the liveblogger’s nightmare — flicks a bobbling ball over Saints’ crossbar. The 23-year-old Pole might have done better, there. A let-off for the men from Inchicore.
61′ – Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: Nice spell of pressure for Bohs. Flores becoming influential. Connolly getting to the byline. A couple of corners which have caused plenty of consternation behind Saints lines. But still 2-1.
63′ – Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: Oh, so close for Bohs!
Lovely build-up at the edge of the area and a pullback from the left-hand side finds Afolabi, but he blasts it about a yard past the upper left-hand angle of Lyness’ goal.
Afolabi opted for power rather than placement and, at first glance, it was probably the right option. Bot a huge amount wrong with the effort other than the fact that it didn’t take the net with it.
69′ – Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: Chris Forrester was down for treatment a while ago and he’s still struggling. So too is Mulraney.
For Bohs, on comes Ali Coote for Danny Grant.
And yeah, Forrester is going off now — replaced by Adam Murphy.
And Jason McClelland is on for Mulraney, who was integral to both Pat’s goals.
71′ – Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: There hasn’t been much actual football in the last few minutes, for what it’s worth, due to a few players needing treatment. That ‘break’, for want of a better word, will suit Pat’s who were under the cosh a little bit beforehand.
73′ – Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: David Norman cleans out Afolabi from behind, about 30 yards from Saints’ goal. Yellow card.
Jordan Flores territory — but just about. Let’s see what he can conjure here.
He shoots! OH HE’S HIT THE POST! WHAT AN EFFORT!
Flores around the left-hand side of the wall, but it just doesn’t curl back in quite enough. Doinks the post and flies wide.
So close for Bohemians…
76′ – Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: Flores has been magnificent since moving into midfield.
Tired legs out there now, though, as Bohs chase an equaliser. Ali Coote tees up Clarke from 18 yards but his shot is half-blocked safely into the arms of Lyness.
Will Krystian Nowak’s unfortunate own goal prove to be the decider?
79′ – Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: Pat’s get a free-kick in an almost identical position to Flores’ effort up the other end.
McClelland, who was tripped up by Coote, drills it into the wall but lays the rebound out right to Alex Nolan.
Nolan drives one! But it’s deflected just wide for the corner.
And Bohs eventually clear after a spell of sustained Saints pressure.
85′ – Bohs 1-2 St Pat’s: Saints have done a fine job of taking the sting out of Bohs in the last five or 10 minutes. Clever fouls, good game management.
Too early to say Bohs have run out of ideas — but they haven’t demonstrated a great deal of invention since Flores’ free-kick clattered the post.
87′ – GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL! Bohs 1-3 St Pat’s: GAME, SET AND MATCH, SAINTS! TOMMY LONERGAN OFF THE BENCH!
And it’s a stunning finish by the 19-year-old!
Unfortunate mistake by Bohs replacement John O’Sullivan, who plays a pass back towards Jordan Flores from the centre circle — but it’s too high! Flores attempts to control it with his chest but it skims backwards, over his shoulder.
Onto the loose ball charges Lonergan, who bowls Flores over in a fair 50-50 and bolts towards the Bohs area. He slows down, opens it up onto his left foot from 20-odd yards, and caresses it into the left-hand corner!
Talbot gets a hand on it but it’s such a tidy stroke of Lonergan’s left boot.
The Cup is heading back to Inchicore, ladies and gents!
91′ – Bohs 1-3 St Pat’s: Seven minutes of added time.
Saints fans going absolutely nuts inside the Aviva.
Bohs’ fate is sealed.
It’s been a really close game, ultimately decided by two unbelievable set-piece deliveries by Mulraney as well as the the opportunism and composure by Lonergan.
Bohs had enough sights on goal that they’ll wonder ‘what if’.
THERE IT IS!
A fifth Cup title for St Patrick’s Athletic, and a third in the space of a decade.
They’ve repeated their 2021 success over Bohs in front of an all-time record crowd of 43,881 people at the Aviva Stadium.
But this time, they’ve done it in 90 minutes.
A cracking game overall, befitting of a brilliant occasion.
Congrats, Saints. Enjoy the celebrations tonight, wherever you are!
Thanks for joining me for live updates. Keep an eye on The 42 for Gavin Cooney’s report and reaction. Catch you soon.
