THE 2023 FAI Cup final was in some ways a sign of a new era; a record-breaking crowd signalling this occasion’s ascension to become one of the fixtures of the Irish sporting calendar.
But the game itself swung on a classic theme: set-pieces. Bohemians took the lead through Jonathan Afolabi’s early penalty, but Pat’s came from behind to win 3-1, with their first two goals coming from two stunning wide free-kicks delivered by Jake Mulraney. Tommy Lonergan then sealed the game by pouncing on Jordan Flores’ late error to cap a stunning debut season in charge for Jon Daly.
“We are the best in the league at them, that’s a fact”, said Daly on his side’s set-piece record.
“We do a lot of work on them. It’s credit to [coach] Sean O’Connor as well. Sean had two set plays he wanted to try: one was from the Korean third division and one was from Bolivia, or somewhere like that. We don’t just look local for them, we look worldwide, to try and find things.
“To be fair to Sean, he is very good. we tasked him to come up with the attacking set plays and he has been excellent with them. We have gained the most points, we’ve scored the most and defensively we have been the best. I’ll give myself a pat on the back as I have done the defensive ones.”
But there’s always the other side of the coin. Bohs manager Declan Devine sat morosely at his press conference, lamenting his side’s defending of precisely those set pieces.
“To say we’re hugely disappointed is an understatement”, reflected Devine. “We prepared well all week, I thought we came in with a real opportunity, but that opportunity goes.
“We didn’t work hard enough in the first half, especially when we took the lead, Joe Redmond and Norman just dictated the game, they played it at their tempo after we scored.
“The set pieces, it’s just not acceptable, you can’t win anything if you don’t defend set pieces properly and, let’s be honest about it, that’s been our Achilles heel all season, especially over recent months, it’s something we have not dealt with well. In League of Ireland football it’s a huge aspect of winning games and it’s not something we have done well, especially today.”
On another glorious day for St Patrick’s Athletic, Daly found validation in the reason he took the job in the first place, stepping up from the assistant role after Tim Clancy was dismissed.
“The first morning of me stepping in and the conversation we had about why I wanted to take the job”, was what Daly quickly reflected on post-game. “I had a firm belief that the group of players could go and achieve something remarkable this year and I think they have certainly gone and done that and more.
“For me going into management, I had to make sure I went into the right one and it had to feel right. I have knocked ones back in the past and I think as a young manager you have to be careful about what you do and when you do it. The group we had, I had firm belief that they could go and do it and that’s why I put my hand up.
“It would have been very easy to say no, if I didn’t believe in them and I could have jumped on a plane and gone back home to my family and try get a job closer to home. But no, I firmly believed we could go and achieve.”
Daly had never experienced an FAI Cup final before, so soaked in what was the most raucous of the lot, with the 43,881 attendance a new record, shattering a stat that had stood since 1945.
“I’ve been to big games before but never a cup final here. I think the crowd was sensational”, said Daly. “When you look at record breaking numbers, it’s how the players cope with that and they coped with it really well. In terms of how it compared with my own career, it doesn’t get any better. Unfortunately my playing days are behind me and I need to look forward to what’s next with the management side and it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Devine, of course, was forced to reflect on that occasion from the wrong angle.
“Today, defensively, we didn’t do our job well”, said the Bohs boss. “Our support has been magnificent all year, they’ve really got behind us all. It’s some club, it’s an amazing club, but we were in touching distance of silverware and it’s very raw, it’s very difficult, because there is only certain aspects of the game that we didn’t do well, there were a lot of positives to the game from our point of view.
“I thought we were creative, I thought Jordan’s effort off the post, on another day that goes in but we’d a couple of other opportunities where we had to take them but it’s just a painful experience when you lose a cup final, especially a cup final in front of so many people. Another aspect is we’ve lost too many Dublin derbies this year, that’s the bottom line, that has been a problem for us.
“It’s going to hit hard, it doesn’t go away, it will never go away. Bringing Bohs to a cup final in my first year – my family and everybody here – it means so much to so many people, and the bottom line the buck sits with me, that’s the nature of the job. I’ll dust myself down over the coming days but the pain will probably never go away.”
Devine lamented the absence of injured captain Keith Buckley, while Daly hailed the contribution in midfield of Chris Forrester, now the first Pat’s player to win three FAI Cups.
Amid the post-game delirium, Daly took the time to approach each of the Bohemians players, all slumped in various states and angles across the pitch.
“They were part of a very good cup final and it’s only right to acknowledge that and to wish them all the best going forward, they’re a good club with a good squad of players”, said Daly.
“I think it’s the right thing to do, to acknowledge the opponent and make sure they do that again. Probably going back to my own career, when we won the cup in 2010, we beat Rangers and Ally McCoist waited until after the game and shook all the hands coming in, in the quarter final, there was the year we stopped them doing the treble.
“That stuck in my head and was one of the main reasons I wanted to go and play for him. Something like that, it’s a little bit of class. If they can remember that, that I came and shook their hand, that’ll do but obviously it’s about Pat’s on the night and on the day, we’ll go and celebrate now and look forward to that.”
