In the Premier Division of the League of Ireland, Bohemians scored a victory of 2-1 over Shelbourne, reducing the latter’s lead to just five points. This triumph was largely due to Jordan Flores’ pen at 37 and 40 minutes into the game, while Jarvis scored for Shelbourne at the 62nd minute. 4,700 spectators were packed into Tolka Park to witness the bated confrontation between Shels and Bohs.
Throughout the first 35 minutes, it was challenging to distinguish the stronger team, with both clubs demonstrating equal tenacity. Eventually, Bohemians relied on the mettle and sharpness of their central defenders, Jevon Mills and Aboubacar Keita, to resist a dominant surge from Shelbourne spearheaded by Sean Boyd and Liam Burt.
In a gripping turn of events, Mills delivered a powerful launch towards James Akintunde, eventually leading to a penalty situation. In response, Flores confidently converted the penalty to a score—for Bohs. Soon after, Flores scored another by heading in Dayle Rooney’s corner.
At this point, Bohs took a strong stance with a two-point advantage over Shels. Shelbourne retaliated fiercely, sending through Burt only for Declan McDaid to be brought down, earning himself a yellow card. Burt remained the central figure but was unable to pierce through, as his brisk shot was interrupted by Keita.
In British English:
Boyd and John Martin, two impressive front runners of Shels, found their synergy while Will Jarvis launched a formidable challenge against Bohs’ extraordinary right back, Luke Matheson. Moments came and passed, but Reynolds was the only voice to punctuate the quiet, pushing for performance from his defenders and managing to irk Duff whenever he could. The sound of another penalty resounded through the new PA system; this came about as Wilson was knocked to the ground by Rooney following a remarkable save from Kacper Chorazka by Martin.
Jarvis took the penalty, driving the ball to the centre of the goal, turning the score 2-1 in Shels’ favour with Bohs barely keeping pace. With Mark Coyle assuming dominance in midfield, there seemed a significant chance for Shelbourne to level the score. However, Coyle had to bow out due to an injury not long after the ref overlooked a handball by Mills in the Bohs’ penalty area.
Change in kick-off time was necessitated to 7.50pm as a consequence of a protest by match officials, causing a five-minute delay in all matches. The specific reason was undisclosed but it led to a scheduled meeting with the FAI the following week.
The Shelbourne team: Kearns; Gannon, Barrett (Farrell 76), Molloy, Wilson; Lunney (Hakiki 90), Coyle (O’Sullivan 66); Burt, Martin (Williams 76), Jarvis; Boyd. The Bohemians: Chorazka; Matheson, Mills, Keita, Kirk; McDonnell, Flores; Rooney, McDonnell (McManus 77), Clarke, McDaid (Connolly 69); Akintunde (Grant 83). The referee was Paul McLaughlin.