In an intense face-off in the third round of the FAI Cup that wrapped up with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out, top-flight Bohemians managed to secure a berth in the quarter-finals with a challenging victory against Kerry FC. The showdown took place on a sunny Sunday at Tralee’s Mounthawk Park. The Dubliners, given their Premier Division standing, were widely anticipated to emerge victorious from the clash. Amid the controversy over Dawson Devoy’s eligibility following Shamrock Rovers’ second-round defeat, they netted the first goal thanks to James Clarke’s timely header just before the 25-minute mark.
However, Kerry FC made a stunning comeback with dynamic forward, Ryan Kelliher resetting the score at the 42nd-minute mark. An equalising strike from Alex Greive at the other end saw the Bohemians carrying a 2-1 lead into half-time. Their lead, however, was short-lived as Kerry’s star player Kelliher snatched the ball from Bohs’ goalkeeper, Kacper Chorazka, pouncing for another equaliser shortly after the second half commenced.
With the game thrust into extra-time, Kerry’s goalkeeper, Aaron O’Sullivan, pulled off a series of impressive saves despite Bohs’ several attempts to score. The decisive penalty shoot-out saw unsuccessful penalties from Kerry’s Kennedy Amechi and Cian Barrett, while Cian Brosnan and Oran Crowe’s successful shots could not compete with Bohs’ perfect penalty streak from Ross Tierney, Devoy, Danny Grant and Declan McDaid. The sigh of relief from the travelling support was almost audible as the Dublin side advanced to the quarter-finals.
In an unexpected turn of events, a team from the First Division secured a significant victory over a superior team at The Showgrounds on Saturday. This monumental success was owed to Luke O’Regan and Adam Wells’ prowess on the field. Their goals facilitated UCD’s incredible 2-0 win against Sligo Rovers. As a result, UCD reserved their place in Tuesday’s quarter-final draw.
For Kerry, the match saw O’Sullivan, Barrett, Kos, Spain, O’Connell, Barrett, Crowe, and McGrath on the field for the initial 69-minutes. Subsequently, Amechi, Gleeson, Aladesanusi, Teahan, Brosnan, Kelliher and Okwute also took part at different stages of the match.
Representing Bohemians on the other hand, were Chorazka, Mills, McManus, Kavanagh, Smith, Clarke, Devoy, Tierney, McDonnell, and Rooney for the major portion of the match. Later, Piszczek, Grant, McDaid, and Akintunde also joined in.
N Doyle from Dublin officiated the match.