/”In a thrilling encounter at Dalymount Park, Bohemians triumphed over Shamrock Rovers with a 1-0 victory in the FAI Cup, eliminating their fiercest rivals. Dayle Rooney, the club’s talented winger, scored the only goal of the match by striking home a decisive penalty, providing a much-needed morale boost and securing Bohemians’ second victory in a string of 12 games.
The Bohemians had managed to weather an early storm when Jack Byrne’s free kick bounced off the post in the eighth minute, with Dan Cleary subsequently sending his header above the crossbar. Nonetheless, Bohemians controlled a decent amount of the play following this near miss, coming close to scoring when Alex Greive’s cross found Rooney on 22 minutes, although Josh Honohan managed to block his shot.
Bohemians showed renewed energy after the break, testing the Rovers’ keeper, Leon Pohls, for the first time just nine minutes in due to a Rooney free kick. Despite a four-man substitution by the Rovers near the 60-minute mark, Bohemians remained formidable. The winning move came in the 68th minute – Honohan fouled Ross Tierney in the box, leading to Rooney’s decisive penalty shot which left Pohls diving the wrong way.
In other Premier Division action, Drogheda United outperformed Dundalk with a 2-1 victory at Weavers Park, thereby redeeming their league defeat from the previous week. New signing James Bolger marked his debut with a smart volley to put Drogheda in the lead at the 16-minute mark, and Warren Davis built on this with a goal at 74 minutes. Dundalk’s only mark on the match came from Bobby Faulkner in the form of a consolation goal during added time.”/
Throughout the night’s other noteworthy games, Galway United claimed a dominating 6-0 victory over First Division strugglers, Longford Town at Eamonn Deacy Park. In a surprising turn of events, Waterford had to retaliate from a trailing position to clinch a 2-1 victory against Donegal’s non-league side, Cockhill Celtic at the RSC.
In the match involving Bohemians, the playing lineup included players Chorazka, Miller, Byrne, Kavanagh, Flores, Devoy, McDonnell (with Clarke replacing him in the 84th minute), Rooney (replaced by Kirk in the 89th minute), Tierney, Greive (replaced by Grant in the 71st minute) and Piszczek, who was replaced by Akintunde at the half-time.
The lineup for Shamrock Rovers involved Pohls, Cleary, Lopes, Honohan, Kavanagh (who was replaced in the 57th minute by Clarke), Nugent, Towell (replaced by Burns in the 57th minute), O’Neill, Noonan (replaced by Watts in the 71st minute), Byrne (replaced by Farrugia), and Greene, who gave way to Kenny in the 57th minute. The referee was Rob Hennessy from Clare and the game drew an audience of 4,431 spectators.
Results for the second round of the FAI Cup were as follows: Athlone Town defeated Ringmahon Rangers by 1-0, Bohemians stood victorious against Shamrock Rovers with a 1-0 score, Kerry triumphed over Cobh Ramblers by 2-0, Drogheda United outplayed Dundalk with a 2-1 score, Galway United demolished Longford Town by 6-0, Treaty United and Kilbarrack United were at a stalemate with a 0-0 score (even after added extra-time), while Waterford forged a 2-1 victory against Cockhill Celtic. Lastly, Wilton United surpassed Carrigaline United by 2-1.