In the Premier Division of the League of Ireland, Shamrock Rovers claimed a 3-1 victory over the Bohemians. The Bohemians struggled immensely, repeatedly having to clear the ball to the poised striking force of the Shamrock Rovers, leading to goals from Johnny Kenny, Darragh Burns, and Aaron Greene. The clash, held in Dublin, saw Rovers take a swift two-goal advantage in the second half, leaving no room for a classic comeback in front of a record 10,094 crowd.
The scoreline reached three with a mere quarter of an hour on the clock, prompting Bohemians followers to abandon the match in favour of catching a town-bound Luas. Greene made light work of Aboubacar Keita and Darragh Nugent’s defences, finding the back of the net after evading both.
Kenny Cunningham, speaking on the live RTÉ broadcast, criticised the Bohemians for their lack of strength. However, it was clear that victory was not simply a matter of strength. Stephen Bradley’s formidable team showed remarkable aptitude, with a standout performance from Graham Burke adding to the Bohemians’ woes.
It was a historic event, with the largest crowd in 33 years at a League of Ireland game. Despite this, Rovers have shown a problematic tendency to start each season slowly. Indeed, before the match commenced, they had only one win and four draws, which put them in seventh position, ten points behind current leaders Damien Duff’s Shelbourne.
The first half of all five games in the league’s top tier were goalless, detracting from the league’s appeal. However, Shelbourne managed a 2-1 victory over Dundalk, cementing their seven-point lead over Sligo Rovers. In the first half, Rovers had better scoring opportunities, with Pico Lopes forcing a save from Kacper Chorazka and Burns also testing the keeper’s abilities. On the other end, James Clarke narrowly missed a rare scoring chance following a deft flick and pass by James Akintunde and Dylan Connolly.
Bohs were banking on a brief window of opportunity, with Kenny visibly relishing the moment shortly after the commencement of the second half, aided by the dynamic input from Burns and Dylan Watts. Barely four minutes later, the second goal materialised – a direct result of Burns’ agility leaving Paddy Kirk and a suave manoeuvre by Burke, off balance.
In overtime, Declan McDaid managed a consolation goal for Bohs but the enormity of the challenges ahead for Reynolds is not to be underestimated. Turning our attention back to the proceedings, the saying, “If you build it, they will come” holds true here. The South Dublin County Council built an additional terrace, and unsurprisingly, spectators thronged in large numbers. It was inevitable that Rovers would have their first capacity crowd at their leased ground in a match against Bohs, two football powerhouses with differing funding structures battling out at the start of the season, both having Shels in their sights.
Interestingly, Shels’ manager, Damien Duff, made an insightful remark ahead of the match saying, “The past fortnight has underscored the fact that the leading entity of Irish football isn’t their national team but rather the league itself. It is superior, more exhilarating and holds greater significance. All genuine football enthusiasts in Ireland have patiently awaited this particular Friday, no other day matters more.”
The Aviva Stadium felt more akin to a fast food eatery kept busy with international matches, evident in the recent Belgian and Swiss friendly games. In contrast, Tallaght offered the true essence of a football stadium with a generous assortment of food and drink options.
Bohs demonstrated a highly efficient method to the FAI on how to dismiss and appoint a manager within a mere 16 days. This is the duration they took to transition from Declan Devine to Reynolds. On March 10th, Devine was dismissed, only to secure a 2-1 victory over Derry City in their home ground five days later with Derek Pender at helm, while Pat Fenlon and club officials were in talks with Stephen Kenny – about returning to Phibsborough, 129 days after his exit from the Ireland team. Bohs inked the deal with Reynolds on a rolling contract basis on March 26th, just three days before the historic Dublin derby.
This episode shows the traits of a fully professional football league, despite being a far cry from the 1945 FAI Cup final at Dalymount Park where a crowd of 41,238 watched as Rovers triumphed over Bohs by a 1-0 victory.
Daniel Lambert, the Chief Operating Officer of Bohs, has remarked on the remarkable fact that despite the potential to sell between 12-14,000 tickets or more for a football match taking place this evening, only 10,000 people are allowed to attend at the singular venue. He stated this as a unique constraint in the realm of Irish sports, indicative of a significant infrastructural shortage which he suggests should be promptly addressed by government policy.
While Rovers are fortunate enough to have their facilities sorted and a formidable team to boot, football infrastructure on the island needs urgent attention.
The Shamrock Rovers lineup included Pohls, Cleary, Grace, Lopes, Honohan, Watts substituted by Towell in the 70th minute, O’Neill replaced by Poom at minute 57; Nugent, Burke – Noonan took over at 82 minutes, Burns, switched out for Clarke also at 82 minutes and Kenny replaced by Greene at the 70-minute mark.
As for Bohemians, they had Chorazka, Lilander, Mills, Keita who was substituted for J McManus in the 76th minute, Kirk; Flores, Rooney, Clarke, McDonnell replaced by Grant at 64 minutes; Connolly who B McManus took over for at the 64th minute and lastly, Akintunde who McDaid came in for at the 71st minute.
The referee for the match was Robert Harvey.