St Pat's all but seal fourth place after dismissing Bohs in Dublin derby

St. Patrick’s Athletic 3 

Bohemians 1 

Darryl Geraghty reports from Dalymount Park 

ST PATRICKS ATHLETIC all but secured a fourth place finish with a convincing 3-1 win at a sold-out Dalymount Park. 

Goals from Barry Cotter and Chris Forrester did the damage, before a Rory Feely header gave the home fans hope, only to be undone by a late Adam O’Reilly finish to ensure the bragging rights in the hotly contested Dublin derby went back to Inchicore. 

With a nine point gap between the two sides in the race for fourth prior to kick-off, Keith Long selected a full strength side for their two-nil FAI Cup win at home to Lucan United that ended just 72 hours previous – a possible admission that the cup route was the more realistic opportunity of securing European football.

Making just three changes from the side that started Friday night, and with a massive away trip to Tallaght on the horizon, the hosts tried matching The Saints, going with three at the back, and should really have opened the scoring after just five minutes.

Kris Twardek, operating as a wing back on the right, did well to dig out a cross from the right and found the head of the unmarked Liam Burt, but couldn’t direct his header goalwards from ten yards out. 

Having relinquished their FAI Cup title in a first round defeat to an impressive Waterford side, and having a busy period including European ties, the well rested Athletic side had been in decent form winning their last two. It was Tim Clancy’s men who broke the deadlock a couple of minutes later and with on-loan Shamrock Rovers wingback Barry Cotter doing the damage. 

Picking up the ball on the half way line, following a one-two with Chris Forrester, Cotter saw space and went on a marauding run, skipping by challenge after challenge before getting to the edge of the area and seeing his left footed effort hit Twardek and bounce past the helpless Jon McCracken right in front of the 800 strong travelling Saints fans. 

The home side responded well to the set back and Ethon Varian, restored to the side in place of the injured Johnny Afolabi, became a bustling handful for the Saints rearguard.

Just before the half hour mark the Cork native was found in the area with a slick through ball, but just as he pulled the trigger was denied at the last second by a brave last ditch tackle from the recovering Sam Curtis. 

A rousing rendition of “There’s only one Derek Mono” for club legend Derek Monaghan failed to lift the home side, and it was the visitors who finished the half the stronger, doubling their lead on the whistle.

The pacey Serge Atakayi capitalised on a defensive error that has become all to common in the Bohs backline, and showed great composure on the edge of the box to tee up Chris Forrester just to his right. The enigmatic midfielder did the rest, smashing home to make it two – as an aggressive chorus of boos rang around the famous old ground. 

Bohs reverted to a back four at the start of the second period in a bid to drag themselves back into the game with a more familiar formation. The introduction of Jordan Doherty, Ali Coote and James Clarke seemed to have the desired effect as they halved the deficit just after the hour mark through a towering Rory Feely header, and in doing so flipping the toxic atmosphere on its head. 

As Bohs pressed for the equaliser, the threat of Atakayi on the break loomed large and it was another defensive mistake that almost allowed The Pat’s front man to restore his side’s lead. Liam Burt was easily dispossessed on the left wing and the ball fell kindly to Atakayi who drifted inside and was denied by the feet of McCracken. 

A barrage of long throws and corners entered the visitors box but the pressure was undone as the Saints put the game to bed with a lightning quick counter attack. Hat-trick hero from the last time the sides met, Tunde Owolabi linked up well with Adam O’Reilly who fed the big front man through on goal.

Owolabi opted to cut back onto his right foot and bundled into the recovering Feely, with the ball falling kindly to O’Reilly who backed up the play. The on-loan Preston Midfielder, under pressure from the onrushing McCracken, tucked the ball away to give his side all three points and almost wrap up what could be a priceless fourth spot finish. 

Bohemian FC: Jon McCracken, Kris Twardek (Jamie Mullins, 77’), Josh Kerr (Jordan Doherty, 45’), Rory Feely, Ciaran Kelly, Tyreke Wilson, James McManus, John O’Sullivan (Ali Coote, 57’), Liam Burt, Declan McDaid (James Clarke, 57’), Ethon Varian 

Subs not used: Max Murphy, Conor Levingston, Ryan Burke, Tadhg Ryan, Cian Byrne 

St. Patrick’s Athletic: Danny Rogers, Barry Cotter, Sam Curtis, Joe Redmond, Harry Brockbank, Anto Breslin, Serge Atakayi (Billy King, 90’), Adam O’Reilly, Jamie Lennon (Jason McClelland, 90+2), Chris Forrester, Eoin Doyle (Tunde Owolabi, 85’) 

Subs not used: Ronan Coughlan, Ben McCormack, David Odumosu, Ben Curtis, Thijs Timmermans, Paddy Barrett 

Referee: Paul McLoughlin