Paul Fennessy

BOHEMIANS BOSS Declan Devine cut a downcast figure after his side were beaten 2-0 by Shelbourne on Friday night.

The clinical visitors snatched it with two late goals in a match where chances were at a premium.

Sean Boyd was fouled by Cian Byrne in the area, allowing Will Jarvis to convert an 80th-minute penalty.

Five minutes later, Gavin Molloy rose highest to head home former Bohs player Tyreke Wilson’s set-piece delivery.

Devine had a couple of substitutes ready to go just before the first goal but felt that the penalty “ripped the heart out of us”.

The manager rued individual errors at the back in a tight game.

“We have to look at ourselves, we lost the game and it’s not good enough,” he told reporters. “It hurts, it hurts hard. But they didn’t make the mistakes that we made and that is ultimately what won the game for them.

“The penalty is one where you have to know what’s around you, know what is over your shoulder, slow to react and we got punished.

“And then the other one is a set piece again. We have been punished this week from set pieces and it’s down to me. I hold my hands up because I put the team out.

“We have worked on them all week and then we lost the header and they put the game to bed.”

Until the final 10 minutes, the goalkeepers had scarcely been tested with defences on top in a match where both sides struggled to acquire an attacking rhythm.

“I think it’s a difficult night, the pitch is poor at the minute and is not conducive to free-flowing football because of the conditions. It was a very windy night again. But we got to play better than what we did. We know we can move the ball better than what we did.”

While Shels maintained top spot, the result leaves Bohs seventh on four points, albeit with a game in hand on most of those around them.

It compounds a miserable week after they were beaten 2-1 by Drogheda on Monday.

“It’s been a very bad week. To lose two games in five days is not acceptable. I hold my hands up. It’s my responsibility. I pick the team. I am the manager of the club and from my point of view it’s not good enough.”

The match was not without controversy as Sean Boyd — who won the penalty after returning off the bench from a three-game suspension — clashed with Cian Byrne.

“I thought it was an elbow in the back of the head. Cian Byrne doesn’t go down unless there is something wrong with him, he’s a hardy boy. But look, they’re fine margins. Things are given. There’s a lot of tension out there in the game and we are not blaming anybody, it’s our fault tonight that we lost the game.” 

There was a palpable frustration from both sides throughout the match but it was the Bohs supporters who let their anger out at the final whistle with loud boos greeting another disappointing result.

“I think they’re entitled to it. It’s been a poor week and nobody is more disappointed than me. I have been in the game long enough to understand that it’s a results business and it’s been a really poor week for us.”