Pat’s were 3-1 winners in front of a record crowd at the Aviva Stadium.
Gavin Cooney reports from the Aviva Stadium Bohemians 1 St Patrick’s Athletic 3 THE FAI Cup final has become the occasion in which the entire Irish football nation share, but there’s no passing around the silverware, and so just as was the case when these sides met in the 2021 decider, the Cup is Inchicore’s.
The few minutes before kick-off in the FAI Cup final is the greatest sensory experience in Irish sport. The teams come out and the ground rattles to the crack-crack-crack of flares; and as the smoke dances acridly on your nostrils, falls in faint flakes on your hair and mantles your eyes, the flares maintain their startling cadence of fizzle-fizzle-bang, covering the pitch like some kind of smoky glaucoma.Which meant whatever happened in the game’s first five minutes remain as allegations.
Advertisement Tension’s best antidote is always an early goal, and it arrived here after seven minutes. Afolabi was deemed to have been fouled in the box by Anto Breslin, and the Bohs striker then rolled his spot kick to Dean Lyness’ left as the goalkeeper dived the wrong way. The ball skidded by a flare-blown crater in the six-yard box as it went in. Bohs manager Declan Devine pointed to his head and appealed for calm.
Not that Bohs’ attacking flow was greatly interrupted. Danny Grant’s battle on the left with Sam Curtis was terrific all afternoon, and moments after the equaliser, Curtis was alert to steer the ball for a corner with Grant loitering behind him and ready to tap in Connolly’s snapped cross. It almost worked immediately, with Lyness agile to push Flores’ guided long-range shot around the post. Flores beckoned to the Bohs supporters and it began the siege. Afolabi was brilliantly put through by Flores, but saw his shot blocked behind. Moments later, when Grant pulled the ball back for Afolabi on the penalty spot, the Bohs fans drew breath and beautiful, terrible, hope and then exhaled in lousy exasperation as Afolabi fired his shot over the crossbar.
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