Crucial win for Bohs as they dump Shamrock Rovers out of FAI Cup

A vital win secured for Bohemians in the FAI Cup.

BOHEMIANS haven’t had much to sing about this year so make no mistake, this was a desperate mission to keep their season alive.

With just one win in their last 11 going into this clash with their arch enemies, Bohs are only four points clear of the Premier Division’s relegation playoff.

That’s why everyone connected with the club knew that an FAI Cup knockout blow here would unleash a world of pain and misery on the club and its followers.

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But Dayle Rooney’s 69th minute penalty settled a derby of few chances, and gave the Gypsies faithful hope that their season might yet finish on an upward trajectory.

Manager Alan Reynolds - appointed in late March - said in the build-up that he felt performances were improving, even if results were lacking.

With seven new signings - three of them in the starting team here - to bed in after arriving in this window, fortunes may yet turn if this victory is a sign of things to come.

But while Bohs fans will savour any win over the Hoops, they will want to see a marked improvement in their league fortunes, while also milking a cup run for all it’s worth.

Rovers never got going and lacked any sort of creative spark going into Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Sparta Prague in Tallaght.

They began their trophy haul under Stephen Bradley by winning the FAI Cup in 2019 and he spoke this week about wanting to lift it again and create ‘special memories’.

But Dan Cleary’s early headed effort aside, they never threatened where it mattered, leaving Europe as their only realistic source of joy this season.

Scoring chances were hard to come by in a manic opening half, yet Rovers had the best of them early on.

Jack Byrne’s free-kick from beside the Bohs bench bounced in the box and nobody connected.

It looped up and smacked Kacper Chorazka’s post and the onrushing Cleary made a firm connection but couldn’t keep his close range header down.

Bohs knew it was a big let off but it served a purpose as it spurred them into action and they were noticeably tenacious in their approach.

Dawson Devoy, their former fans’ favourite who signed back this week, was thrust straight into the starting team.

He hadn’t played since last lining out for MK Dons in April but slotted in seamlessly, alongside another returning star Ross Tierney.

They both had plenty of say and sway on proceedings, along with skipper Jordan Flores whose intelligent distribution put Bohs on the front foot behind enemy lines.

The only issue was the hosts failed to work Hoops keeper Leon Pohls at any stage before the break, although he had Josh Honohan to thank for bailing him out at times.

Honohan and Conan Noonan combined to pinch the ball off the toes of another new Bohs signing Alex Greive as he shaped to shoot when Gary O’Neill was robbed.

And Honohan used his imposing frame to smother a Rooney shot in the box soon after before heading clear Flores’ header at the back post of a Tierney cross.

If Pohls was having a relatively quiet night up to then, opposite number Chorazka could have pulled up a chair. Rovers carried little threat other than a Richie Towell snapshot.

But Pohls was thrust right into the mix early in the second-half, getting down low to palm Rooney’s low free-kick to safety at full stretch.

And with Bohs continuing to show good intent, Bradley reacted with a quadruple chance in the 58th minute in the hope of finding a spur.

In came European match winner Johnny Kenny, Neil Farrugia, Darragh Burns and Trevor Clarke, with Byrne, Towell, Aaron Greene and Sean Kavanagh making way.

But while they were trying to settle into the flow of a frantic cup tie, Bohs dialled up the pressure and delivered their devastating blow.

Honohan had put his body on the line for Rovers but this time a little too much as he clipped Tierney on the box as he raced onto Rooney’s sweet through ball.

It was a clear penalty and Honohan knew it too. Rooney stepped up and drilled the ball down the middle with Pohls helpless in that moment.

Tensions briefly threatened to boil over as players on both sides squared up to each other in the aftermath, but if Rovers were losing their cool, Bohs kept theirs.

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