St Patrick’s Athletic turn title race into a three-horse affair after Dalymount win

Bohemians 0 St Patrick’s Athletic 2

Tight at the top. Friday’s League of Ireland matches, the ones that survived Storm Babet, finished with St Patrick’s Athletic closing the gap on defending champions Shamrock Rovers to three points.

And Dalymount Park got a Sam Curtis moment to remember.

Rovers have a game in hand and Derry City, despite a damaging 0-0 draw at home to Shelbourne, remain in second, level with St Pat’s on 59 points. Rovers’ trip to Richmond Park next Friday could sort out this three-horse race as Bohemians lose ground at a vital moment.

Conor Carty’s late finish put the result beyond doubt but it was Mark Doyle’s headed goal on the hour that deserved to settle any contest. The velocity of Curtis’s cross allowed Doyle’s glancing finish to leave Bohs goalkeeper James Talbot with no chance.

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Curtis is not long for this level of football. The 17-year-old had two inputs into Doyle’s goal, initiating the attack with an arcing pass up the right for James McClelland before sprinting 40 metres, and leaving Ali Coote in his wake, for the return ball that he spun on to his team-mate’s forehead.

Despite the swirling rain, Bohemians packed out two quarters of the old ground. The rest is under construction so the capacity remains a few bodies over 4,000. The Mono Stand was heaving too, as 450 St Pat’s fans made their way across town for the derby.

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Only the fire brigade on duty was pleased with conditions. Few pyrotechnics, for a change. Too wet to spark a match.

That left only a game, on slippery grass, as Rovers and UCD pitches failed their inspections. Dalymount passed with flying colours but Drogheda and Cork must return to the capital on Sunday to clear the fixture backlog. The postponements deny Rovers the opportunity to secure the four-in-a-row of titles for another week.

For a change, nothing is certain.

Plenty at stake, but this was Bohs versus Pat’s in splendid isolation. No dress rehearsal for the FAI Cup final on November 12th. Not with European football on the line. Not with Damien Duff’s Shels in Derry, scrapping to catch third or fourth in the Premier Division.

A sodden affair, there was a tetchy October feel to tackles. It was safer to be without possession, as Keith Buckley can attest. The veteran Bohs midfielder was hobbled by a Doyle challenge and he had to be replaced by James McManus before half-time.

St Pat’s had the better of the exchanges. On 25 minutes McClelland put Chris Forrester through on goal. The lithe attacker tried to scoop the ball over Talbot but the Bohs goalkeeper, in bright orange kit, spread his body to block the shot.

Dean Lyness, in the Pat’s goal, also proved his worth with a strong save from Bart Kukulowicz’s curling free-kick after David Norman’s handball just outside the box. Lyness was the busier goalie, making the spectacular seem normal when palming Adam McDonnell’s close-range header to safety. The Englishman proved unbeatable on the night.

Nil-all at the turn, St Pat’s looked the stronger outfit when the rain disappeared. And yet, the better chances fell to Bohs. The cup final is being billed as a clash between two of the best 23-year-old’s in domestic football. Former team-mates at St Joseph’s Boys in Sallynoggin, Jonathan Afolabi versus Joe Redmond deserves the backdrop of the Aviva Stadium next month.

Afolabi was unable to score a 14th goal of the season but a seventh assist should have been chalked down early in the second half. Adam McDonnell rushed his shot as another Bohs raid came to nothing.

The action never slowed but the narrative on the night remained the same when Danny Grant came off the bench to spark another brilliant save from Lyness.

Seconds later, Bohs were beaten by Carty’s fortuitous finish when Talbot could not hold Jake Mulraney’s stinging effort and the striker rebounded Kukulowicz’s clearance into an empty net.

BOHEMIANS: Talbot; Kukulowicz, Nowak, Radkowski, Kirk; Buckley (McManus, 40), Clarke, McDonnell (Akintunde, 76); Connolly (O’Sullivan, 76), Afolabi, Coote (Grant, 70).

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Lyness; Curtis, Redmond, Norman, Breslin; Lennon, Forrester, Doyle, McClelland (Mulraney, 76), Leavy (Murphy, 76); Carty.

Referee: Damien McGrath.