Shelbourne 3
Boyd (2), Moylan
Bohemians 0
Bohs and Shels, stranded together on an island of mediocrity, miles from the title race and relegation, one needing to drown the other to escape.
FAI Cup or bust. Shelbourne’s reward is an away semi-final against Waterford on October 16th for a chance to face the winners of Derry City and Treaty United at the Aviva Stadium on November 13th.
Damien Duff’s first campaign as Shelbourne manager would have fizzled out with a quarter-final loss. Instead, Bohemians wake up this Monday morning to some harsh truths from interim manager Derek Pender, who described this showing as “soft”.
“Today is a reflection of us on the whole year,” said Pender. “I will be honest with you, that was embarrassing. You can’t fight with that. Quarter-final of the Cup, Dublin derby, how can you show up and not want to win, show that you want to win second balls, first balls, win duels?
“Shels did that, it’s embarrassing,” he repeated. “That’s not how we play as Bohs, that’s not what we give, a working man’s club, fan-owned, all they want to see is grit, desire, a hunger. We didn’t show that.
“I am numb.
“We have gone away from our values . . . lost a lot of characters from the dressing room. We have to instil that in the players, instil that working class ethos that is behind this club, [in] fans that show up every week. We need to do that, we all have to.”
The Shels faithful sang their hearts out as Duff’s well-drilled, 3-4-2-1 system coped with injury to goalscorer Jack Moylan as a Sean Boyd brace leaves them two wins from silverware and, unbelievably, European football in 2023.
The cup offers a backdoor into the lucrative Europa Conference League, so this meeting brought a play-off feel to Drumcondra. Even the sun came out as hundreds of Bohs fans among the 4,150 crowd were stranded outside Tolka well after kick-off.
Departing from the norm, Bohs donned Dublin Bus cushions against the neighbours’ all red contours. Sneer all you like, but the Phibsborough club told The Sunday Business Post that merchandising revenue has grown by “3,300 per cent” since 2014. What’s more, ideas like a retro-bus-kit and Bob Marley’s face on away shirts have helped them file an operating surplus of €733,612 in 2021.
It mattered little when Shels cast a cloak over their playmaker Liam Burt while tearing into the visitors shaky back four. Boyd could have done better with two early chances, shooting over, but the tall centre-forward proved unplayable.
But it was Moylan who dominated the opening half, galloping off the right to take a pass from John Ross Wilson, zipping a quick one-two with Matty Smith before blasting home the first goal on 20 minutes.
In celebration, Moylan put a finger to his lips as Bohs supporters fired missiles at their former midfielder. Thirteen minutes later the 21-year-old transformed into the very picture of anguish when forced off, clutching his right calf.
The potholed pitch may not have contributed to his injury but the surface was cut to pieces by the finish.
Shels never missed a beat with Brian McManus coming from the bench to force a corner out of Bohs’ goalkeeper Jon McCracken that led to the second goal. The initial clearance found Shane Farrell wide left, and his cross was met at the back post by a sliding Boyd. Erling-style.
“Sean’s first goal looked like something you’d see from Haaland,” said Duff, who recently sent Boyd clips of the Norwegian’s movement. “Out of players’ eyeline, width of the goal, back area, comes in, nobody sees him.”
Not much else to report before the break, just six yellow cards after James Clarke walloped the ball off Farrell’s face. Clarke did well to avoid red from referee Rob Harvey, as did Bohs trio Conor Levingston, John O’Sullivan and Ethon Varian for their reaction. When the melee subsided, Kameron Ledwidge and Duff were also booked.
Pender swung the axe at half-time, sending on Ali Coote, Max Murphy, Jordan Flores and Kris Twardek, which made it odd not to see two of Bohs best players, Coote and Twardek, starting this season-defining game.
Flores did hit the post but visiting fans were streaming for the exits come the 72nd minute when Boyd beat two defenders before calmly finishing under McCracken.
“I think Sean rubs people up the wrong way by the amount of bookings and red cards he gets,” Duff added. “He rubs me up the wrong way. He broke the dugout last Friday against Sligo, which he will be paying for, but you can’t argue with him, he’s an absolute handful.”
Why did he break the dugout?
“I took him off.”
Shelbourne: Clarke; Ledwidge, Byrne, Griffin; Wilson, Lunney, Molloy, Farrell; Smith (Dervin 81), Molyan (McManus 34); Boyd (Carr 86).
Bohemians: McCracken; Doherty (Murphy 46), Feely, Kelly, Wilson (Burke 65); Clarke (Twardek 46), O’Sullivan (Flores 46), Levingston; Burt, Varian, McDaid (Coote 46).
Referee: Rob Harvey.
FAI semi-finals, October 16th:
Waterford FC v Shelbourne
Derry City v Treaty United
