League Report: Bohemians 3 - 3 Wexford Youths

Bohemians shared the spoils with visitors Wexford Youths in an entertaining 3-3 thriller in Dalymount Park on Friday night. 

Neither side could take a good grasp of the game in the opening few minutes and it was a sloppy bit of play from Bohemians left-back Lorcan Fitzgerald that led to Wexford taking the lead.

His short pass went straight to Paul Murphy who rounded the Bohs ‘keeper Dean Delany and was taken down for a penalty. Danny Furlong stepped up to slot home from 12 yards. 

The Gypsies hit back almost immediately when Kurtis Byrne swept in a brilliant cross for Mark Quigley and his superb header found the back of the net.

The next couple of minutes of the game was played at a frantic pace with end to end play from the sides. Craig McCabe, a long throw specialist, was causing the Bohs defence plenty of problems with his throw ins.

It was from one of these that Wexford regained their advantage. Chris Kenny latched on to one to head past Delaney from close range. 

It was a hotly contested match and as if it didn't need any more fuel, a late challenge from Quigley resulted in a scuffle between both sets of players to add to the intensity. Referee James McKell produced seven yellow cards on the night – four going to the players from the home team.

Bohemians leveled the game on the stroke of half-time when a long free kick fell to Paddy Kavanagh. 25 yards out he controlled the ball and smashed a driven shot to the corner of the net, leaving no chance for the Wexford goalkeeper Graham Doyle.

Youths were causing a lot of problems for the home team and creating plenty of chances. Manager Shane Keegan would have felt unfortunate not to go into the break with the lead. 

The second half started off a lot slower then the first 45 minutes and there wasn't much in the way of chances either way in the opening exchanges. Aymen Ben Mohammed then started to be more influential in the tie, causing plenty of hassle on the left flank. The winger won a few free kicks in this time but they came to no fruition for the Gypsies. 

Kurtis Byrne was causing problems for the home side but the forward kept straying into offside positions. Wexford substitute Daniel Ledwith curled an excellent free kick up and over the wall but to his dismay, he saw it nestle into the wrong side of the net.

The Warriors regained the lead with ten minutes left on the clock when yet another long throw from McCabe bounced around a few heads and Gary Delaney had the easy task of nodding into an empty net.

Wexford soon after almost added to their lead when the influential Paul Murphy played a through ball to Furlong. The number 9 carried the ball and shot just inside the box but straight into the hands of Delany. 

Bohs were given a lifeline when a clumsy tackle was committed on Roberto Lopes inside the box and a penalty was awarded by the referee. Quigley struck the penalty to the right of Doyle. He got a hand to it and knocked on it on the post but it wasn’t strong enough to stop Quigley from netting his second of the evening. 

The home faithful were now pushing for their team to get a late winner but with no clear cut chances the game finished 3-3. 

An enthralling and brilliant game for the neutral that wouldn't have been so easy on the eye for either of the managers. Shane Keegan will feel unlucky his side couldn't leave the capital with all 3 points after leading on three occasions in the game.

Bohemians: Dean Delany; Derek Pender, Derek Prendergast (Dan Byrne 35), Anto Murphy, Lorcan Fitzgerald; Paddy Kavanagh (Jake Kelly 78), Roberto Lopes, Dave Mulcahy, Aymen Ben Mohammed (Adam Evans 90); Kurtis Byrne, Mark Quigley.

Subs Not Used: Lee Steacy; Dylan Hayes, Keith Buckley, James Kavanagh.

Booked: Dean Delany (8), Mark Quigley (31), Roberto Lopes (36), Aymen Ben Mohammed (85).

Wexford Youths: Graham Doyle; Craig McCabe, Lee Grace, Gary Delaney, Ryan Delaney; Chris Kenny (Stephen Last 90), Eric Molloy (Daniel Ledwith 63), Aidan Friel, John Bonner (Craig Wall 86); Paul Murphy, Daniel Furlong.

Subs Not Used: John Peare; Andrew Mulligan, Conor English, Matt Connor.

Booked: Lee Grace (31), Gary Delaney (45+1), Craig McCabe (50).

Referee: James McKell

Attendance: 1,336.

Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Paul Murphy (Wexford Youths).

You can see a selection of images from the game as taken by Daniel Rico, Eddie Lennon and Martin Doherty by clicking here.