St. Patrick’s Athletic 0 - 1 Bohemians

• Aidan Farrelly
• Sat, Oct 09 2010


Bohemians have continued to pile the pressure on Shamrock Rovers with a one goal victory over St. Patricks Athletic in Richmond Park on Saturday. The only goal of the game came when Raffaele Cretaro pounced on a missed penalty by Killian Brennan, to plunge Pete Mahon’s Saints to their first league defeat to Bohemians this season.

The opening ten minutes allowed both sides to warm up to the task at hand. Bohemians did look the more threatening with early chances for Jason Byrne and winger Gareth McGlynn, who slipped at the vital moment in the Saints box.

A deflected Vinny Faherty attempt earned St. Pat’s a corner, which Derek Doyle took but Danny North couldn’t get on the end of it. Doyle then saw his left footed shot go to the left of the goal and wide on 15 minutes.

Whilst Bohemians had settled the better of the two sides, they had nothing to show for their efforts. That was until Noel Haverty jumped with Bohemians winger Brennan, and was penalised by Referee Richie Winter. Brennan himself stepped up but Saints keeper Chris Bennion brilliantly saved.

As the St. Patrick’s Athletic crowed cheered with jubilation, Cretaro followed in on the rebound and smashed it home to make it 0-1 to Bohemians, thus sending the travelling ‘Gypsies’ fans into a frenzy. That was Cretaro’s fifth goal of the season.

The Bohemians defence looked solid throughout the opening half, with Ken Oman dealing with any high ball sent in by the Saints. A corner from Bohemians midfielder Brennan found Paul Keegan in acres of room, but his header glanced past the post.

With that let off, the home side did become busier with Doyle and Dave Mulcahy pressuring the Bohemians back four, but to no avail as the sides entered the dressing rooms with the half-time score 0-1 to Bohemians.

The start of the second half mirrored the opening of the first, with both sides creating few chances, that was until North played a precise pass to his colleague Vinny Faherty on the penalty shot, who’s strike clattered of the cross bar. The Saint’s had certainly begun the second half with more venom, with ex-Grimsby forward North proving very influential.

North had a cross-come-shot saved dramatically by Bohemians keeper Barry Murphy. From the corresponding corner, a Mulcahy flick just shaved the crossbar, with some fans thinking it had crept into the top corner. It was all St. Pat’s at this point, with Bohemians not offering much of an attacking threat as of yet in the second half.

In general, the opening 25 minutes of the second half was a lacklustre affair. Neither side could gain composure whilst on the ball long enough to threaten the opposition, and at times the play was scrappy and mediocre. Bohemians forced a corner from Derek Pender when Brennan sent a ball in for Cretaro. This was easily cleared by the St. Pat’s defence.

A Gareth O’Connor corner turned the Bohemian’s goal mouth into mad scenes, as the away side could not clear their lines. This sparked decent spells for both sides, as a Brennan shot forced the St. Pat’s keeper into another fine save.

Former Saint Mark Quigley then came on to replace Gareth McGlynn. His introduction to the game was heated to say the least, as the Saints fans let out a chorus of ‘boos’ at every opportunity.

The Saints were desperately looking for an opportunity to bring the tie level. A cross from Pender found Ryan Guy in the box, and his shot was finely saved by Murphy to go out for a corner. After missing a chance to score for his own team in the first half, Keegan nearly scored an own goal as his defensive header beat Murphy, but went just over the crossbar.

Whilst St. Patrick’s Athletic tried their best to bring the scores level, it was Bohemians who closed out the tight affair, putting them top of the Premier Division. For the Saints, qualification for Europe is looking like a difficult task, but Pete Mahon will know all too well that season is not over just yet.

St. Patrick’s Athletic: Chris Bennion, Derek Pender, Ian Bermingham, Conor Kenna (Capt), Noel Haverty, David McAllister, David Mulcahy (James O’Brien, 82), Derek Doyle (Sean Stewart, 71), Ryan Guy, Danny North, Vinny Faherty (Gareth O’Connor, 62).
Subs not used: Damien Lynch, Gary Rogers.

Bohemians: Barry Murphy, Mark Rossiter, Conor Powell, Glenn Cronin, Brian Shelley, Ken Oman, Killian Brennan, Paul Keegan (Capt), Gareth McGlynn (Mark Quigley, 79) , Raffaele Cretaro (Aaron Greene, 89), Jason Byrne (Paddy Madden, 61).
Subs not used: Chris O’Connor, Ruaidhri Higgins.

Referee: Richie Winter
Attendance: 1,629
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Barry Murphy – Made some crucial saves at important times of the match.