Bohemian Football Club Crest

@bfcdublin St Patrick’s Athletic claimed their seventh ever Leinster Senior Cup with victory against Bohemians in Dalymount Park on Monday. Goals from Paul Crowley and David McMillan ensured they beat the youthful Bohs team.

Lee Dixon was creative on the wing, and his run down the left flank left an opening to pass to the unmarked Stephen Traynor. After receiving a neat pass from Dixon, who was recently called up for the Ireland-Under 21 squad, the midfielder could only hit his shot wide, and did not trouble Chris Bennion in the Pat’s goal.

Unfortunately for Dixon, it was his error that lead to the visitors’ first goal. After miscontrolling, Neil Harney latched onto the loose ball to deliver a perfect cross to the box for Crowley, who was able to powerfully head the ball past Craig Sexton in  the Bohs goal.

In search of the right response, Bohs had a free-kick that Ryan McEvoy was able to cross into the box. His pass found the head of Bohs’ most senior player on the night, Christy Fagan, whose header went just wide of the mark.

After this, it was Traynor’s turn to have a run at the Pat’s defence. After his good play, the pass found the awaiting Stephen Hurley, who missed the target, as Pat’s held onto their advantage.

The Saints’ second goal came early on in the second half, as Bennion’s long goal-kick was flicked into Danny North’s path. North, who has been excellent for Pat’s all season, ran into the box and provided a cross that Sexton couldn’t keep his hands on.

The ball slipped through his fingers and towards the grateful David McMillan, who rushed in before Luke Byrne to tap in for 2-0.

Fagan constantly provided a potent threat for Bohemians. His excellent run soon after the second goal freed some space up for himself to have an effort on goal. The lively striker took a coat of paint off the goalpost as his effort deflected off the woodwork.

At the other end, Danny North was keeping the Bohs defenders on their toes in similar fashion to Fagan. His cross from the wing just had too much behind it, but accidentally turned into a shot that ended up hitting the crossbar and out for a Bohs throw-in.

The Gypsies were dealt a lifeline when Gary Burke was adjudged to have been fouled in the box when trying to skip around Saints defenders. Fagan took the spot-kick, but  Bennion wasn’t to be denied his clean sheet as he dived to his left to save Fagan’s effort.

With only a few minutes remaining, Kevin Feely controlled a headed pass in the Pat’s penalty area with his chest before unleashing a half-volley goalward. His strong attempt crashed off the crossbar of the exact same goal that he scored in to defeat Shamrock Rovers in the quarter-finals of this same competition.

The game ended 2-0 to Patrick’s, with youngster Jake Carroll earning the man-of-the-match award for the winners.