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Date Time League Season
4 August 2023 7:45 pm LOI Men's Premier Division 2023

Match Report

Bohs secure points in Dalymount crackers

A brace from Jonathan Afolabi keeps the ten men of Drogheda United at bay as the Gypsies run out 4-2 winners in a frantic match at Dalymount Park this evening.

Evan Weir levelled the game after Kacper Radkowski’s stunning opener before the Drogheda full-back was sent off for a reckless lunge a few minutes later.

Jamie Egan scored his first goal for Drogheda, cancelling out Afolabi’s first-half goal, but Afolabi and James Clarke made sure of the victory with late goals for Bohemians.

The Gypsies got off to the perfect start when Jordan Flores picked out centre-back Kacper Radkowski alone at the back post, who finished like a striker, controlling a volley back across Andrew Wogan making it 1-0.

Although the early start is exactly what Declan Devine asked his team for while talking to the media prior to the game, the goal seemed to take the wind out of the Gypsies' sails as Drogheda enjoyed the majority of possession and the better of the chances in the opening forty-five minutes.

Luke Heeney, Kyle Robinson and Dayle Rooney all had chances to score in the game but were denied the upright or Bohemians’ keeper James Talbot.

The Boynesiders would be level in the thirty-sixth minute thanks to Evan Weir. Rooney whipped a beautiful curling cross towards the back post and Weir was on hand to drive his header past the helpless Talbot.

Bohs would score immediately from a corner kick but the goal was ruled out as the referee adjudged it to be a foul on Wogan.

Evan Weir would go from hero to zero a minute after Bohemians disallowed goal as he was shown a straight red card for his lunging tackle on Dylan Connolly, meaning Drogheda would have to play most of the game with a man less.

Kris Twardek looked to have put Bohemians ahead in the forty-first minute but the linesman raised his flag as he believed Connolly was impacting the goal from an offside position – however, it looked unclear as to how.

The play was halted for a number of minutes after the decision as the linesman was struck with a missile from the crowd.

But after this delay, it would be third time lucky for Bohs before halftime as James McManus’s long-range effort was parried into the path of Jonathan Afolabi, who couldn’t miss from inside the six-yard box.

Drogheda faced an uphill battle in the second half, to say the least, but Foley looked dangerous running behind the home side’s defence.  

Drogheda drew level despite their man advantage, when tidy play from Gary Deegan and Warren Davis on the edge of the Bohemians’ penalty area put Markey through, and the Drogheda midfielder placed the ball on a plate for Jamie Egan, levelling the game.

Minutes later, however, the home side were awarded a penalty when Danny Grant was fouled in the box. Afolabi stepped up and made no mistake notching his second of the game, restoring his side's lead.

James Clarke made sure of the victory with a long-range five minutes from time, with the young midfielder's shot bouncing difficulty in front of Wogan.

With this win, Bohemians shorten the gap between themselves and Shamrock Rovers to just two points with dreams of a title firmly alive for the north Dublin side.

Bohemians

1James Talbot Goalkeeper
2Bartlomiej Kukulowicz Defender
4Krystian Nowak 24 Defender
6Jordan Flores Midfielder
9Jonathan Afolabi Forward 45+2', 77'
10Dylan Connolly 12 Forward 21'
13Kacper Radkowski Defender 2'
14James McManus 8 Midfielder
15James Clarke Midfielder 85'
16Keith Buckley Midfielder
23Kris Twardek 18 Midfielder
25Luke Dennison Goalkeeper
3Paddy Kirk Defender
5Louie Holzman Defender
8Ali Coote 14 Midfielder
11James Akintunde Forward
12Danny Grant 10 Midfielder
17Adam McDonnell Midfielder
18John O’Sullivan 23 Midfielder
24Cian Byrne 4 Defender

Drogheda Utd

35Andrew Wogan Goalkeeper
3Evan Weir Defender 36'
39'
5Conor Keeley Defender
7Darragh Markey Midfielder
8Gary Deegan Midfielder
9Kyle Robinson 24 Forward
11Adam Foley Forward
16Dayle Rooney Midfielder
18Jamie Egan Defender
21Luke Heeney Midfielder 22'
22Aaron McNally Forward
1Colin McCabe Goalkeeper
4Conor Kane Defender
14Matthew O’Brien Midfielder
17Jarlath Jones Defender
20Emre Topcu Midfielder
24Warren Davis 9 Midfielder
28Darragh Noone Midfielder
29Michael Leddy Forward
37Luke Wade-Slater Midfielder
  • 90'

    FULL TIME: Bohemians 4-2 Drogheda United

  • 85'

    James Clarke makes it 4-2 with a shot from the edge of the box.

  • 78'

    Kirk comes on in place of Kukulowicz

  • 77'

    3-2! What a game! Afolabi grabs his second of the game to put Bohs immediately back in the lead.

  • 77'

    PENALTY FOR BOHS!

  • 75'

    2-2! Tidy play from Gary Deegan and Darragh Markey on the edge of the box sets up Egan for his first Drogheda goal.

  • 73'

    Warren Davis comes on in place of Robinson for the away team.

  • 71'

    Grant rises up to head the ball at Wogan but it is comfortable for the Drogheda goalkeeper

  • 65'

    Rooney's balls into the box have been very dangerous and again Robinson just can't divert the ball towards goal

  • 63'

    Robinson again breaks down the left onto a ball by Rooney but the striker pulls his shot just wide of the post. Big chance!

  • 62'

    Dayle Rooney whips a deep free-kick to the back post and Keeley towered over his marker to head the ball back across the goal for Robinson, but the acrobatic effort from the striker flies over the bar.

  • 59'

    McManus makes way for Ali Coote

  • 58'

    Foley runs behind the Bohemians\' defensive line but Talbot does brilliantly to knock the ball off Foley for a goal kick.

  • 56'

    Flores crosses the ball deep after a nice back heel from Grant but the ball is too deep and Drogheda get a break for the moment.

  • 50'

    Early pressure from Bohemians at the beginning of the second half.

  • 46'

    Connolly and Nowak are replaced at half-time by Danny Grant and Cian Byrne.

  • 46'

    And we are back underway!

  • HALF TIME: Bohs take a 2-1 lead into halftime after an eventful first half. Radkowski gave Bohs the lead after two minutes but an Evan Weir header in the 36th minute levelled proceedings. Weir would be involved in another first-half talking point when he was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Connolly. Bohs had two goals disallowed for a foul and an offside on Kris Twardek before Afolabi eventually put the Gypsies back in front. Time to take a break but second-half action is to come from Dalymount Park.

  • 45'

    2-1! BOHS REGAIN THE LEAD! McManus shoots from outside the box and although his effort is palmed away to the keepers left Afolabi is on hand to tuck home the rebound. A wild first half!

  • 45'

    Markey is booked after kicking the ball into the crowd after a decision against him.

  • 45'

    Heeney is replaced by Kane.

  • 45'

    Bohs score through Twardek but again the goal is disallowed. A long delay after the decision was made was caused by a missile being thrown at the linesman and we are back underway.

  • 39'

    Weir sees a straight red for a lunging tackle on Connolly.

  • 38'

    Bohs score but it was disallowed for a foul on the keeper.

  • 36'

    1-1! A well-deserved goal for Drogheda as Rooney finds Weir unmarked at the back post to head home powerfully past Talbot.

  • 32'

    Markey again finds space to create something and plays the ball through the legs of Flores to Rooney but his shot is defended well.

  • 29'

    Nowak gets his head on the ball in but his attempt is straight at Wogan

  • 28'

    Twardek is sent down the left and wins a corner for the home side.

  • 24'

    Robinson gets to the end line and fires a ball across to Rooney but it just evades the winger and the chance is lost.

  • 22'

    Heeney goes into the book now for a pull back on Clarke in midfield.

  • 21'

    Dylan Connolly receives the first yellow of the game for a late tackle on Weir.

  • 20'

    Rooney does well to loft a ball to the back post after juggling the ball with his feet but the attempt from Foley was poor and skews wide.

  • 18'

    A complete mixup leads to the ball running out for a goal kick.

  • 17'

    Free-kick in a dangerous area for Bohemians as McManus is sandwiched in a tackle on the corner of the box.

  • 14'

    Keeley heads over from a Drogheda corner kick. The away side playing all the football the past few minutes.

  • 13'

    Radkowski misjudged the flight of the ball allowing Robinson to pounce on the ball and curl an effort wide of the far post.

  • 11'

    Markey keeps an attack alive an crosses for Foley. His header is tipped over by Talbot for a corner.

  • 9'

    End to end here as Heeney hist the pst from inside the box. Bohs deal with the rebound and send Connolly off down the right but his cross is too strong and sails over everyone in the box.

  • 8'

    Play is stopped as Afolbai receives attention. He is back up on his feet and the game continues.

  • 2'

    1-0! Radkowski follies home after being found unmarked at the back post from a Jordan Flores corner kick. What a start from the home side.

  • 1'

    And we are underway.

  • TEAM NEWS: Drogheda make two changes to the side that came from two goals down to draw with Sligo Rovers last Friday. Darragh Noone drops to the bench in place of Aaron McNally. Jamie Egan replaces Emmanuel Adegboyega who completed his transfer to Norwich City yesterday afternoon.

  • TEAM NEWS: Bohemians make three changes to the side that was victorious against UCD last Friday. Paddy Kirk, James Akintunde and Cian Byrne drop to the bench in place of Kristian Nowak, Bartlomiej Kukulowicz and Kris Twardek

  • Hello everyone and welcome to coverage of the League of Ireland from Dalymount Park. The game this evening sees Bohemians taking on Drogheda Untied. Conor Cantwell standing by to report on the action ahead.

Past Meetings

(Round 11)
0 - 2
LOI Men's Premier Division
Weavers Park

Drogheda United FC 0-2 Bohemian FC

(Round 4)
3 - 1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Dalymount Park

Bohemian FC 3-1 Drogheda United FC

(Round 32)
0 - 1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Dalymount Park

Bohemian FC 0-1 Drogheda United

(Round 24)
0 - 1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Weavers Park

Drogheda United 0-1 Bohemian FC

(Round 18)
1 - 1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Dalymount Park

Bohemian FC v Drogheda United

(Round 9)
1 - 1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Weavers Park

Drogheda United v Bohemian FC

(Series 34)
2 - 1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Dalymount Park

Bohemian FC v Drogheda United

(Series 27)
3 - 2
LOI Men's Premier Division
Weavers Park

Drogheda United v Bohemian FC

(Series 16)
5 - 0
LOI Men's Premier Division
Dalymount Park

Bohemian FC v Drogheda United

(Series 9)
1 - 1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Weavers Park

Drogheda United v Bohemian FC

1 - 4
LOI Men's Premier Division
Weavers Park

Drogheda United FC v Bohemian FC

0 - 0
LOI Men's Premier Division
Dalymount Park

Bohemian FC v Drogheda United FC

0 - 1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Weavers Park

Drogheda United FC v Bohemian FC

2 - 2
LOI Men's Premier Division
Weavers Park

Drogheda United FC v Bohemian FC

1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Dalymount Park

Bohemian FC v Drogheda United FC

1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Weavers Park

Drogheda United FC v Bohemian FC

2 - 1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Dalymount Park

Bohemian FC v Drogheda United FC

1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Weavers Park

Drogheda United FC v Bohemian FC

2 - 2
LOI Men's Premier Division
Dalymount Park

Bohemian FC v Drogheda United FC

Ground

Dalymount Park
Dalymount Park, Connaught Street, Phibsborough, Cabra East A ED, Dublin, County Dublin, Leinster, D07 XH2D, Ireland

Conor Cantwell is a freelance sports journalist based in Co. Meath. Conor has been covering club football in Ireland and England since 2022. Conor has a keen interest in soccer, Gaelic games, rugby, tennis and basketball and has been writing blogs about the Premier League and the NBA since 2022.