Boos ring around the Cross after brutal Bohs battle

📷 KBD Photos

It was the return of LOI football on Friday night as the league season resumed after the mid season break. City were coming off of a poor first half of the season and were looking to kickstart their turnaround at home to Bohs. This was coming after the news during the week that City have signed Colchester centre back Fiacre Kelleher, who’ll join the club on the first of July. It was the first game of two new faces on the City sideline with David Meyler as assistant manager and Mark McNulty a head goalkeeping coach.

Ger Nash named an unchanged side from the team that drew with Shelbourne before the break, but City were bolstered by the return of Kitt Nelson to the bench.

Alan Reynolds made just one change to the side that edged out Derry City in Dalymount last time out, with Rob Cornwall dropping out and Leigh Kavanagh coming in.

City started slowly and allowed Bohs to take the front foot early and the visitors went close six minutes in. Leigh Kavanagh dinked a ball over the top of the right hand side of the City defence which was latched onto by Archie Meekison who guided his shot around Tein troost but also around the post as they game stayed goalless.

The game wouldn't be goalless for long as Bohs took advantage of the poor City start and took the lead after eleven minutes. After a City free kick was cleared by Bohs towards last man Darragh Crowley, Crowley’s poor touch allowed Archie Meeksion to nick it from him and bear down on goal. After rounding Troost and skipping by trailing City defenders, Meekison buried the ball into the back of the net to give the visitors the lead.

Bohs weren't settling with the one goal lead and continued to dominate the game and could’ve gone two goals to the good eleven minutes later. A Dayle Rooney corner found an oncoming Leigh Kavanagh who poked the ball towards the roof of the net, but Tein Troost reacted quickly to tip the ball over the bar.

Despite the lacklustre performance thus far, City had a chance to level the game with six minutes to go in the first half. Josh Fitzpatrick got past Niall Morahan down the left hand side and floated a ball over the outstretched Kacper Chorazaka to the back post where it found Cathal O’Sullivan, who somehow guided his header the wrong side of the post. 

City would be made to rue that missed chance as Bohs doubled their lead on the stroke of half time. Adam McDonnell fired a low cross to the front post to Ross Tierney who took a touch and pulled the ball across goal to Dayle Rooney who fired the ball into the back of the net to double his side’s lead.

That spelt an end to a torrid first half performance from City where they could easily have found themselves four goals down, but it was only two thanks to some heroics from Tein Troost.

City made a change at half time, taking off Darragh Crowley who was at fault for both goals and moving Josh Fitzpatrick to left back and bringing on Kitt Nelson at left wing.

CIty continued to struggle though and were once again kept in the game by Tein Troost six minutes into the half. Dayle Rooney ran at the CIty backline and dinked a ball into Ross Tierney in the box who flicked it goalward first time but Tein Troost reacted quickly to somehow turn the ball away.

City did have a few chances, the best of which came in the fifty eighth minute. Cathal O’Sullivan and Kitt Nelson played a brilliant one-two down the right hand channel, with the latter breaking into the box and firing a powerful shot narrowly over the bar.

City came close again with twenty minutes remaining. Milan Mbeng fed Seani Maguire down the right channel, who cut back and worked a shot but his shot was deflected around the post to keep Bohs’ clean sheet intact.

Bohs kept control of the game and dominated City and almost made it three in the eighty sixth minute. A cross to the back post fell to Dawson Devoy who swerved around Josh Fitz and sent a low shot towards goal, but yet again Tein Troost got down to keep his effort out.

That would spell an end to the game where boos filled Turner’s Cross at the full time whistle. A hostile atmosphere met the players at full time,  with Milan Mbeng stroming straight down the tunnel, and the remainder of the players facing criticism from the fans at full time. Tein Troost was involved in an altercation at full time at the front of the shed where he seemingly offered a fan out to fight after full time. The full time scenes were fitting to the situation of the club at the moment, with that appalling performance leaving writing on the wall as City stare down a third relegation in five years. City never once had a good spell in the game with a few standout poor performances, with Darragh Crowley and Josh Fitzpatrick being the main two for me. Darragh Crowley was rightly hooked at half time after being at main fault for both goals despite his solid performances so far this season, and Josh Fitzpatrick lasted ninety minutes and was bizarrely moved to left back. Overall it was an unacceptable performance as there's a long way back for City this season if they are to avoid the drop. The dysfunctional state of both the fans and the players at full time were very telling of the state of the club at the moment.

As for Bohs, they didn't wow me with their performance as they didn't have much to do with the lack of quality they were faced with during the game. They had some impressive spells but overall just had to coast to victory. They could've been more clinical at times but Tein Troost did well to keep them at bay.

My Man of the Match goes to Bohs’ Leigh Kavanagh. All the talk this season in the Bohs defence has been of Palace loanee Sean Grehan, but on Grehan’s final appearance for Bohs, I thought it was Kavanagh who stood out from the rest. He provided cutting long passes all night and ensured that none of City’s sporadic attacks got anywhere without him being there to cut it out. He played a huge part for Bohs both starting attacks, and stopping them.

City will look to come back from this damning defeat next Friday as they travel to Tallaght to take on Shamrock Rovers. As for Bohs, they'll look to continue their good form as they travel to the RSC to take on Waterford.