By: Christopher Windrum
Christopher Windrum previews the FAI cup final match between Dublin rivals Bohemians and Saint Patrick’s Athletic.
This year’s FAI cup final will be played on Sunday November 28th at the Aviva stadium in Dublin. It will feature two of the top five teams this season in Ireland, Bohemians (Bohs) and Saint Patrick’s Athletic (St Pats).
This will be the first time Bohs and St Pats have ever met in the final of this competition.
Bohs last appearance in the FAI Cup final was in 2008, where they beat Derry City 4-2 on penalties
The last time St Pats were in the final was back in 2014, where they also beat Derry City 2-0. This ended a 53-year wait to bring the trophy back to Inchicore.
St Pats player Jamie Lennon spoke via St Pats Youtube page saying “It’s going to be a good game, two good teams going at it. I’m sure Bohs will bring a big crowd and so will we. There’s a load of excitement for the game. Bohs are a good side, they have players that can produce moments of magic but so do we. From a neutral perspective you should go to the game because I reckon it will be a really good one.”
Over 30,000 tickets have been sold for the match on Sunday, which kicks off at 4pm. The game will also be live on RTE 2 from 3:15pm.
Each teams path to the final:
Bohs path to the final started with a 5-0 win over College Corinthians. In the second round Bohs defeated their bitter rivals Shamrock Rovers 2-1. In the quarter-final Bohs played against Maynooth University Town and won 4-0. In the semi-final Bohs played against Waterford FC and won 1-0 with a last-minute winner by star striker Georgie Kelly.
St Pat’s path to the final started with a 6-0 win over Bray Wanderers. In the second round St Pats took on Cork City and it went all the way to penalties with St Pats running out 4-1. In the quarter-final St Pats beat Wexford FC 3-0. In the semi-final St Pats defeated Dundalk FC 3-1, to advance into the FAI cup final.
Head to head meetings:
In the League of Ireland premier division each team plays each other four times. Between Bohs and St Pats the first match ended up as a 1-0 win for St Pats. The second meeting between the two teams finished 2-1 to St Pats. The third outing saw Bohs get their first win over St Pats on a 3-2 scoreline. In the final league meeting between the two it finished a 2-2 draw.
Each meeting between the two sides has been close this season, with one goal being the difference on three occassions.
Each team’s season so far:
Bohs has had a mixed bag of a season this year. They finished fifth in the league, with 52 points after 36 games. They won 14, drew ten and lost 12. They also scored a league high 60 goals throughout the campaign. Bohs conceded 46 goals which was tied with Dundalk for the sixth best defensive record in the league this season. Bohs biggest success this season was getting to the third round of the European Conference League, where they got knocked out by Greek giants PAOK 2-3 on aggregate.
St Pats has had a very good season, with the team finishing with 62 points after 36 games and finishing in second place in the league table. They won 18 games, drew eight and lost ten. St Pats scored 56 goals in the league, which was the third highest. St Pats conceded 42 goals this year, which was tied for third best defensive record in the league with Derry City. In the last few seasons, St Pats have finished mid-table but this season they saw a huge improvement in their results.
The upcoming match on November 28th should be a close but entertaining game. With both teams in the top three in goals scored in the league this year, it should be a goal fest of a game and something worth going to see.