Rooney's second-minute spot kick maintains excellent form for Bohs
Bohemians 1
Derry City 0
Paul Buttner reports from Dalymount Park
DAYLE ROONEY PROVED spot on for the second time in a fortnight as resurgent Bohemians maintained their excellent form.
Winger Rooney's second minute penalty proved the only goal of an intriguing game as a shockingly disjointed Derry couldn't build on their recent fine record in Phibsborough.
A seventh win from their last nine games, and fifth from six at Dalymount Park, sees Bohemians, second bottom of the table two month ago, regain third place in the Premier Division table. Derry slip to sixth place.
With one change from their narrow defeat at Drogheda United last week, as Archie Meekison came in for Collie Whelan, Bohemians had the dream start when awarded a penalty with just 20 seconds on the watch.
Captain Dawson Devoy, Rooney and Ross Tierney set up James Clarke whose shot from the edge of the area struck Derry skipper Mark Connolly on the arm.
Referee Rob Hennessy had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. As he did with the winner against Shelbourne two weeks ago, Rooney scored emphatically from 12 yards with a rising drive to the roof of the net.
Derry briefly enjoyed a spell of possession, though laboured to make any headway in the final third.
And it was Bohemians who looked far more threatening when they got forward, really stretching Derry at the back with a double chance on 18 minutes.
First a break down the left by Meekison set up Tierney whose shot was headed away by Carl Winchester.
The Derry defensive midfielder was well positioned once again seconds later to block a shot from Devoy as Derry, at sixes and sevens at the back, survived falling further behind.
So much so, head coach Tiernan Lynch made a tactical switch when bringing on Gavin Whyte for Shane Ferguson in a switch from three at the back to a 4-3-3 formation.
Advertisement
It scarcely made a difference as Derry remained at sea defensively, surviving another double let-off on 38 minutes.
Rooney caught the visitors' rearguard flat footed when dinking a delightful ball over the top for the run of Adam McDonnell who, stretching, lobbed over the crossbar.
A mistake by centre-back Kevin Holt then gifted Clarke a sight of goal with Derry relieved to see the shot arrow wide.
Further defensive frailty presented Clarke with another opening a minute before the break which he rifled over the top.
Derry made three changes at the break with Kevin Holt, Hayden Cann and winger Michael Duffy substituted as Ronan Boyce, Ben Doherty and Dom Thomas came on in another reshuffle.
Bohemians, though, remained on the front foot with Jordan Flores flashing a header from a Devoy corner wide before the home skipper was perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty when appearing to push over Danny Mullen.
It was the 70th minute before Derry carved their first real chance of the game, Niall Morahan doing exceptionally well to take the ball off substitute Robbie Benson's toe from Adam O'Reilly low cross.
Impressive loanee Sean Grehan, on his final appearance before returning to Crystal Palace, showed his defensive quality to deflect a drive from Thomas over the top as Derry chased an equaliser.
But, as they had started, it was Bohemians who finished the stronger, with substitutes Rhys Brennan and Whelan, twice, close to extending their lead.
Derry's night to forget all but summed up by the sending off of Benson on 82 minutes for a foul on Keith Buckley, his second booking.
Bohemians: Chorazka; Morahan (McManus, 87), Grehan, Cornwall, Flores; Devoy, McDonnell (Buckley, 65); Rooney, Tierney (Mountney, 87), Meekison (Brennan, 65); Clarke (Whelan, 74).
Derry City: Maher; Cann (Doherty, h-t; Benson, 60), Connolly, Holt (Thomas, h-t); Ferguson (Whyte, 24), O'Reilly, Winchester, Todd; McMullan, Duffy (R. Boyce, h-t); Mullen.
Referee: Rob Hennessy (Clare).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
‘I'm under pressure' admits John Russell but Sligo Rovers manager insists they can turn it around after latest defeat
JOHN RUSSELL will not be taking days off during the summer break as he bids to keep Sligo Rovers in the Premier Division. 2 John Russell admitted he is under pressure Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile 2 Sligo Rovers lost their 12th game of the season against St Patrick's Athletic Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile Basement boys Sligo look in real danger of ending their 20-year stay in the Premier Division, even at the season's halfway point. Restricted by the top flight's smallest budget, boss Russell has had to rely on a mix of academy players and unproven signings from both here and the UK to make up his squad. Investment is required but the gaffer also believes that some of his players are not performing to the levels he requires. He groaned: 'It's been tough. Read More on League of Ireland 'We haven't won enough games and we've lost too many and the players know why. 'Maybe it's time now for some lads to get away and have a look at themselves. 'They need to reflect on how they think they've done in the first half of the season. 'We have a few lads who haven't done enough. I've told them that. Most read in Sport 'Are we lacking quality? Have we got young players who are making mistakes? 'Yes, they have but it's my job to help them learn and I'll continue. PSG crowned Champions League winners after smashing Inter Milan 5-0 'If we have 11 players at it, we'll get points. If we don't, then we won't.' And although his players will be making the most of their few days off, a tireless Russell revealed that he will work all the way through the break in an effort to rescue Rovers' season. Sligo are a point off Cork City in ninth with the Rebels a whopping ten points back from Munster rivals Waterford. Yet Russell is adamant his men can haul it back. He added: 'How can I take time off now when we're bottom of the league? 'I'm a hard-working manager so I'll continue to work hard to get results. 'If you're managing a team in the position we're in, of course I'm under pressure. 'But I look at everything I'm doing all the time and you have to do the right thing. 'Can we turn it around? Absolutely.'
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Kevin Doherty hails Drogheda Utd star as ‘best defender in League of Ireland' after late heroics against Waterford
KEVIN DOHERTY reckons Conor Keeley is the best defender in the League of Ireland right now. The 27-year-old's late, late goal rescued a point for the Drogs against summer break second in the Premier Division. 2 Conor Keeley scored Drogheda Utd's equaliser against Waterford Credit: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile 2 Kevin Doherty hailed him as one of the best defenders in the League of Ireland Credit: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile And Doherty believes the Meath man is a class apart on current form. The United boss said: 'There were proper questions asked of us and we've come away with a point. 'It would have been easy for us to lie down but Conor Keeley, who is the best defender in the league at the minute in my view, comes up with a big goal. 'It's the fifth goal for him from centre-back. We're a decent side in second place going into the mid-season break and I'm not sure many would have predicted that. I know that for sure. Read More on League of Ireland 'We're really happy and we'll look forward to getting some freshness back.' While Doherty says he has a 'decent side' on his hands, Blues gaffer John Coleman believes he has the best footballing team and is aiming for Europe . Hitmen Tommy Lonergan and Pádraig Amond twice put them in front only for Warren Davis and then Keeley to peg them back. Coleman added: 'Football is a funny game because we've drawn 2-2. It feels to us like a loss and to them like a win. Most read in Sport 'I've been on the end of that many times. I'm more disappointed for my players because of how well we played — and it was two completely styles of football . 'I've nothing against the way they play. I'm not one of these people who turn their noses up on styles of football. Whatever is effective is effective. They are really good at what they do, I respect it a lot. Cork City fans watch League of Ireland clash against Dundalk in cinema 'We play a different style. We dominated the game for long periods , kept our shape, but maybe overplayed it a little bit in the second half. We pinned them back so they couldn't lay a glove on us until injury-time. 'We've defended set-plays and corners really well since I've been here. It's a cheap header for the first one and it's a ridiculous goal for the second. He's put it in from a yard with his feet. That's the disappointing thing. 'We're probably the best footballing side in the league at the minute and we've told the lads that if they don't think they can make Europe then don't come back after the break.'
The 42
3 hours ago
- The 42
The American college graduate who has taken Irish football by storm
THE CLICHÉ when Irish clubs acquire foreign players is that they will need time to adapt and adjust to the rhythm and pace of the Premier Division. However, this year, in both men's and women's top flights, a pre-season signing from abroad sits at the top of the scoring charts. In the men's game, New Zealand international Moses Dyer has been the league's most prolific player with nine goals since joining Galway in January. For Shelbourne Women, Mackenzie Anthony has had a similarly positive impact. The 23-year-old American has eight league goals from seven starts, leaving her joint top-scorer in the Premier Division alongside Athlone Town's New York-born forward Kelly Brady. Brady recently pipped Anthony to April's Player of the Month award, and it looks like it could be a race between the two Americans for the Golden Boot. Anthony's background is in college football in the US, while studying for a degree in advertising management. Last autumn, she graduated from Michigan State University after two years there, having previously played three seasons at Baylor University in Texas. Anthony subsequently went on trial with teams in the US, but had never been to Europe before and wanted to go 'just for the culture and the experience'. She considered Scandinavian countries but was keen to play somewhere where the main language was English. Ireland had not been on her radar until Eoin Wearen got in touch last February. The Shelbourne manager had previously coached in Anthony's home city, Chicago. He had never met Anthony during that time, but did coach one of her best friends in football, Bella Najera. Anthony also spoke with another US-born footballer, Maggie Pierce, who had a similar background in high-level college football and who spent two years at Shelbourne before departing at the end of 2024. Three weeks after Wearen initially got in touch, Anthony received her holiday visa and was ready to go for the new season. Mackenzie Anthony has been in flying form this season for Shels. All her goals so far 🔥 — League of Ireland (@LeagueofIreland) May 7, 2025 Advertisement The young striker has enjoyed her time in Ireland so far and finds it very 'different' to her US football experience. 'It's very technical and very much touch play, quick passes, which I feel like, in the States, you're dribbling a lot more, I would say, especially up in the attack,' Anthony tells The 42. 'I thought it was interesting — everybody knows everybody in this league. 'People are dropping first names and it was funny because I didn't realise, everyone's been playing against each other for years, or even with each other, which I guess it is how it is in the States, but not to that extent, where everybody knows everybody's strengths, everybody's weaknesses, in and out.' The Wheaton, Illinois native couldn't have asked for a much better start, averaging better than a goal a game in the league and coming off the bench to score an equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Bohemians in the All-Island Cup last weekend. The US star also describes her adjustment off the pitch as 'smoother than I thought it was going to be'. Based in Castleknock, she is roommates with Shelbourne goalkeeper Amanda McQuillan and recently got a Bernese Mountain Dog named Murphy to 'hang out with all day'. Anthony has been able to get away for short trips to England and Spain during breaks in the season, and soon plans on visiting Italy with fellow American Shels player Gabby DelPico. She compares this stint at Shelbourne to a 'semester abroad' and finds it less exhausting compared to the lifestyle she was accustomed to in the States. 'I was going to get a part-time job at a coffee shop. I still might, but I just have so much time,' she adds. 'What's nice about this league, actually, is you do get so much time. Because I know in America, in college, your life revolves around soccer. 'School was part of it, but I feel like it was mainly just soccer that consumed you. 'So it's been nice having more of a balance, getting to do so much more, and travel and explore.' The downside is that Anthony is playing in a part-time league where only some clubs pay travelling expenses. 'I would say I do wish it was more like full time, but it has given me the freedom to do more and just relax after five years of very intense soccer and it also gives my body a little break, I'd say, just not training as much — I feel like I'm able to recover better. 'But in the future, I do think I'd want to go back to being more full-time. I could do that, play professionally, full-time.' In the US, Anthony would play twice a week and train four times, meaning she invariably got one day off a week. 'And even on that day off, we would have to be doing treatment, massages, still going in to lift, maybe, an optional lift and rehab, just injury stuff,' she explains. Anthony believes this background is part of the reason why she has looked so impressive since moving to Shelbourne. In the States, however, she did not always thrive in the demanding environment. 'It's easy to lose that love for the game when it has become such a monotonous thing. 'But here I'm excited for training. I'm excited for the games. It's not like I wasn't excited then, but I feel like I would get nervous before games. And here, I don't, which has been really freeing, I would say.' She is not anticipating a lengthy career in the game but hopes to compete at a high level for 'at least' another four years. 'Coming here, I was hoping I'd figure out more what I'd want to do once I'm done with playing,' she says. 'But I don't really know.' Anthony grew up competing in tennis and soccer, ultimately deciding to focus on the latter while in eighth grade. 'My parents were like: 'You've got to pick a sport. It's too much money to pay for two.'' At the age of just 14, Anthony's footballing talent led to her being recruited by Baylor University. It took the pressure off the final years of high school, knowing she had a college place secured. 'My friends were all going through it when they were juniors and seniors. It was nice that I didn't have to worry about any of it.' While appreciative of the opportunities soccer has afforded her, Anthony admits there have been some dark moments too, such as when she missed an entire season after suffering an ACL injury in her second year of college. 'There was a lot of being like: 'Do I even want to play anymore?' Asking those questions. There was a point when my dad told me to quit because it got so stressful. 'I remember it was my fourth year, spring, and I was just really down and no confidence, nothing. 'And then I went and did Summer League [an amateur and semi-professional competition that US college players can avail of in the off-season], and I loved the game again. I was playing, and I was having fun with it. And you just, you remember [why I played in the first place] 'So there's going to be ups and downs — it [applies] everywhere. Just know, throughout your career, you're going to have so many ups and downs, and that's just normal. It's not normal to be only up — then something's wrong.'
