Bohemians ‘Byrned’ as Conan steals the show

It was a night to remember for St Patrick’s Athletic midfielder Conan Byrne as the long-serving Pat’s man scored a sensational goal from the halfway line to pile the misery onto a hapless Bohemians in a 4-0 derby drubbing at Dalymount Park.

Byrne bagged two goals on the night, on what turned out to be a landmark night for the iconic midfielder, scoring the 100th and 101st league goals of his career.

Bohemians went into the clash in fine form, winning three out of their last four games. St Patrick’s Athletic meanwhile, were looking to follow up their 2-1 Dublin derby win against Shamrock Rovers with another victory over local rivals.

The attendance on the day was a league high, with 2,600 fans at Dalymount Park. However, for the majority of those fans, it was a night to forget.

Bohs did not start the game too badly, but as the game wore on St. Pats began to assert their dominance.

The visitors took a deserved lead through striker Christy Fagan’s 38th-minute strike, this came after some poor defending from the home side.

Conan Byrne celebrates with his teammates after his wonder-goal, sealing the victory for The Saints //Twitter

Just before half time came the moment that this game will be remembered for, Conan Byrne’s unbelievable drive from the halfway line.

Seeing Bohemians’ goalkeeper Shane Supple off his line, Conan tried his luck and attempted an outrageous shot from the halfway line, which more than paid off as it went flying over Supple’s head into the back of the net.

The midfielder then ended all hopes of a Bohemians comeback with his second goal of the night early in the second half.

The scoreline could have been even more unflattering for Bohs had St Patrick’s Athletic taken their many chances, but striker Kurtis Byrne did add a fourth for Pats in stoppage time.

After the match, The Liberty spoke to the man-of-the-match Conan Byrne.

Speaking about his wonder goal, he said: “It’s the stuff of dreams. I’ve tried it on numerous occasions over the years, but tonight, as soon as I tried it, I knew it was going in. I’ve tried it so many times and I knew it will come off one day. And thankfully it happened on a ground that is deep in history, and the only place I’ve never scored in before today.”

Byrne was quick to outline Pat’s targets for the season, he spoke of the Richmond Park outfits aspirations of European football:

“ Our ambition is to pursue European football. You might laugh at that, but it remains unchanged. We are full of confidence now. We’re a good side with lots of team spirit, so the future is up.”

The Liberty also spoke to Bohemians midfielder Lorcan Fitzgerald, the Gypsies man wasn’t quite so positive about his side’s performance:

“It’s a bad result for us. We had a bit of confidence going into the game. But losing 4-0 at home is not good. It’s a bit hard to take at the minute but we have to kick on now.”

“I thought in the first ten, fifteen minutes that we were well in the game, if not the better side. Obviously, Jamie coming off injured kind of knocked our game plan back slightly. Usually, the lads that came in would do a good enough job, but collectively tonight we didn’t give a good enough job.”