Dr Tony O'Neill Under 20's League
Goal Scorer: Craig O'Callaghan (24 minutes)
Another strong attendance at Richmond Park saw the St Patrick's Athletic Under 20's entertain local rivals Bohemians.
St Pat's had made a solid start to the league campaign with an opening day win against Longford Town and a recent draw against Sporting Fingal.
Bohemians were expected to provide the toughest test so far as they included several members of the successful Belvedere Under 17 side from last season.
In the opening minutes, a cross floated in from the left hand-side by Kevin O'Leary found Eoin Fowler in the box, who subsequently shot low at the Bohemians keeper, who managed to pull off a low diving save.
The opening ten minutes of the game saw both teams playing some good one touch football.
David Long in particular looked dangerous when connecting with Kevin O' Leary from defense on a number of occasions.
The pace of the game in the first 15 minutes was intense and no one watching in the stands was left in doubt that this was a derby worth winning.
With 20 minutes gone Kevin O' Leary had a great effort rattle against the post with the Bohemians keeper well beaten.
St Pat's were now in the ascendancy and only moments later a cross from Mark Logan on the right hand side was connected with by Kevin O'Leary again, with the resulting shot just dropping over the cross bar.
GOAL: With 24 minutes gone, St Pat's pressure finally told when a long range shot from Craig O' Callaghan from just outside the box flew into the bottom corner of the net with the Bohemians keeper rooted to the spot.
A good save from Ben Dale in the 32th minute kept St Pat's lead intact after some nice pacing play by Bohemians in the St Pats half.
However, the best was yet to come from Ben Dale when only moments later he produced an excellent save from a deflected shot which seemed destined for the top right hand corner.
In the 37th minute another good piece of play saw Sean Steward connect with Eoin Fowler whose resulting shot from just outside the box had the Bohemians keeper on his toes.
St Pat's finished the first half on top but Bohemians were coming more and more into the game. In particular Mark Logan looked strong in defense when called upon.
In the second half, Bohemians opened the brighter by putting the St Pats defense under pressure on a number of occasions. Both sides also showed they weren't afraid to make tough tackles when needed.
With 53 minutes gone, the Bohemians mid-field were connecting well but Mark Logan and Brian Nolan were solid in defense.
In the 61st minute, Kevin O' Leary turned well and shot from just outside the box with the resulting effort being well tipped over the bar by the Bohemians keeper.
Goal: In the 68th minute, a Bohemian cross from the left hand side of midfield was perfectly stuck by the Bohemians striker from just outside the box, which flew into the bottom of Ben Dale's net, who had little or no chance to make a save.
This was the first goal conceded by the Under 20 team and they were now under serious pressure to raise their game.
In the 75th minute, Ben Dale made another good save to keep the teams level.
In the 82nd minute, Sean Stewart worked well down the wing to pass to Eoin Fowler who dribbled passed a number of Bohemians defenders and made the keeper work for the save.
With five minutes left. St Pat's were coming more and more into the match as time was running out for a winner.
Kevin O' Leary made a number of well timed runs in front of goals but was unlucky on a couple of occasions not to sneak in behind the Bohemians defense.
In the final few minutes of the match as the game fizzled out, Ben Dale in goals looked comfortable and was more then capable of clearing up any loose balls in defense.
When the final whistle came, St Pats were the happier with the draw as this was a very skillful Bohemians team.
St Pats can now take a lot of credit for taking five points from their opening three games against quality opposition.
Again, the St Pats management must take a lot of credit for how well organised the team were.
There are certainly some player's in this team that aren't too far off making an appearance for the senior team in the future.
Admission for Under 20 matches is free and the club would encourage supporters to get behind both the St Pat's “Under 20” and “A Championship” sides who will be playing their home games at Richmond Park this season.