Harry Vaughan rescued a point as Bohemians and Shelbourne played out a thrilling bank holiday derby.
Bohemians 2
Shelbourne 2
Markuss Strods was pivotal in creating the opening chance of the match. The Latvian received it on the half-turn, gliding past the Shels midfielder and carrying the ball into acres of space before laying it off to Colm Whelan. The strikers effort was tame, making it a routine save for Wessel Speel.
It wouldn’t be long till Bohs were back in again. After a sustained amount of possession, Ross Tierney was found on the right flank where he was able to split the Shelbourne defence, finding Adam McDonell, the 28 year-old controlled the ball well before smashing it past Speel.
Adam McDonnell smashes Bohs in front in the Dublin derby pic.twitter.com/as16IWoDuP
— League of Ireland (@LeagueofIreland) May 4, 2026
The away side responded well to the opener, creating their first series of chances, but nothing substantial. That was until a top class Ali Coote set-piece.
Senan Mullen recived the games first booking before the twenty minute mark and if that wasn’t bad enough, the free-kick he gave away was delivered beautifully by Coote to find the head of John Martin. The striker did superbly to lose his man and find the back of the net, and celebrated by running towards the ecstatic away end.
Rodrigo Freitas was one of the most exciting imports into the league during the off-season, and yet there’s been little to nothing show from his performances. The Portuguese striker wasn’t far away from opening his Shelbourne account, a strike on the half-volley going just wide of the bottom right corner.
Both sides were creating their own respective chances towards the conclusion of the first-half. Sam Bone’s spectacular effort being the pick of the bunch. The Englishmen hit it with power from the outside of the box, and for a moment it looked as though it may rifle into the back of the net but it was always rising and flew over the crossbar, as the sides went into the break level.
The early parts of the second-half saw the introduction of Harry Vaughan and Harry Wood, both added a new dynamic to their respective sides. It would be Vaughan that would create something out of nothing, cutting in from the left wing and firing an effort directed at the top left corner, that didn’t have the required power to beat Speel.
While Vaughan couldn’t capitalise on his brilliance, Harry Wood certainly did. The Englishmen received the ball on the centre circle, with his first touch allowing him to move to the left, creating an angle to put the ball in the back of the Bohemians net.
Wood was heavily involved again as Shelbourne looked for a third, he glided down the left wing before cutting the ball across and putting it on a plate for Sean Gannon. The experienced full-back couldn’t convert as his shot was well blocked.
As the minutes went by Dalymount Park began to grow more and more hostile, as the side that had at one stage topped the table, were now on the verge of nine without a win. Tempers certainly didn’t ease when Kameron Ledwidge purposely stopped Devoy escaping on the counter.
Bohemians moment did finally come. Shelbourne, as they have done so many times this season, failed to clear their lines with the ball falling between Vaughan and Douglas James-Taylor. Vaughan took the innovative and superbly buried the ball into the bottom left corner. For just the third time in 2026, Bohemians found the back of the net more then once in a match.
Dalymount was in full voice as Bohemians pushed for the winner, but the chance would never arise. The sides shared the points in a thrilling bank holiday Dublin Derby.
Man Of The Match: While maybe not producing the output, Dawson Devoy was his ever classy self. He was the driving force behind the equaliser and was the focal point for Bohemians throughout the 90 minutes. John Martin put in a noteworthy display for Shelbourne.
Bohemians (3-2-4-1): Kacper Chorążka; Niall Morahan, Patrick Hickey, Sam Todd, Senan Mullen, Adam McDonnell, Dawson Devoy, Markuss Strods, Ross Tierney, Dayle Rooney, Colm Whelan Subs: Harry Vaughan for Senan Mullen, Leigh Kavanagh for Markuss Strods (both halftime), Douglas James-Taylor for Colm Whelan (65′), Darragh Power for Adam McDonnell (71′), Josh Harpur for Niall Morahan (79′)
Shelbourne(4-2-3-1): Wessel Speel; Sean Gannon, Sam Bone, Paddy Barrett, Kameron Ledwidge, Ali Coote, Evan Caffrey, Jonathan Lunney, Kerr McInroy, John Martin, Rodrigo Freitas Subs: Harry Wood for Rodrigo Freitas (56′), Will Jarvis for Ali Coote, Jack Henry-Francis for Evan Caffrey (both 67′) Sean Boyd for Ali Coote, Elis Chapman for Kerr McInroy (both 90′)
Referee: Neil Doyle
Attendance: 4015