Budget Energy SuperCupNI – Junior Section Group C
County Fermanagh 1 Bohemians FC 4
This 4-1 scoreline was very harsh on a spirited Junior side, who opened their Budget Energy SuperCupNI 2025 campaign with a defeat against Dublin side Bohemians on Monday.
Fermanagh were the dominant side in the opening half and deservedly took the lead through Luca Hall on 12 minutes, before Bohemian captain Kian Lee levelled against the run of play five minutes before the break. A tightly contested second half then burst into life with 6 minutes remaining. Jayden Jones put the Bohs ahead before two goals injury time from Jack McGill and Travis Keddy helped secure a late comeback win.
A minutes silence was held before kick-off in memory of former Fermanagh player Michael Kerr, who passed away suddenly earlier this year. The county side started the group opener positively. Charlie Donaghy was a bright spark in the wide areas, while captain for the day Aodhán McGranaghan provided excellent defensive cover.
Kaden McGovern saw an early shot of his blocked out for a corner. Jones headed wide from a cross on the right side in what was Bohemians first sight at goal, before the Ernemen took a deserved lead on 12 minutes. McGovern’s deep free-kick from the half-way line was headed home beyond Bohemians goalkeeper Jamie Fox from 12 yards by the Northern Ireland youth international Hall.
Harry Jones shot wide as Bohs responded immediately, with Fox then able to pluck a curling McGovern effort out of the sky, as Fermanagh went in search of a second. Hall almost turned provider, playing Shea McManus who cut onto his right before seeing his low effort flash just wide of the far post.
A Harry Jones shot wide was the closest Bohs came to levelling the tie, before netting an equaliser with 5 minutes of the first half remaining. A good move down the right saw the ball played across goal to Lee, who finished into the far corner. McGovern then shot wide from distance following good work by Donaghy, as both sides went in level at the break.
Fermanagh almost regained the lead early in the second half. A McGovern corner from the left found McManus, who headed towards Danny Goan, with his effort stopped at point blank range by Bohs substitute goalkeeper Billy Keddy. Darragh Boyle then found McGovern, who saw a shot blocked by Sam McKenna before winning a free-kick on the corner of the box. McGovern stepped up, but his low attempt was pushed away by Keddy.
Arafat Rafi’s downward header went wide at the back post, as the tie looked set to end level. However, three quickfire goals from the Dubliners inside the final 10 minutes got them the opening day win, with Bohemians edging ahead on 64 minutes. A quick free-kick in the Bohs half was played to McGill on the right, who drove into the box before squaring a pass to Jones who fired beyond Jamie Wallace into the top right corner.
With time running out, Boyle and McGovern combined again, with the latter beating a defender before appearing to be brought down in the box while in on goal, but the referee wasn’t interested. Then, in added time, Bohemians sealed victory. McGill latched onto a lofted pass by defender Zac Whelan, slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
A Bohemians and Fermanagh player were both dismissed late on before the Dubliners added their fourth in what was practically the last action of the game. After a foul in the box, Travis Keddy stepped up and dispatched a low penalty into the bottom right corner to cap off a late comeback by the League of Ireland side.
Fermanagh: Jamie Wallace, Ben Burns, Aodhán McGranaghan ©, Danny Goan, Darragh Boyle, Luca Hall, Shea McManus, Kaden McGovern, Charlie Donaghy, Jack Cairns, Sean Lunny. Substitutes: Alex Beacom, Suresh Varma, Conor Goodwin, Cian Curran, Reuben Clarke, Rio Corrigan, Riley Boyle
Bohemians: Jamie Fox, Kian Lee ©, Zac Whelan, Rocco Lawlor, Jack McGill, Alex Brady, Jayden Jones, Travis Keddy, Sam McKenna, Tommy Farrell. Substitutes: Conor Walsh, Archie Horne, Levi Byrne, Arafat Rafi, Billy Keddy