There were shades of another St Patrick Athletic’s visit from 1990 about this season opener, a big crowd without the fare on the pitch to match the occasion.
Thirty-six years ago, St Pat’s went to the RDS for the first Shamrock Rovers match at the venue. That was also a scoreless draw, played in front of 22,000 expectant fans.
By Bohemians sacrificing home advantage to move across Dublin City to Lansdowne Road, they attracted 21,472 but will regret not giving them a goal their dominance deserved.
It was a showcase match but also a fundraiser for when they’ve to leave matchday revenue at Dalymount Park behind from next year during a two-year rebuild.
Connor Parsons missed their best opening early in the second half, but Stephen Kenny’s Saints didn’t muster one attempt on target over the entire 95 minutes.
Both sides started with their main strikers, absent through injury. Despite Bohs reporting a fully fit squad and Douglas James-Taylor being front and centre in a promotional video for the fixture, rumours of him being sidelined were accurate.
Max Mata was the marquee off-season capture for the Saints but the forward aiming to be part of New Zealand’s World Cup squad hadn’t featured in friendlies and was also missing from the match day squad.
Another former Sligo Rovers marksman, Aidan Keena, instead led the line for Kenny’s side but Bohs went without a recognised striker.
Connor Parsons, renowned as a winger, was their most advanced outlet and his inexperience as a makeshift striker showed when he squandered the best opening of the contest seven minutes into the second half.
He broke clear past Tom Givosti from a long kick-out by his goalkeeper. Haring clear with the entire goal to hit, he could only hit Joseph Anang with the low shot.
Minutes later, Anang raced from his goal again in a similar passage, instigated by Dawson Devoy, but the Ghanaian stopper was first to the ball to smother the danger. Little wonder then he was named man of the match.
Colm Whelan was the sole conventional forward among their nine subs, demonstrating why Alan Reynolds was trying to rival Shamrock Rovers in pursuit of Seani Maguire.
Continuity for Saints was apparent through just one newcomer to last year’s team that failed to qualify for Europe and their start offered optimism, albeit false in the overall context.
Barry Baggley’s ferocious 25-yard curler on 17 minutes sailed marginally beyond the angle while Kian Leavy ran into trouble rather than the box when slipped into space.
That they didn’t test Kacper Chorazka in the Gypsies goal throughout must be a concern given their determination to improve on last year’s disappointing fifth place finish.
Joseph Anang at the other end made his first save of note on 14, stooping low to turn Ross Tierney’s low drive from just outside the box.
Tierney’s midfield partner Devoy wasted an opening as the half-time whistle loomed, blazing over after neat work by new arrival Harry Vaughan.
The Ireland U21 international’s theatrical dive in the second half when Baggley glanced off him was his final involvement before being hooked on 65 but they should have been ahead by then.
Both teams rang the changes, but the visitors lacked a threat, only causing one late on when the Polish goalkeeper was unable to gather a long free kick into the box.
Much improvement from the opening weekend required from both, especially the Saints.
K Chorążka; P Hickey, S Todd, J Flores; D Power (N Morahan 78), D Devoy; J McManus (A McDonnell 64), S Mullen (C Whelan 58); R Tierney, H Vaughan (D Rooney 65);. C Parsons (M Strods 78).
J Anang; J Redmond, T Grivosti, L Turner; Z Elbouzedi (R Boyce 36), J Lennon, B Baggley, K Leavy (D Nugent 87), J McClelland (A Breslin 86); R Edmondson (R Palmer 69), A Keena (G Nzingo 70).
Kevin O’Sullivan (Cork).
