When the alarm went off at 730 am, I wasn’t sure this was a great idea.
Sundays in our house are a very relaxed affair. No one really goes anywhere, does anything or exercises themselves too much. The dogs get walked, and that’s about it!
However, this Sunday was time for something a little different, the opportunity for a road trip, or more specifically, a car, bus and train trip.
The League of Ireland had returned for a new season. All the counters had been reset to zero, and Bohemian FC had once again taken over the Aviva Stadium for their season opener against St. Pats. So how could we say no to that!
We left Belfast shortly after 10 am and landed in Dublin just after 12. A few short stops on a packed DART full of mostly Bohs fans in our carriage, and we were there. Genuinely one of the most seamless journeys I’ve ever taken for a game.
We took our seats in the neutral zone, which felt like a family area for Bohs fans with a sprinkling of St Pats fans for what felt like a very cordial derby. There wasn’t much venom in the game or in the stands. Despite the St Pats end claiming with their pre-game banner that Bohs had ‘sold their soul for a second time’. A nod to not just the Aviva hosting the game, but also their recent Oasis shirt collaboration, as many view this as a cash grab for notoriety. Bohs Notorious Boo Boys themselves offering a pre-game tifo asking ‘who you gonna call’ if a big club is needed for this type of game. Sadly, our seats didn’t offer us a good photo opportunity of this display.
The game itself was a nil-nil draw, not exactly box office for such a grand day out. However, both sides put in good shifts and were very good at cancelling each other out. Both goalkeepers, in particular, had good games, with the St. Pats stopper, Joseph Anang, scooping up the man of the match along with everything else that came his way.
A lot of fans declared the game a bit of a damp squib on the return DART to Connolly, but for a couple of Nordie neutrals, it was a decent enough watch, which may speak in itself to the levels we are used to within our own footballing product.
All in all, a good day out, easy travel, decent ticket prices and good atmosphere made even a draw feel like a decent event. One slight negative on the day was that the area in whihc we were seated had very poor facilities for food. A margherita pizza, while tasty, and a small bar area didn’t really feel that satisfying, particularly given some of the stadium pricing. However, these are minor quibbles.
Whatever you think of Bohs being at the Aviva, it felt like a decent advertisement for the league and will have put a lot of eyes on the product. For me, it was a great day, and it leaves me planning more League of Ireland away days, but I do hope these will be at the club’s actual grounds for a true, potentially unfiltered experience. Dalymount has one season left before renovation work begins. No harm to Bohs but their own fans would probably say the same. There’s no place like home and I for one would love to visit!
Thanks for reading 3 pm Somewhere! If you enjoyed reading, please share it.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.