BELIEF IS BACK, SAYS BENNETT
Logan’s run intact, but it’s advantage Cork
JOHNNY LOGAN had a face like thunder as he stomped down the tunnel in his skinny jeans and fur-lined coat towards one of the bars beneath the Jodi Stand at Dalymount Park.
Like plenty of other Bohemians supporters, perhaps he was on his way to drown his sorrows after the dramatic ending to Sunday’s Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup semi-final with Cork City.
Prior to kick-off, the stadium announcer exclaimed that the ‘Hold Me Now’ crooner had never seen his favourite team lose. That record remains intact, but it doesn’t feel like it.
A place in the Aviva Stadium showpiece beckoned for the Dublin outfit after Dinny Corcoran’s opening goal until Darragh Leahy’s follow-through, from a well-timed tackle, left Conor McCarthy in a crumpled heap inside the box. After receiving guidance from the assistant behind the goal, referee Rob Rogers deemed it a reckless challenge and pointed to the spot. Kieran Sadlier subsequently converted to salvage a draw.
Philly McMahon was another of the disgruntled Bohs faithful outside the home dressing room in the immediate aftermath of the final whistle and the Dublin Gaelic football star, along with club officials and players, studied footage of the incident on mobile phones.
Battle lines were drawn quite easily.
‘There was no question that it was a penalty,’ Cork manager John Caulfield said.
‘It wasn’t a penalty, it’s clear to me,’ Bohs boss Keith Long retorted.
Veteran Cork defender Alan Bennett could only laugh and reckons a wilier operator than 20year-old Leahy could have helped sway the officials’ decision.
‘I would have gone down holding my own ankle. Do you know what I mean? It’s experience. The connection was there, you could hear it across the ground. He [Leahy] has connected, you could see it on his [McCarthy’s] leg and he’s it wrapped up at the moment. We’re happy to take it back to Turner’s Cross.’
The replay is next Monday and it offers Cork the chance to set up a fourth successive FAI Cup decider with Dundalk. The Lilywhites are on the brink of reclaiming the Premier Division title — only a point is required from their final four fixtures — and the brittle manner in which the Leesiders relinquished their crown has led to much criticism.
‘I suppose we’re a victim of our high standards and what we’ve set over the last few years,’ Bennett reasoned. ‘But the character of this team is constantly being questioned, constantly being under pressure. I don’t know [why]. But it’s a results business. I’m in the results business.
‘This is by far the best period Cork City have ever had in its history. That cannot be forgotten. A bit of perspective [is needed] when the pressure comes on — just to sit back and stand back and have a look. Look, we can chat about styles all day long but I don’t care. Most teams are sat at home, out of everything, talking about style and we’re here going for a fourth cup final.’ Bennett turns 37 on Thursday and after a decade in England, the centre half returned to Cork in 2015 just as Caulfield guided the club to a glut of silverware.
‘I always trust in the character of this team. I think we have enough quality on the pitch that if we get it flowing, we have players of the quality to turn it around in games that look like they’re going away from us. We’re long enough down the road that we have the experience not to panic,’ Bennett continued.
‘If we get that kind of performance for 60 or 70 minutes, you probably win most games. But we probably had it for maybe 50 minutes. We’ve got to extend that more now, that’s confidence.
‘It’s a thin line between being confident and not confident and that will breathe back into us now. The lads are delighted inside the dressing room and we’re looking forward to the replay.
‘When I came back, all I wanted to do was get to a cup final and we did that in 2015. Since that I’ve won back-to-back cups.
‘It’s been an absolute dream come true. We lost in 2005. All I wanted is one medal and now I’ve got two. I just want to get back to a fourth cup final. I want the opportunity to do something special with this club.’