The New Saints face Bohemians in a behind-closed-doors friendly

Match Report

The New Saints kicked-off their pre-season tour of Ireland and Northern Ireland in Dublin this afternoon, as they faced SSE Airtricity League side, Bohemian, in a friendly.

Like the friendlies that have come before, in an effort to give valuable minutes to as many players as possible, two separate teams took to the field in each half.

It was Craig Harrison’s side who took the lead with less than six minutes on the clock at the Oscar Traynor Coaching and Development Centre, when Rory Holden looped the ball over the goalkeeper following a superb pass from Declan McManus.

In the 17th minute, Bohs hits back though through Filip Piszczek, as the Polish striker smashed the ball into the empty net following a good cross from Danny Grant.

With 32 minutes played, the JD Cymru Premier champions had a great chance to restore their advantage when Jordan Williams set Ryan Brobbel through on goal, but the Northern Ireland under-21 international could only find the side netting with his effort.

Six minutes before the break, Bohemians had the chance to take the lead from the penalty spot after Jake Canavan was penalised for a handball, but Connor Roberts stood up tall and pulled off a good save down to his right to deny Jordan Flores.

With a busy week of friendly fixtures ahead, The Saints made nine changes at the half-time interval, with only Connor Roberts and Nathan Doforo completing the full 90 minutes.

In the 67th minute, however, the home side did take the lead, as Piszczek beat Roberts with a powerful long-range strike to score his second of the afternoon.

Nine minutes from time, the number nine almost completed his hat-trick, but Roberts got down low to pull off a smart save at his near post.

Just a minute later, the TNS number 25 made another great save at full stretch from the resulting corner, when a curling effort from Declan McDaid looked destined for the top corner.

No more goals occurred in the time that ensued though, meaning the JD Cymru Premier champions fell to a 2-1 defeat – their first of the 2024/25 pre-season campaign.

First-half line-up: Connor Roberts; Josh Daniels, Harrison McGahey, Blaine Hudson, Nathan Doforo; Dan Williams, Rory Holden, Jake Canavan; Jordan Williams, Ryan Brobbel, Declan McManus

Second-half line-up: Connor Roberts; Matthew Olosunde (Jones 57), Ben Woollam, Jack Bodenham, Nathan Doforo; Danny Redmond, Leo Smith, Ben Clark; Adrian Cieslewicz, Sion Bradley, Brad Young