Cup Final Blues: Derry 1-0 Bohs (aet)

There are certain decisions that leave you scratching your head in disbelief. The ones made by the FAI about where and when to hold this season's League Cup final is one of those on two counts. The football authorities in Ireland are supposedly trying to push the game forward here and to lift the game out of the doldrums. Why then decide to play a major cup final on a Tuesday night at the ground of one of the finalists, which is hundreds of kilometres away the other team's fans? I find it baffling. Derry City were given a clear advantage and i am in no doubt that this had a huge bearing on the eventual result. As long as decisions such as these are made, the League of Ireland is destined to remain a footnote on the sports pages of Irish newspapers and an afterthought in the minds of Irish people.

I was gutted to miss out on the game. I've just started a new job so getting time off really wasn't an option. The fact that i had been at every in the run up to the final made it even more disappointing. Some may argue that if i was a real Bohs fan i would have done whatever it took to get myself to the final in Derry. Had it been played on a weekend i'm fairly sure i would have been there. Had it been played on a weekend at a neutral venue i'm certain i would have made it. I'm sure there were many more like me too.

As it was i was stuck in Dublin watching the game on Setanta Sports. The coverage on the whole was pretty good, but watching football from the comfort of your sofa is no way to watch any game of football, especially a cup final. Bohs threatened in spells, but on the whole didn't show enough going forward. The most disappointing thing was that Derry weren't actually that good and that Bohs still couldn't pull it off.

In the end it was a wonder goal from Derry's Kevin McHugh that won it - a strike that would have graced any cup final.

Even though we lost, i'm still desperately disappointed that i didn't get to go to my first Bohs cup final. I just hope that Bohs can get through to the final of the FAI Cup and that i can put right.

Next up, Galway Utd at home on Friday evening.