Ross Tierney and only Ross Tierney was the right man to close the European door at Dalymount Park
Rosser’s goal a fitting send-off to a ground that is no longer fit for purpose
Cathal Dervan, Editor
The script was written long before Ross Tierney pulled his right foot back and sent a size five screaming into the top corner of the Ballkani net, a fitting finale as the curtain came down on European football at Dalymount Park.
On the ground graced by legends like Pele, Zidane, Brady, Givens Finney, Whelan, O’Connor and Jameson in a chequered past, it was appropriate that the match winning hero for the would be one of their own for the Bohemians faithful.
Ross Tierney epitomises everything that is good about Bohemians Football Club. And then some. Born and bred just up the road in Ballymun, Tierney is proud of his roots, proud of his family, proud of his community, proud to be a Bohs man.
His incredible work ethic is that of a man who knows the value of a hard shift. His loyalty is that of a man who will do whatever his right for those nearest and dearest to him. His passion is that of a man who’s only focus in life is to be the best father, husband, footballer and role model he can be.
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I’ve worked with Ross Tierney. I’ve seen first hand how hard he trains, how dedicated he is to the jersey on his back, whatever the colour. I have witnessed just how determined he is to provide his children with the very best opportunities in life.
He is making the very most of his ability as a footballer to make life better for those he goes home to. He will stretch every sinew in his body to show the world that he is entitled to earn the living he makes from football.
And that attitude, that willingness to put his body on the line and his brain into gear, whatever the demands of the occasion, ensures that Tierney will always give his best. It also embodies all that is good about the modern day Bohemian Football Club as we prepare to say goodbye to Dalymount Park as we know it.
Before anyone gets carried away with this bromance, there are things about the Bohs way that I don’t like. I’ve been going to Dalymount since I was a kid by the way so let me feel entitled to my opinions!
Some of their fans get a little too worked up about things for my liking and a few of them are far too quick to turn against their managers when things go wrong.
But this is definitely a club for its people. A club that listens to what its members want, takes the majority view on board and acts on it.
In many ways, Bohemians is the football club that the FAI should model itself on. One where the senior management actually know and understand Irish football, one where the board and those answerable to them actually listen to their members, a club that is not afraid to take the hard decisions and actually see them through.
Ross Tierney’s goal late on Wednesday night gives Bohs real hope of progressing in the Conference League when they go to Kosovo next week. It was scored by a man raised by Irish football, a real live product of the Irish system that the FAI are now rebuilding from the ground up.
The goalscorer’s story and his club’s mantra are the way forward for domestic football in this country. That match winner against Ballkani didn’t just provide a fitting farewell to European football at Dalymount before the bulldozers move in, it also provided a pathway to the future. And that’s a good night’s work from the hardest working man in Dublin - to paraphrase Jimmy Rabbitte.
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