FAI Cup final was ninth highest attended cup final in Europe
James Cox
The FAI Cup Final was the ninth best attended match of its kind in Europe so far this year.
The game was played out in front of 43,881 fans as St Patrick's Athletic faced Dublin rivals Bohemians.
That number beats cup finals in Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark.
St Pat's lifted the trophy after a 3-1 win.
A record that’s stood since 1945 is now broken!
Thanks to all supporters for turning out in your droves! #FAICup | #BOHPAT pic.twitter.com/HQaIdwokB0— FAIreland (@FAIreland) November 12, 2023
The attendance broke a record set in 1945 when Shamrock Rovers and Bohs contested the final in front of 41,238 fans.
It's a huge boost for the League of Ireland as it shows the level of interest for Irish clubs. The Dutch final, for example, was contested by European giants Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.
It's a second cup win in three years for St Pat's after they beat the same opponents on penalties in 2021.
Bohs started much stronger with Jonathan Afolabi lookig very threatening.
Anto Breslin took him down in the box and Afolabi made no mistake to delight Bohs fans by converting a ninth-minute penalty.
Mark Doyle headed home from a Jake Mulraney delivery midway through the first-half to bring St Pat's level.
St Pat's took control of the game two minutes after the re-start, as another fine Mulraney delivery ended with Krystian Nowak putting the ball into his own net under pressure.
St Pat's really took control of the game from there, and an 86th-minute Tommy Lonergan goal sealed the victory for them.
