Keith Long hailed the raw, physical power of the returning Ismahil Akinade as Bohemians savoured a sweet Dublin derby defeat of Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght.
Akinade scored a terrific goal, thumping a ferocious angled drive to the roof of the net, and set up Dinny Corcoran for another in an impressive 2-1 win.
The Nigerian's season has been decimated by illness - he had to have an operation to remove his spleen to help resolve a low platelet count - but he rewarded Long's gamble to start him at Rovers with a devastating display.
The Gypsies boss hailed his attack afterwards, and is hoping Akinade can stay fit and healthy to help pull Bohs away from danger.
GOAL!
— eirSport (@eirSport) July 28, 2017
Shamrock Rovers 0-1 Bohemian FC.
What a sensational strike from Izzy Akinade. #DublinDerby #LOI pic.twitter.com/u6VSefXgpU
"Dinny's a clever player and he's ice cool. He is a potent finisher," said Long.
"Izzy is a little bit rawer; he has a physical power and is a threat to defenders. They don't like that physicality, that strength, that pace. There's a nice complement there, a nice combination.
"Obviously the last couple of weeks he's been coming off the bench but we felt we couldn't hold him back much more. It was a great finish, I'm really pleased for him.
"There's a quick turnaround for Monday, we're down in Cork. We'll have to assess bodies, see how we are.
"Izzy is a naturally fit lad anyway. He's physically strong. Hopefully he'll be in a position to back it up on Monday with another good performance.
"You see the celebrations at the end, what it means to the supporters and players alike. It's a great night for us. I thought we performed really well.
"We wanted to come here and be aggressive, unsettle Shamrock Rovers and I thought we done that. The game plan worked to a tee. I thought we were good value for the win."
For Stephen Bradley, it was a painful loss, and the Rovers manager admitted his charges paid the price for an off-key showing.
"We didn't deserve to go and win the game," said Bradley.
"We had a few chances without really playing well. We didn't manage the game particularly well; we went long when we should have went short and vice versa.
"It hurts when we lose here but we haven't lost often here all season. We've been really good. We're disappointed, we'll analyse it and talk to each other about it, but we're better than that."
