For Bohemians player Keith Ward beating Shamrock Rovers with a last minute winner is as good as it gets. His side recorded a 2-1 win over their rivals at Tallaght Stadium, a night they won't forget any time soon.
The game was filled with drama and excitement, and Ward played his part in that. When Dan Byrne cancelled out Rovers earlier goal, Ward joined in with the celebrations but on route to the Bohs fans he broke the corner flag.
"It was one of those things," Ward told RTÉ Sport.
"We were running over to it and I just kicked it and snapped it in half. Dano (Byrne) got booked for it and I played dumb and asked the ref what happened. I don’t think he knew what happened he just saw it in pieces so Dano can take the yellow for that."
Sorry @ShamrockRovers about the corner flag take it out of our cup final bonus 🔴⚫️
— Keith Ward (@KWard102) April 13, 2018
After the equaliser, the game was halted because of crowd trouble in the main stand. It took four minutes for play to resume after the disturbance.
"It was hard not to notice it," explained Ward. "We scored, I broke the corner flag, they were trying to get a new corner flag, and it kicked off.
"It’s hard to know if anything kicked off or if it was just handbags, to be fair there seems to always be a bit of a scuffle every now and then but it didn’t seem too serious.
"You can’t let it get to you, you just have to concentrate, it’s not like it ever gets out of hand, it’s not like fans are coming up to you, you just hope it’s sorted quickly.
"I don’t think it’s negative, if they come on the pitch it can look bad, I think last night for a game on telly it was brilliant, it had everything, obviously there was that bit of crowd trouble but it didn’t escalate, everyone I spoke to today enjoyed the game."
Bohemians beat Shamrock Rovers on the opening night of the season, and Friday's result made it two-from-two in this League campaign.
"Playing Rovers is something you have no choice but to get up for it. It’s extra special for the fans, you don’t want to let them down.
"You look forward to playing those games more than any other. I think we have won the last three so it’s nice to have the bragging rights.
"We had a great win at the start of the season against them but we’ve been kind of poor since and we never really kicked on. You kind of want to do it for the fans and keep them on our side.
"To be fair in a lot of our games we haven’t been doing too great and all our fans clapped us of every game so it’s always nice to send them home happy and drunk."
Ward spent today recovering, lunch with some team-mates was followed by a dip in the sea at Howth. Along with playing part-time with Bohs he works for Grand Cru Beers making deliveries around Dublin City and sometimes further afield.
"The club got me the job and the lad I work for is a big Bohs fan. Work is good for me, I only have to work Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday, I can work the extra days if I want but I‘m happy working my three days.
"If I need to change my days around for training for a game I can. It’s an extra bit of cash, it helps me out because I know football isn’t going to last for ever so I have to get used to the working world.
"I come in the morning and the lads load my van, I drive around the city or around the outskirts of the city, it’s not too bad I know all the places I have to go and where to park, that’s half the battle.
❤️🖤 pic.twitter.com/9kHjcbUiAA
— Bohemian FC 🔴⚫ (@bfcdublin) April 13, 2018
"It gets me out of the house, I’m not sitting around doing nothing. It’s good, I enjoy it and it makes me enjoy my days off more."
Next up for Bohemians is Derry at the Brandywell on Monday night. The Candystripes are on a winning run but Ward is confident they can get a result.
"They are a top side with a great manager in Kenny Shiels, they have lots of young players but if we put in same performance we did last night we should come away with something."
And as for the season ahead, Ward would love to push for Europe and also go on a FAI Cup run.
