Bohemians manager Declan Devine hailed both clubs after his side beat Galway United 1-0 in their Sports Direct Men's FAI Cup semi-final on Saturday afternoon.
A Dylan Connolly goal at the end of the first half was enough to win a game that was played out in front of a crowd of 4,300 at Eamonn Deacy Park.
The victory secured a place for Bohs in the FAI Cup final for the second time in three years, with the Dublin outfit set to face the winners of Cork City and St Patrick's Athletic at the Aviva Stadium on 12 November.
Referee Neil Doyle was a busy man on Saturday, as he flashed 12 yellow cards, including two for Bohs defender Kacper Radkowski, who will now miss the showpiece at the Aviva due to suspension.
Speaking after the game, Devine suggested that Doyle could have been less strict, but the Derry native made sure to praise both clubs for their part in the spectacle.
Galway will face Bohemians in the Premier Division next season, after John Caulfield's side secured the SSE Airtricity Men's First Division title with five games to spare.
"Benefits the whole of Irish football"
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 7, 2023
Despite seeing his Bohemians side reach the #FAICup final, manager Declan Devine was keen to start off his post-match interview with lavish praise for a Galway United side who pushed them right to the final whistle pic.twitter.com/oQlQfJu12Q
"Having Galway back in the Premier Division with attendances like this, a management team and a team like that benefits the whole of Irish football, and full credit to Galway United," a breathless Devine told RTÉ Sport after the win.
"They deserve massive credit for what they've done this year, getting to the semi-final and really putting it up to us, because we're a good side and Galway really put it up to us. They come out of it as winners as well so full credit to John and his team.
"Our boys, magnificent. To go down to ten men, the cards were just flashing like mad, it was stupid, it was crazy, there was maybe two bad tackles in the game. Now players are missing cup finals and all the rest, it's madness.
"But delighted for the club, delighted for all of the players who have bought into what we're trying to do this year. It's a new group of players, we brought in 14 or 15 players at the start of the year and the work-rate that they put in today was second to none."
Bohemians hold a 1-0 lead at half-time of the #FAICup semi-final against Galway United thanks to Dylan Connolly's tap in from Jonathan Afolabi's cross
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 7, 2023
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Devine won the FAI Cup as manager of Derry City back in 2012, when the Candystripes beat St Pat's after extra time in one of the most dramatic finals in the history of the competition.
He will come up against the same opposition next month if the Saints can get past Cork City on Sunday, an outcome that would also set up a repeat of the 2021 final, when the Inchicore side beat Bohs 4-3 on penalties.
Watch the Sports Direct FAI Cup semi-final between Cork City v St Patrick's Athletic (Sunday 2.30pm) on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player and follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app
