Gina Bagnulo reporting from Dalymount Park
“One, two, three, four: occupation no war”
“In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians”.
These were the chants of solidarity that echoed through Bohemian FC’s Dalymount Park on the day of historic occasion: the Palestinian women’s national football team’s first European fixture.
Playing against Dublin’s Bohemian FC in a friendly game, Palestine gave the stadium a night to remember. In the end, they defeated their hosts 2-1.
🇮🇪❤️🇵🇸 Palestine take the lead at Dalymount Park.
Bohemians 1 Palestine 2 pic.twitter.com/UKaVONIyyL— Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) May 15, 2024
The first half saw Bohs dominate possession of the ball, maximising their opportunities through numerous corner kicks and long shots. Aoibhe Brennan's strikes and Ciara Smith's defending remained prominent features of the game. This being said, Palestine kept Bohemians on their toes throughout the first 45 minutes, with Sara Kord providing pivotal support along their right wing. However, the biggest twists of the game occurred in the second half when a goal was scored by Katie Malone.
This lead was not to last as Palestine turned it around when a long ball from Lolo Nasser resulted in a Bohs own goal. The final point came in the seventy sixth minute and was scored by Union Berlin’s Nour Youseff. As the final score was announced, a crowd of green, red, black and white cheered.
“It doesn’t matter if we win or if we lose, we won because we came here and we saw a country standing with us and supporting us, that’s for us a win”, said Youseff on the match result.
🇮🇪❤️🖤🇵🇸
Bohemians 🤝Palestine pic.twitter.com/fsmXo50rGv— Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) May 15, 2024
“We don’t care about winning or losing, it's just a pleasure and an honor to be here. Thanks for Ireland, thanks for Bohemians, we are so glad, we appreciate everything, thank you so much and we just want to say that we won with our arrival here.”
Many a-goal was stopped by Palestine keeper, Charlotte Phillips who is a student at York University in Canada. This match was held on May 15, the same date that the Nakba is commemorated in Palestine.
The Nakba, which saw the displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 war, was significant in Phillip’s own family history. Phillips spoke to Balls.ie about what the prevalent support in Ireland for the Palestinian cause meant to her. “I don’t even know how to explain it, this is unheard of. I don't even think we would see this amount of support in a neighbouring Arab country. This is amazing.”
Speaking to Charlotte Phillips, goalkeeper of the Palestinian team following their 2-1 win over Bohemian FC @ballsdotie pic.twitter.com/ffAt1VfUjl
— Gina Bagnulo (@GinaBagnulo3) May 16, 2024
r added:
“Seeing this is incredible, I mean my grandparents are here today who are Nakba survivors and then again they were Naksa survivors. When they were kicked out i’m sure they wanted us to never come back but here, 76 years later me, their granddaughter is here playing for Palestine. They can’t erase our culture, it’s amazing.”
Bohs manager Ken Kiernan weighed in on what hosting such an event was like for his team.
“It’s brilliant, I think it shows the solidarity that Ireland has with Palestine, so many people have come out and what an occasion we have,” he said.
READ ALSO: 'It’s Harder To Put Your Hand Up First': Why Dublin Footballers Have Spoken Out About Gaza
