James Akintunde reflects on 'sad' Declan Devine departure and 'bittersweet' night against Derry

​The former Derry City striker, who netted the winning goal to get life without Devine off to a flyer for the Dubliners at Dalymount Park on Friday, reflected on the loss of the Creggan man from the Bohs’ dugout prior to his appointment as interim Glentoran boss.

Akintunde is forever grateful to Devine for kicking off his career in Ireland and for 'looking out' for him during his spells with both Derry and Bohs.

Of course Akintunde was brought to Brandywell by Devine in 2020 and went on to win the FAI Cup in 2022 under Ruaidhri Higgins. Devine made him one of his first signings as Bohemians boss in December 2022 and Akintunde admits he was 'gutted' when learning the former City goalkeeper had parted ways with the club.

"Declan Devine was my first manager in Ireland and he always looked out for me," lamented Akintunde. "He kicked off my career here so it was sad to see him go.

"That's part and parcel of football. The results just didn't go our way and consequences happened. We were all gutted but that's part of the game.

"Players come and go and managers come and go, that's part of football."

The 27 year-old former Cambridge United forward bundled the ball home from a corner kick for what proved to be the winner 14 minutes from time against Derry on Friday night and respectfully didn't celebrate against his former employers.

After a difficult spell with injuries, Akintunde was delighted to come off the bench and make such a significant contribution, even if it felt 'bittersweet'.

"The boys needed to get their heads down and get a good result. "It's always good to get a goal. I've had a rough patch with injuries and that but to come on and score is a great feeling. Obviously it was against my former team, hence why I didn't celebrate because I was welcomed to Derry with open arms.

"When I left they showed me a lot of love. It was nice to get a goal but it was bittersweet.

"I remember scoring the winner here for Derry a few seasons ago and then scoring the winner again today for Bohemians was nice but I just want to kick on again. The boys defended really well tonight with a lot of crosses coming into the box and hats off to the boys. We had to grind it out."