Dundalk 0 Bohemians 2:BOHEMIANS WERE given the perfect boost ahead of their upcoming Champions League tie against Red Bull Salzburg in Austria with a hard-fought victory over Dundalk at Oriel Park last night.
Strikes from Glen Crowe and Killian Brennan won the points for the league leaders but for the third time this season the major talking point from a fixture between the champions and Seán Connor’s Dundalk side was the performance of the referee, Richie Winter being the man in question last night.
The home side started brightly with Chris Turner testing Brian Murphy from 25 yards. Full-back Shaun Kelly then almost caught the goalkeeper out with a looping effort from the right which had the Bohemians number one back-peddling to tip the ball over the bar.
The turning point came in the 15th minute. Kelly was furious to see a throw-in given against him midway inside his own half. Conor Powell showed some quick thinking to collect the resulting throw and with the home defence caught square he was allowed to unleash a powerful drive that had Chris Bennion in trouble. The Dundalk goalkeeper could only beat the ball into the path of Jason Byrne who squared for Crowe to tap home.
It went from bad to worse for Dundalk. Sixty seconds later they were reduced to 10 men when Michael Daly’s lunge on Brennan was punished with a red card. It looked like the Dundalk midfielder had played the ball but Winter was quick to give him his marching orders.
Despite the man advantage, Bohemians failed to add to their lead although Crowe went close with a downward header on the stroke of half-time.
The second half proved a non-event for the home side as they failed to muster a fightback. Mark Rossiter tested Bennion with a 25-yard drive before Byrne missed a glorious chance to seal the win in the 82nd minute when he dragged an effort wide with just the goalkeeper to beat. The result was put beyond doubt with six minutes to go when Brennan picked up a Byrne pass to lash the ball past Bennion from close range.
DUNDALK: Bennion; Shaun Kelly, Burns, Heary, Simon Kelly; Daly, Turner (Mulvenna, 80 mins), Collins, O’Brien (Synnott, 89 mins); Rowe, Williams.
BOHEMIANS: Murphy; Rossiter, Oman, Shelley, Powell; Madden (Hughes, 90 mins), Ndo, Keegan, Brennan; Crowe, Byrne.
Referee: R Winter (Wicklow).
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