Clinical Bohemians extend their unbeaten league run

BOHEMIANS 2 SLIGO ROVERS 0  BOHEMIANS PROVED to Sligo attractive football counts for little if you don't defend properly. Paul Cook's side are easy on the eye going forward but frailties at the other end cost them this match as the champions, courtesy of goals from Paul Keegan and Ken Oman in each half, stretched their unbeaten league run to seven games to move to third in the table.

The returning Gareth McGlynn, the only change from the Bohemians team that beat Welsh side TNS on Tuesday night, almost made an immediate impact inside two minutes, but just failed to connect with Raffaele Cretaro’s cross.

But Sligo soon troubled Bohemians at the other end. John Russell glanced a header wide from Joseph Ndo’s early corner. Pádraig Amond, the league’s leading scorer, then got in behind the home defence on to Gavin Peers’ long ball. But stretching, Amond lobbed wide over Barry Murphy.

Peers, however, would endure a nervous moment on 14 minutes when he sliced a cross from Bohemians’ overlapping left-back Conor Powell at his own goal with keeper Richard Brush making a reaction save to spare the blushes.

That was nothing to the save Murphy would make four minutes later. Brian Shelley’s defensive header dropped onto Alan Keane’s right foot 30 yards out. The volley looked destined for the top corner until Murphy somehow clawed it one-handed on to a post and clear.

Sligo were much the better side early on and Amond was guilty of heading wide from Ndo’s cross from the right on 21 minutes.

But clinical Bohemians took the lead on 28 minutes with their first incisive attack of the game.

Mark Quigley’s clever pass put Paddy Madden away on the left and he pulled the ball back for the unmarked Paul Keegan, who fired home from just inside the area.

Bohemians almost grabbed a second on 37 minutes. Ruaidhri Higgins’s free picked out Quigley but he blazed over the crossbar.

Bohemians appeared to simply move up a gear on the resumption, easily finding holes in the Sligo defence. Ex-Sligo star Cretaro latched onto Quigley’s crossfield pass to dink the ball inches over the bar before their second goal arrived after 59 minutes.

Brush failed to gather Quigley’s innocuous free from the left and defender Ken Oman arrived at the back post to outjump two visiting defenders and head home.

BOHEMIANS:B. Murphy; Shelley, Heary, Oman, Powell; McGlynn, Keegan (Cronin, 73 mins.), Higgins, Quigley (Brennan, 89 mins); Madden (Byrne, 79 mins.), Cretaro.

SLIGO ROVERS:Brush; Keane, Peers, Lauchlan, Davoren; Doyle (O'Grady, 85 mins), Ryan, Russell (Ventre, 85 mins), Dillon (McCabe, 58 mins); Ndo; Amond. Attendance:1,465.

Referee:Dave McKeon (Dublin).