First blood goes to Bohemians

NATIONAL LEAGUE/St Patrick's Athletic 0 Bohemians 2: When they voted to restore the premier division to a 12-team operation a few weeks ago, officials from Longford Town cited the number of times they played St Patrick's Athletic as an example of how the current structure had the potential to provide clubs with, well, a little too much of a good thing.

Like the Flancare Park outfit, Bohemians ran into Eamonn Collins' side in both league and cup last season, but to judge by last night's encounter at Inchicore they do not feel the least bit overfamiliar with their rivals from across the city.

Stephen Kenny and his men must have felt as they made their way off at the end that if every away game was like this then they would be well on their way to recovering the title.

Not that the visitors overwhelmed their hosts in what was a passionate and generally entertaining encounter.

While Bohemians did what they tend to do best and generated a succession of good scoring chances through quick and open play, they were, just as importantly, allowed to get away with their usual failing, some fragile defending which should really have yielded at least one goal to their opponents over the course of the 90 minutes.

For all their chances, it took Bohemians more than hour to break the deadlock, although the goal was well worth the wait.

Simon Webb, Robbie Doyle and Glen Crowe all had a hand in a swift move forward before Stephen Caffrey found the net with a immaculately struck volley from 25 yards.

Crowe had earlier missed the target with two attempts in quick succession to lob Chris Adamson from the edge of the area, but when the Bohemians striker caught Colm Foley daydreaming while in possession, his low strike towards the bottom right corner was precise enough to leave the goalkeeper helpless and allowed him to notch up his third goal in as many games.

The locals scrambled to get back into it through the 20 minutes that remained but couldn't find the breakthrough they required to give their visitors something to really worry about through the closing stages.

It was a terribly disappointing end for supporters who had had plenty to cheer about early on as their side took the game with some purpose to Kenny's side.

Even then it was a lively affair, with the hosts getting the better of the hectic early exchanges before Bohemians managed to carve out the two best chances of the opening half.

Though Shay Kelly had been forced into making a few decent saves, the first of them just two minutes in from Keith Fahey, it was James Keddy who should have opened the scoring midway through the half after Fergal Harkin had sent Crowe racing clear down the right and the striker had squared from the edge of the six-yard box to the far post for his team-mate.

Adamson then did well to push a close-range shot by Harkin behind.

But the Englishman looked well beaten by Robbie Doyle, in up front for the injured Tony Grant, whose lobbed attempt on goal from a ridiculously tight angle bounced on the line before coming back off the inside of the left hand post, bouncing on the line again and finally landing in the arms of the recovering goalkeeper.

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Adamson; Donnelly (Osam, 72 mins), Foley, Maguire, El Khebir; Fahey, Casey, Ndo, Dunne (Rose, 67 mins); Bird, Jones (O'Keeffe, 85 mins).

BOHEMIANS: Kelly; Lynch, Hawkins (Oman, 59 mins), McNally, Webb; Harkin, Caffrey, Hunt, Keddy; Doyle (Heary, 89 mins), Crowe.

Referee: D McKeon (Dublin).