Bohemians fail to build on early goal

A GOOD old battle, and a curious old mishmash of a game, not without its good spells or longeurs, and not helped by wintery conditions, ended none too surprisingly with the status quo preserved. And a bit like those venerable old rockers, it should ensure that these auldest of Dublin rivals keep going strong for some time to come. The title race is simmering along nicely.

Despite losing their perch at the top of the table to Derry City, Bohemians will derive some satisfaction from maintaining their four point advantage over Shelbourne, though it will rankle that they didn't build on a lead goal after 27 seconds.

Shelbourne will rue a lackadaisical first half performance which seriously unhinged any hopes of what would have been a fifth successive win. Yet to come back from that and extend their unbeaten run to seven games will give them sustenance through the hard winter months ahead.

To that extent, this was a harbinger of things to come. A strong, biting wind blew straight down from the shed end to the tramway end and added to the difficulty created by the light Adidas tango ball. Like a stubborn foe, the players struggled to bring it to ground (always the preferred place for it), while referee Dennis McArdle didn't always do the game much favours. But given all that, the match frequently illuminated a grey old Dalymount day in which the floodlights were switched on from the kick off.

So too were Bohemians, taking the game to Shelbourne with some style in the opening half hour, buoyed as they were by their stunning start. A speculative enough through ball by Tony O'Connor found Shelbourne lax and loose at the back, an unfortunate slip by Pat Scully giving Derek Swan the opportunity to latch onto the ball, round Alan Gough and score his fifth league goal.

Even the classy Swan must have been amazed at how easy it all was, even if making scoring look easy is one of his hallmarks. He continued to have a major bearing on the exchanges, using his ability to hold the ball and to lay it off as the force remained with Bohemians.

Bohemians were able to pick Swan out repeatedly, outmanoeuvring a sluggish Shelbourne in mid field where Tommy Byrne drifted inside off a nominated sided position to some effect. Paul Doolin dropped off to pull the strings from in front of the back four and Derek McGrath had licence to run at Shelbourne or make forward runs from a more advanced position.

For all that, they didn't pierce Shelbourne too often. A fine move instigated by Tommy Byrne and continued by a Doolin one two in the centre circle courtesy of Swan's deft lay off, culminated in Brian Mooney testing Gough, while John Ryan smacked a rising left footed drive past Gough but against the bar after 31 minutes when released by Byrne.

Shelbourne limited any further damage during their rocky opening. Almost their only outlet was Mark Rutherford, save for a 30 yard drive on the run from Tony Sheridan which Dave Henderson clawed away.

Stephen Geoghegan and Pat Morley were given scant service, and even less protection from McArdle, all of which prompted Shelbourne manager Damien Richardson to joke that they had to be introduced again to their team mates at the interval. But such is their potency that they had drawn Shelbourne level three minutes beforehand, Morley rising at the far post to head a Greg Costello cross against the bar; Geoghegan heading home the rebound for his eighth goal in seven games and the partnership's 14th in the same period.

Shelbourne were an altogether more committed team after the break, and despite playing into the wind forced enough chances to plunder the three points. After a superb turn and shot by Swan which tested Gough, Shelbourne picked up the tempo past the hour mark.

Sheridan miscued one opening, a linesman's flag over ruled Geoghegan's deft finish to Morley's flick on Rutherford headed over a Declan Geoghegan cross; James Coll, outstanding throughout, stretched out a leg to deny Dave Campbell after Henderson came and missed a Pascal Vaudequin cross, before Campbell tested the goalkeeper from 25 yards 12 minutes from time.

Bohemians continued to have plenty of the play as well, Byrne wasting an intended square ball to McGrath when Bohemians for once escaped Shelbourne's offside trap, but Scully and Mick Neville generally imposed themselves as domineeringly as Coll had done from the start. By the end no one was quibbling too much.

"Overall I thought we shaded it," argued Bohemians' manager Turlough O'Connor mildly, but added: "The quality of the game was superb, considering the windy conditions."

Richardson saw that as another argument for summer football, something the slightly disappointed and shivering crowd of 34,000 might have agreed with. If this was played on a summer's evening we'd have had a lovely game, he said.