THE night the league was decided? Bohemians do Shelbourne last week, St Patrick's Athletic do Bohemians this week. The thought occurred at Dalymount Park last night, not for the first time this season, that there are too many Dublin derbies for the good of the Dublin teams.
True, four Dublin clubs have won the league in the 90s but the derby factor has increased in intensity lately.
It says much about them, that St Patrick's won and extended Pat Dolan's unbeaten start in management to nine games - he must think this thing is a doddle - without actually playing particularly well.
However, one of their many set-piece goals earned the vital breakthrough just before the interval and thereafter it was a bit of a case of the biter being bit. In keeping with a whole-hearted affair, in which most players ran their socks off, Bohemians huffed and puffed throughout the second period but couldn't blow down a St Patrick's house built around those proverbial rocks, John McDonnell and Mick Moody.
The ageless duo broke up countless Bohemians' raids either by anticipation or sheer stubbornness, repeatedly getting a decisive head or foot to the ball. It was a tough one for Bohemians to swallow, all the more so as Derry went marching onwards up in Dundalk to pull eight points clear.
Yet despite appearing to have marginally more penetration in the first-half, thanks primarily to the lively Derek Swan, and undoubtedly more of the pressure in the second period, Bohemians were none too creative themselves.
The distribution from the back, where Donal Broughan appeared none the better for reverting to right back in accommodating James CoIl's return, was poor, while the midfield quartet rarely broke through themselves or supplied Swan with sufficient armoury.
St Patrick's were the better for Keith Long's return in central midfield, where Eddie Gormley was not quite at his vintage best, but still supplemented some nice passing and close control in a dog-eat-dog midfield, with a huge work-rate.
On the flanks and up front though, St Patrick's lacked potency until a previously out-of-sorts Martin Reilly reverted to a front-running role.
Derek McGrath and Brian Mooney at one end, either side of Ricky O'Flaherty at the other, shot from distance in the opening exchanges, before St Patrick's created the clearest opening of the first half after 22 minutes. Reilly beat Kevin Brady and crossed to the far post where Johnny Glynn, having hitched from Monasterevin after a pre-match car crash, touched the ball inside for O'Flaherty to beat Dave Henderson - Eoin Mullen completing a superb goal-line clearance.
Mooney's inswinging corners from the left caused the visitors problems; CoIl flashing a near post 29th minute header wide of the far post, while a similar 38th minute effort by Peter Hanrahan was cleared off the line by Paul Campbell.
Then the breakthrough: an inswinging left-footed free from the right by Gormley turned the Bohemians defence and O'Flaherty stooped to conquer with a glancing header past a wrongfooted Henderson.
The predictable tone to the second half was set within the opening six minutes - Hanrahan looping a header wide when Brian McKenna palmed a McGrath corner; Mooney curling and dipping a 25-yard drive just past the angle and Swan shooting over under pressure from McDonnell.
For all his latitude, Mick Tomney was obliged to book Broughan for a late foul on Gormley and McDonnell for a ball-winning but two-footed lunge at Hanrahan as the heat was turned up.
As Bohemians gambled, St Patrick's began to counter on the break. O'Flaherty might have added another when shooting wide after Reilly's pace to Gormley's through ball took out Henderson.
Somehow, you long since knew that there would be no way back for Bohemians. Indeed, two minutes from time Reilly brought the best out of Henderson before McDonnell headed the ensuing Long corner against the post.
At the end, Dolan strode across the pitch, directing his players towards the sizeable away support, and embracing his coaching staff. Sometimes there's just no beating that old Saints' spirit.
