Bohemians stutter but unlikely to stumble

NATIONAL LEAGUE/Emmet Malone: For most of this season Bohemians have had to cope with claims they had effectively won the league title during the first full round of games, an uncomfortable position to be put in less than half way through a campaign.

Stephen Kenny, needless to say, has repeatedly argued that wasn't the case but even he must have suspected deep down that after winning nine and drawing three of their opening 12 games he possessed a team capable of steamrolling the slightly uncertain opposition on the way to regaining the championship.

His players do still hold their destiny in their own hands and nine points from the team's last four games (six if they beat Shelbourne in two weeks time), will be enough to guarantee them the title, although after Friday night's defeat at Richmond Park and the news that Glen Crowe may not feature again this season there must be more than a hint of nerves around Phibsboro.

Even after that defeat by St Patrick's the title could still be safely wrapped up by next Tuesday evening if Bohemians manage to extend Drogheda's miserable record away from home and Shelbourne lose to Derry away on Thursday night and Longford early next week.

Bohemians had certainly been heavily reliant on Crowe for their goals this season, with the striker scoring well over a third of the team's total and his absence looked a key factor in their loss at the weekend. But it remains hard to see such a creative team, boasting so many individual talents, not beating a United side that until a fortnight ago had not recorded a single win away from home territory.

However, it's equally hard to imagine Pat Fenlon's men dropping points to both Derry and Longford. Both are decent sides and, like Drogheda, retain an incentive to get something out of their remaining games. However, they have one win in their last eight and 11 outings respectively, while Shelbourne, who are offering to charge supporters who make the trip to the Brandywell just €5, have consistently reacted well to the pressure they have found themselves under as they sought to close the gap on their neighbours.

It seems likely there will still be a huge amount to play for when the two contenders meet on January 12th in their televised game at Tolka Park. Even a couple of weeks ago when TV3 announced they would cover the game live it seemed highly optimistic to believe there might still be so much at stake when it came to be played.

That a match which could effectively decide the destination of the championship is to be shown live is to be welcomed, of course, and the hope is the audience attracted will help to convince the station to step up its commitment to the league.

Its decision to show only two live matches this season has been a disappointment, as is its insistence that a game as potentially important as next week's be shifted away from peak time on a Friday night to a Sunday afternoon, when some of the atmosphere is likely to be lost.

If the title race continues beyond this game it will be a bonus not just for everyone at Shelbourne but for neutrals too. That Bohemians will, be deprived of the title still seems far-fetched but watching them sweat a little over it would certainly provide some entertainment between now and the end of January.

Apologies, meanwhile, to Jason Colwell for the reference to him in last week's piece on Shamrock Rovers. The intention was to do no more than point out that as long as his father, Joe, was chairman of the club then there could always be a perception that his position, in common with anyone whose parent wields influence within the organisation for which they work, was slightly different to the other players. Now that Joe has departed, that would no longer be the case.

It was certainly not intended, although it read that way, to suggest that the family connection was the main reason for him being in the team this season and Liam Buckley has pointed out that, along with Stephen McGuinness, the midfielder's recent absence has been due to injury.

emalone@irish-times.ie