Bohemians take points with poor display

ANOTHER win, another three points and, you would suppose another satisfactory night's business up at Dalymount Park. But a job well done? Not likely, for this was a game that the home side should have had wrapped up well before half time and which, in a late spell of pressure, went close to ending with the honours shared.

Of course, the ability to scrape out single goal victories in the face of adversity is supposed to be a prerequisite for would be champions and Turlough O'Connor will doubtless be satisfied this morning that his side have moved six points clear at the top of the table. When he reflects on a performance that started so brightly, though, he must wonder just how it was that a well below par UCD team almost brought a point home with them.

The toll that the continued absence of Mick O'Byrne through injury is taking on the students was never more apparent than last night. The visiting side, when they came back into things in the second half, lacked the strength that he brings to their attack.

More pointedly, however, their problems lay at the back where Tony McDonnell's hamstring problem had broken up his blossoming partnership with Terry Palmer and here Aidan Lynch, no slouch himself, was experiencing some problems in filling in against the league's most prolific scorers.

Early on his discomfort, and that of Palmer, might have been exploited to far greater effect had Bohemians managed to finish what they seemed so freely able to start. With Paul Doolin linking up well with Brian Mooney down the right, Declan Fitzgerald quickly discovered that he was in for a rough ride while Derek Swan's taste for running straight at defenders repeatedly made the young full back's team mates look uncomfortable.

Last week James Coll put the Gypsies ahead after three minutes and this time Doolin might have managed it after four when he was put through by Eoin Mullen. But on this occasion the former Derry City man's attempted lob of Seamus Kelly had just a little too much power on it and the UCD goalkeeper must have been relieved, not to mention a little surprised when he turned to see the ball sailing back towards him off the bar.

Twelve minutes later the UCD luck ran out, though, when far too many of their defenders were caught flat footed by John Ryan's glancing touch to Mullen's corner and after Kelly made a fine stop with his foot Mooney made himself busy poking the loose ball home while half a dozen of his opponents simply stood and gawped.

It was as bad as the students have played this year and through most of the remainder of the half there was little sign of improvement, but despite continuing to enjoy the lion's share of the possession the league leaders seemed unable to gain any penetration around Kelly's goal.

Gradually, but steadily, the early enthusiasm drained out of their play and their inability to punish the confusion in the UCD defence allowed the game to remain a contest long after it should have been killed off.

By the break, indeed, they were lucky to be still in front with Eamon McLoughlin sending what had looked to be a highly dubious penalty a couple of feet over the right hand angle in the 43rd minute. Straight after it, when first Michael O'Donnell and then Robert Griffin enjoyed good chances to equalise from play, things seemed to be slipping from bad to worse.

For all that, though, Dave Henderson barely had to made a decent save through the match and his defence tended to be troubled only by corners which they seemed unable to clear effectively. Their worst bout of indecision struck in the 73rd minute when the ball seemed to hop endlessly about before Ciaran Kavanagh's driven shot from the edge of the area was blocked away and, though the students pumped the ball towards the area through the remaining quarter of an hour, they were not to come as close to scoring again.