Champions' run-in proved they're a cut above rest

LEAGUE OF IRELAND PREMIER DIVISION:WHEN THE season kicked off in March you wouldn't have got much of a price against Bohemians coming through to defend their title. And now, barring a 17-goal turnaround in the two contenders' final games next week, they have done just that.

Pat Fenlon had endured a tough close season, with his work cut out just to keep players amid financial difficulties and reduced wages.

But the problems were even greater at their closest challengers from last year, St Patrick’s Athletic, who actively encouraged many squad members to leave after finishing 19 points off the pace in second place.

The calamities in places such as Cork and Derry were yet to unfold, but Bohemians looked well-placed to top the table again.

In the end, though, it has been tougher than most would have anticipated, with Michael O’Neill’s Shamrock Rovers pushing their cross-city rivals to within sight of the finishing post.

The scale of that achievement won’t provide much consolation as they reflect on Bohemians’ imminent success this morning. But Rovers’ challenge provided us with a title race exciting enough to overshadow, sometimes at least, the mounting difficulties at clubs up and down the country.

Ultimately, Bohemians proved to be the better side, not least in the last few weeks as they bounced back from the defeat at Tallaght to secure five vital wins in a row.

It was the team’s best run of league form this year and that it was sparked by a decidedly below-par performance in Tallaght that had appeared to hand the initiative to their rivals says a good deal about team’s character.

They have not been quite as formidable as in 2008, with seven games lost to date this time compared to just two then. But the change in the league’s structure will have had some affect on that.

There have been some surprising setbacks, like the 1-1 draw in Drogheda at the end of July – when only Neale Fenn’s late strike saved them from defeat – the loss in Sligo a month later or the remarkable Bray victory at Dalymount the following week.

But perhaps the most striking failure was their inability to take more than four points from the clashes with Rovers. They lost both away games.

On the second trip to Tallaght they played poorly and the home win was no great surprise, but the previous two encounters both might have yielded better results and made the title defence somewhat more straightforward.

So, they did it the hard way but their achievement is scarcely devalued for that. A variety of outstanding performances from players across the team have contributed to the fact that they have again outscored all their rivals while being tighter at the back.

And, on their night, they were a good deal better than any of the challengers.

Brian Murphy, who is widely expected to head to Ipswich during the coming weeks, has again been the league’s best goalkeeper, while the likes of Ken Oman, Gary Deegan and, once again, Jason Byrne have all contributed richly to the team’s success.

With money tight, the squad trimmed and injuries, particularly in defence, a significant factor at times, players have shown themselves to be adaptable and determined in difficult circumstances while, up front, Paddy Madden’s form in recent weeks has been the strongest indication that Fenlon’s stated intention of bringing more young players is bearing fruit.

Quite how the club will cope with its financial challenges remains to be seen and, in reality, this is poised to be the first title success that will not feel completely secure until the club’s accounts have been lodged and the league’s money men declared to be completely satisfied.

Nothing, though, will change the fact Bohs have again proved themselves the league’s best.