Comforts drawn by both sides at the top

LEAGUE OF IRELAND PREMIER DIVISION/Bohemians 0 Shamrock Rovers 0:GIVEN THE pace of this contest the word stalemate hardly seems appropriate but a hard-fought derby at Dalymount Park yesterday nevertheless finished without a winner and so, with their five-point lead at the top of the table preserved, Bohemians would have been content with what was a decent ending to a disappointing week.

Bohemians had more of the ball over the 90 minutes and created the better of the chances. But their visitors again showed they could live with the league champions, earning their point through the industry they showed in every area of the pitch, even if they perhaps lacked the class in a couple of departments that might have enabled them to push their opponents a little closer and maybe even to nick the win.

“We’re happy not to be beaten,” said Michael O’Neill afterwards. “We’re gone head to head with the team that dominated this league last year and the honours have been even which is satisfying from our point of view.

“It would have been nice if we could have come and won but we’re unbeaten in 13 and Bohemians have a lot of games coming up with the Setanta Cup and the like so we just have to keep on doing what we’ve been doing.”

Pat Fenlon hailed what he viewed as a “first class” response to Wednesday’s European defeat. “It’s been a hard week, a hard two weeks for the lads but I though the performance today coming off the back of what happened this week was really first class. Rovers set out their stall and they were probably happy enough to get the draw in the end.”

Given their unbeaten run, Rovers arrived in optimistic mood on the back of an unbeaten run that stretches back to just before they beat the league champions in Tallaght in May.

In the weeks since, they have taken more points, scored more goals and conceded fewer than their rivals. Still needing to narrow a significant gap at the top of the table, though, they knew that securing another win at the expense of Pat Fenlon’s men would make their title aspirations seem a good deal more realistic.

Their game plan had certainly become obvious enough over the opening stages with the visitors looking to get men behind the ball, thwart Bohemians’ attempts to open them up and then hit their opponents on the break. And it worked well enough over the course of the first half even if Brian Shelley and Ken Oman rather comfortably dealt with the threat posed by Gary Twigg with support from Dessie Baker around the edge of their area.

The home side’s efforts through the early stages hadn’t been helped by an uncharacteristic inability to retain possession. In central midfield they enjoyed a clear edge over the visitors but on both flanks and up front they were repeatedly guilty of profligacy with Joseph Ndo a particular offender.

As things settled, the Cameroon native became a more positive influence even if he continued to try to do a bit too much at times in what was a consistently quick but often scrappy game.

Stephen Rice and Shane Robinson worked hard to match Paul Keegan and Gary Deegan in the centre and succeeded for long stretches but Bohemians posed more of a threat on Ndo’s, left flank while Jason Byrne’s willingness to drop out wide to the right at times to support a subdued Anto Murphy enabled the hosts to give Pat Flynn, switched from the right to replace the absent Ian Bermingham, a difficult time at left back.

Ollie Cahill did manage a couple of impressive runs down the left but like just about everyone else on the pitch, the former Cork City man seemed incapable of producing a decent finish.

He did force a smart enough stop from Brian Murphy, who had already saved well from Rice early on, with a low shot towards the bottom right corner 30 minutes in. But at the same end after the break Barry Murphy comfortably outdid his opposite number when he reacted quite brilliantly to prevent Aidan Price scoring an own goal after the defender had attempted a hasty block of Deegan’s shot from close range.

Late on, Byrne had a chance to leave him helpless when Keegan floated a fine free-kick into the striker’s path just beyond the far post but the attempted volley was poor and Deegan then also missed the target while under pressure from Price after a neat turn and through ball by Glen Crowe.

Rovers held on, though, and with the champions still to travel across the city to Tallaght again one more time, they’ll feel they can still be contenders through the final weeks of the season.

They’re unlikely to have either of their Slovakian trialists to help them over the coming months, however, with O’Neill conceding that neither is likely to be signed by the transfer deadline.

Fenlon, on the other hand, would probably happily settle for keeping what he has and the Dubliner insisted yesterday that he has been told he need not sell although his board might find any serious offers that might materialise from the various English clubs that attended Wednesday’s game hard to refuse.

BOHEMIANS: Murphy; Rossiter (Cronin, 85 mins), Shelley, Oman, Powell; Murphy (Brennan, 73 mins), Keegan, Deegan, Ndo; Byrne, Madden (Crowe, 73 mins).

SHAMROCK ROVERS: Murphy; Treacy, Sives, Price, Flynn; Purcell, Rice (McGill, 82 mins), Robinson, Cahill; Baker (Bradley, 82 mins), Twigg.

Referee: D Hancock (Dublin).