The subject of a good deal of transfer speculation just a few weeks ago, Ray Kelly continued his Dalymount rehabilitation last night with the goals that earned his side a place in the draw for the semi-finals of the Harp Lager FAI Cup.
Kelly, a former trainee at Manchester City who had failed to make an impact since signing for Roddy Collins until his recent recall to the first team, finally ended a tame Bohemians push for an opener in the 63rd minute when he finished well from close range after Robbie Brunton and Tony O'Connor had combined well. Twelve minutes later he killed the game off with an eight-yard volley when he connected with Paul Byrne's cross from the right.
It was as well for Collins that somebody from the home side brought their shooting boots to the game because by the time Kelly finally put the ball beyond St Mochta's goalkeeper Billy Quane, the possibility of the team placed second in the Premier Division having to replay the Clonsilla outfit who play their football in what is effectively the third division of the Leinster Senior League must have been causing everyone on the Bohemians bench more than a little concern.
Just how the visitors managed to stay level as long as they did remains a mystery. It must, for a start, have been a major topic of discussion in both dressingrooms during the interval, but what's certain is that it had a great deal more to do with the shortcomings of Bohemians around the box than with the defensive abilities of their opponents.
During those opening 45 minutes Collins's side had no fewer than 12 corners, not to mention a steady succession of free-kicks around the area.
But between them, the setpieces threw up only one chance of real note - Byrne's corner from the right getting a couple of touches on before Stephen Caffrey's attempt to poke the ball home near the far post was blocked on the line by David Cummins.
It was a terribly poor return for a team that still has ambitions to pinch the league title this season.
From play, which Bohemians entirely dominated, they fared somewhat better with Quane at least required to make a stop or two.
None, though, required much more than the avoidance of a spectacular blunder by the 27-year-old who must have been almost as surprised as the rest of us at the lightness of his workload.
Perhaps spurred on by their half-time pep talk, the Leinster league side started the second half with the air of a team who reckoned they could make something more than a turkey shoot of the proceedings.
Soon after the re-start a quick Robert Kelly free-kick allowed Ciaran Fitzpatrick to steal a yard on Shaun Maher, but the defender recovered well, tracking back quickly before making a perfectly-timed challenge just short of the area.
By then Fitzpatrick had already given a couple of warnings to the home side that he was the mostly likely source of trouble.
On the stroke of half-time, in virtually the first time the ball made it into the last quarter of the Bohemians half, Fitzpatrick and Eoin Mullen became involved in a fairly prolonged tussle. It only ended when the pair realised that their team-mates were making for the dressing-room without them.
Fitzpatrick was scarcely back on the pitch when he was just beaten to a Gareth Groves free by Robbie Brunton. Had he gotten onto the end of it, then we might have seen what Bohemians were really made of with a humiliation staring them in the face.
As it was they held their nerve and won, but without ever making the obvious gulf in class tell.
BOHEMIANS: Dempsey; Vaudequin, Maher, Mullen, Brunton; Byrne, T O'Connor, Caffrey, G O'Connor; Crowe, Kelly. Subs: Swan for Crowe (52 mins), O'Hanlon for Vaudequin (63 mins), Harris for Brunton (82 mins).
ST MOCHTA'S: Quane; Keating, Massey, Balfe; Salmon, Norton, R Kelly, Cummins, Groves; Fitzpatrick, Donovan. Subs: Hughes for Salmon (67 mins), Wilson for R Kelly (77 mins), Seery for Donovan (90 mins).
Referee: J Stacey (Athlone).
