Cork City's hopes of going one better in the League than last season were severely dented yesterday with Bohemians hauling back Shelbourne's lead to just five points.
A 3-0 defeat of the southerners combined with St Patrick's Athletic third successive loss sent Roddy Collins and company three points clear of the main chasers and within striking distance of Dermot Keely's outfit.
Afterwards Dave Barry, whose side has taken just two points from their last five outings, admitted that the road back would be a tough one but, just as Collins skated around the issue of whether the Dubliners were now serious contenders, Barry was still some way off throwing in the towel.
"It's going to be difficult," he said, "because we knew that the games against Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers gave us opportunities to make up ground on some of our closest rivals.
"We certainly haven't taken the first of these chances but I was actually quite happy with the commitment shown, particularly in the first-half." Overall the visitors certainly created as many chances as their opponents in a tightly packed midfield battle which was eventually decided by the better finishing of the locals.
While Derek Coughlan had a goal disallowed, to the bewilderment of both the City player and manager, and Wayne Russell produced outstanding close range stops from first John Cotter and then Colin O'Brien, the City defence simply could not withstand the constant pressure.
The contest clearly involved sides determined to get forward and win for many to suspect that they were in for a scoreless draw and they were not disappointed. The first goal arrived on 56 minutes with Glen Crowe ending a neat set-piece with a shot from six yards.
Having gone behind, City pressed forward in search of at least a draw, making it an even more open tussle as gaps started to appear across their back-line.
The problems in that department, singled out in recent weeks by Barry as a key factor in what is now a run of three defeats and two draws, started to appear long before the breakthrough.
Crowe shooting straight at Phil Harrington when put through by Avery John and then failing to get back on side before Garreth O'Connor had threaded the ball across the area, were the best of the chances early on for the locals but there were others.
As the chances came with greater regularity, however, first Jamie Harris - with a fine drive from some 20-yards - and then Derek Swan, introduced for Harris four minutes from time, finished the visitors off.
There was no way back for the Southerners, who had simply looked increasingly second best to a Bohemians midfield and attack that grew confident and sharper the longer the game went on.
At the back the Dubliners, who welcomed back Shaun Maher from injury, looked much better than in recent weeks if hardly the polished article quite yet.
Still, they dealt fairly well with the threat of Pat Morley who, after Robbie Brunton had cleared off the line in the second minute, rarely made much of an impact.
And with Wayne Russell in sparkling form again, the home team had a little bit of licence to ride their luck. That they did, admirably, and if they continue to manage the trick so effectively over the coming months, they could not only establish themselves as genuine contenders - as Collins might say, - but widely popular ones also.
Bohemians: Russell; Caffrey, Maher, Mullen, Brunton; G O'Connor, O'Hanlon, John, Dempsey; Crowe, Harris. Subs: Byrne for O'Connor (73 mins), Swann for Harris (86 mins).
Cork City: Harrington; Napier, Coughlan, Daly, Cronin; C O'Brien, Cotter, Herrick, Cahill; Hartigan, Morley. Subs: O'Halloran for Daly (48 mins), Caulfield for Hartigan (73 mins).
Referee: J Feighery (Dublin).
