Before the game got started it was difficult to imagine what exactly would be required to bring the Bohemians crowd to life. Even the sparkling form their side had shown over the past few weeks didn't seem to have any impact on the Dalymount attendance and when, five minutes before the kick-off the teams were announced, neither set of names prompted even a murmur of approval from the stands.

If the spectators needed a bit of a jolt, though, it wasn't long about coming. Within eight minutes, the same amount of time it took Donal Broughan to put them ahead a few weeks ago in the FAI Cup match, John Caulfield had chased up Noel Hartigan's flick on off Dave Henderson's clearance and scored. Bohemians promptly stepped up the pace and headed off in search of an equaliser and it started to become clear that we were going to be in for what would be, at the very least, a decent afternoon's entertainment.

Indeed, from then on what we were treated to was a compelling exhibition of open, passing football. By the end City were lucky not to have lost by more and the fans, as they drifted out of the stands, were left to wonder just what might have been if only their team didn't seem so determined to play to their potential for no more than a few weeks at a time.

In their first few outing of this campaign Bohemians had once again seemed capable of mounting a serious challenge for their first league title in two decades. Too often, however, after a strong start lacklustre displays cost them and a shortage of goals were to prove costly and by the time Dundalk arrived to play at Phibsboro in December, even Turlough O'Connor's talk of snatching a place in Europe sounded a little fanciful.

Since that night only St Patrick's, who were fortunate in the extreme, have taken a point from them in the league and Cork manager Dave Barry had cause to be grateful yesterday that when the two sides met in the cup, the Dubliners failed to maintain the revival.

When City took the lead in that match there was no discernible urgency about the home side's play over the remainder of the game, where this time every player appeared to be desperate to take something from the match.

While Caulfield looked sharp for Cork, his task was not made any easier by the fact that City's other striker, Hartigan went over awkwardly on his ankle early on. More troubling than that, though, was the form of the Bohemians back four of whom Eoin Mullen, who scored the equaliser from 15 yards after Derek McGrath's corner had been poorly cleared, might just have been the worst of a very good bunch indeed.

Certainly his central defensive partner, Maurice O'Driscoll, caused the visitors endless problems around their area from set pieces and it was little surprise when the big man put his side in front 10 minutes before the break after McGrath had followed up a poor corner kick with a far more threatening ball from the right.

From that point on there could have been few, other than the City players, who doubted which side was going to win. The home side was on top in every department and looked far more likely to extend their lead than concede an equaliser. With just over the hour played, however, and completely against the run of play, Broughan bundled over John Cotter to gift the visitors a penalty which Kelvin Flanagan belted into the bottom left hand corner. Suddenly a seventh consecutive draw looked a pretty attractive prospect to Dave Barry who, when reflecting on what had happened subsequently, may ponder why his men had not, on this occasion, shared his lack of ambition.

"You can only hope that it was a lesson for them because a lot of them are still young lads," he said with a sigh. "We like to try to push the ball out wide and play attractive football but sometimes you just need to be professional about it. Kill the game off even if it's not pretty and take your point. The way Bohemians were playing out there today that's what we should have done but instead we decided to take chances."

Sure enough, they continued to allow their hosts to play and Bohemians enjoyed so much possession inside the City half that it seemed virtually inconceivable that they would not regain the lead. What was a surprise was the quality of Derek Swan's goal, the striker meeting Donal Broughan's cross sweetly on the half-volley to crash the ball in off the left hand post from more than 20 yards.

A couple of positional switches and the introduction of Fergus O'Donoghue failed to halt the southerners' slide and while Cotter went close with a curling shot from the edge of the area seven minutes from time, the locals were scarcely flattered by their fourth which Paul Doolin tapped in after Swan had turned Tommy Byrne's low cross past Noel Mooney.

Bohemians: Henderson; Broughan, O'Driscoll, Mullen, O'Connor; McGrath, P Hanrahan, Doolin, Mooney; Swan, Lawlor. Subs: Byrne for Hanrahan (88 mins), Ryan for Lawlor (81).

Cork City: Mooney; Daly, Coughlan, Cronin, Long; O'Brien, Flanagan, Murphy, Cahill; Hartigan, Caulfield. Subs: Napier for Coughlan, Cotter for Hartigan (half-time), O'Donoghue for Flanagan (78 mins).

Referee: H Byrne (Dublin).