Bohemians 1 Dundalk 2
Having briefly threatened, along with Cork, to turn this title race into some strange sort of slow bicycle race a couple of weeks back, Dundalk are now hurtling forwards again with their win here restoring a four point cushion that they might well need during the frantic few weeks ahead.
Unlike their rivals, Dundalk are doing just enough to win their games at present and here they helped to make life much more uncomfortable for themselves than might have been the case by prodding the home side out of what looked a contented slumber a little over an hour in.
For the previous 40 minutes or so, they had led thanks to their first without Bohemians looking especially put out about it but the manner of their second got Bohs’ backs up in some style and, having quickly equalised through a cracking Kurtis Byrne volley, the locals were fired up enough to give the champions a fair few anxious moments through the closing stages.
Bohs certainly looked entirely up for it, from the point, 20 minutes into the second half, when the referee dropped a ball to restart play after an injury to Byrne and the hosts stood off in the expectation that the champions to return possession. Instead, David McMillian played it back to Stephen O’Donnell who took off towards their box and Derek Prendergast’s challenge on the advancing Dundalk player spoke volumes about his view of the behaviour.
The defender was booked but the concession of the free proved more costly with John Mountney hitting a low effort that took a deflection on the way past Shane Supple and into the bottom right hand corner. The boos that rang around the ground comfortably drowned out the celebrations.
The fans might have been unhappy at the perceived injustice or breach of etiquette but few could have expected that any good might come of it for after the way Dundalk had dominated the opening hour or so; the game, it seemed, was over. The Bohemians players, however, immediately lifted themselves and proved reluctant to leave the comeback at Byrne’s strike.
In the period that followed, they finally put Dundalk under some real pressure and after a couple of half chances and a penalty shout that received loud support from the stands, Byrne went closest to grabbing an equaliser seven minutes from time when he turned Keith Buckley’s square ball narrowly wide of the left hand post.
Dundalk hung on but the home side received an ovation at the end despite their own run of four league games unbeaten having been brought to an end. Had they played all night the way they did towards the end it is entirely possible they would have taken something from the game but for most of the night it really looked to be a case of how many the champions might win by.
Still, it had taken a touch of self-destruction from the Dubliners for Dundalk to get their breakthrough. Their problems started in midfield where Buckley gave the ball away but he looked to have been let off the hook when the resulting break broke down only for Dylan Hayes to needlessly hoof the ball behind for a corner when it might easily have been cleared. Mountney then floated the ball in from the right and Brian Gartland powered it into the roof of the next from eight yards out wth Supple left completely helpless.
The lead took the pressure off the visitors and Stephen Kenny’s men settled into what looked to be a patient but persistent search for their second. It was only when they forced the issue and got that second that things actually began to get tricky.
BOHEMIANS: Supple; Fitzgerald, Byrne, Prendergast, Fitzgerald; Lopes; Kavanagh, Buckley, Wearen, O'Halloran (Kelly, 61 mins); Byrne.
DUNDALK: Rogers; Gannon, Gartland, Boyle, Massey; O'Donnell, Finn; Mountney (C O'Connor, 85 mins), McEleney (Shields, 67 mins), Horgan; McMillan (Shiels, 86 mins).
Referee: J McKell (Tipperary).
