LEAGUE OF IRELAND PREMIER DIVISION:Shamrock Rovers 1 Bohemians 2
IT MAY have been a little tougher to come by than most victories they've earned of late, but Bohemians came from behind to make it 10 straight league wins last night at Tolka Park with goals from Gary Deegan and Mindaugas Kalonas sending them 19 points clear at the top of the table.
It was fiercely contested affair from beginning to end but against rivals reduced to 10 men after just 18 minutes, the league leaders always looked likely to have enough to maintain their startling run of victories.
Over the course of the second half they might really have had another one or two goals but a bigger margin would have been harsh on a spirited Shamrock Rovers side, for whom Joseph Ndo always looked threatening on the break.
The visitors arrived having gone 658 minutes of league football without conceding a goal and the record seemed less likely to come to an end last night when Bohemians striker Neale Fenn went down under a challenge from Darragh Maguire and the defender, who was the last man back, was issued with a red card by the referee.
Killian Brennan curled the resulting free kick just wide of the angle but it didn't seem to matter too much at that stage of the match for after what had been a bright and energetic start, Pat Scully's men looked certain to lose a good deal of their attacking impetus as they sought to reorganise at the back.
Instead, they took the lead on 20 minutes, Tadhg Purcell becoming the first man to find the back of the Bohemians net since team-mate Eoin Doyle nearly two months ago.
More remarkably still, it was the first time since May 2nd, when Pat McWalter scored at Belfield, that the title favourites had found themselves behind on the scoreboard in a league game.
On that occasion Killian Brennan had them level again with a spot kick within two minutes. However, here it was to take a little while longer.
The balance of the game, however, shifted significantly in their favour almost immediately after the goal.
Rovers sought to get bodies behind the ball and smother the runs of the Bohemians front men who found it difficult to get time on the ball within striking range of the home side's goal.
All it took in the end, though, was a momentary lapse of concentration to allow the visitors their chance.
Gary Dempsey pulled his side level with a wonderful left-footed finish that clipped the inside of the post as it flew home after two defenders had failed to cut out a fine through ball on the turn by Glen Crowe.
Through the second half the pressure on Shamrock Rovers was fairly relentless and Crowe might well have scored himself when Robert Duggan declined to handle a back pass from Ger O'Brien for fear of conceding a free-kick.
When he chested the ball down instead, the striker pounced but his rushed shot spun across the face of the goal and just narrowly wide.
Scully's men though, couldn't quite hang on and having been left out of the starting line up, Kalonas got the decisive goal within a minute of arriving on from the bench.
Owen Heary set the Lithuanian international on his way down the right side but the 24 year-old then turned Rovers left-back Corie Treacy magnificently before beating Duggan at his near post to propel his side that little bit closer to the title.
SHAMROCK ROVERS:Duggan; Madden, O'Brien, Maguire, Treacy (Martin, 82 mins); O'Connor, Flynn, Doyle (Rice, 21 mins); O'Connor, Ndo; Purcell (Amond, 63 mins).
BOHEMIANS:Murphy; O Heary, McGuinness, Burns. Rossiter; Murphy (Kalonas, 74 mins), Deegan (T Heary, 93 mins), O'Donnell (Cronin, 82 mins), Brennan; Fenn, Crowe.
Referee:A Kelly (Cork).
