BOHEMIANS kept up their National League challenge with a well deserved win over Athlone Town at St Mel's Park last night.
Bohemians were always in control and once they went in front after just 13 minutes, they continued to create plenty of goalscoring chances.
Tony Mannion's side never rose to the challenge that Bohemians presented and now find themselves three points adrift of Drogheda with the play off place out of reach again.
The much travelled Padraig Dully repaid the faith put in him by his manager by scoring in either half. He opened the scoring with a close range effort after 13 minutes following in on Maurice O'Driscoll's header which came back off the crossbar.
Derek Swan then made it two for the visitors with an excellently taken goal from 25 yards in the 22nd minute and the game was over as a contest midway through the second half when Dully scored again.
He made it three for Bohemians in the 63rd minute when he managed to intercept a loose ball in the six yard area and then watched it bobble over the goal line.
. Bray Wanderers had to put the champagne back on ice and thoughts of Premier Division football to the back of their minds for another week at least as they were surprisingly beaten by Waterford United at the Regional Sports Centre last night.
It was a deserved, if unexpected, victory for Waterford whose manager Mick Bennett resigned on Monday night. The only goal of the game came after 66 minutes when Bray goalkeeper Pat Trehy was caught in two minds as he came for a Kevin Kelly cross and Brian Barry stole in behind him to loop a header into the net.
Bray, for whom a win would have clinched the First Division title as well as promotion, pressed hard but couldn't find a way past Waterford goalkeeper Scott Garlich, who made excellent stops from both Bray strikers Kieran O'Brien and Ritchie Parsons.
In last night's other game Longford Town and Kilkenny City drew 1-1 at Strokestown Road. Teenager Eric McDonald scored his second goal in a week to give Longford a 16th minute lead, while Ray Foley replied for Kilkenny 12 minutes before halftime.
