Glen Crowe may have missed out on his chance to make a little bit of Bohemians history by scoring in a ninth consecutive game for the club, but with Trevor Molloy finding the mark instead there weren't too many long faces around Dalymount Park last night.
They've played better this season, but the three points that Molloy's second-half strike earned them were enough to send them above Shelbourne and Derry to the top of the table - at least until this evening when their two main rivals meet each other at the Brandywell.
That Harps came prepared to settle for a draw was apparent from the outset. With their top scorer Alex Nesovic slipping into central midfield and Kevin McHugh left to forage up front by himself, they posed almost no threat to the home side's defence for the bulk of the opening period. They were just happy to make life difficult for the home team.
They certainly achieved that, and Molloy's low, driven shot towards the bottom-left corner from a very tight angle was the only time that Harps goalkeeper Gareth Downey was forced to make a save before the break. At the other end, it was only in the closing few minutes of the half that the visiting side came close to anything of consequence.
Most of the time, McHugh looked as isolated as one of those cartoon shipwreck survivors who sits under a palm tree on a pile of sand in the middle of nowhere. With a minute to play before the interval, though, the Bohemians back four took their eye off the 20-year-old and when some quick thinking by Dom Tierney sent the striker clear, it took a swift intervention by Martin Russell, a long way off his line, to prevent the Donegalmen taking a surprise lead.
Having survived the scare, Bohemians set about things a bit more effectively after the break. Though the move that led to their opening goal started with a controversial free for offside, there was nothing uncertain about the finish, with Molloy blasting low past Downey from 12 yards out for his third league goal of the season.
The Dubliner might have had a second not long after when he just failed to make contact with a Brian Shelley cross from the right. Still, McHugh should definitely have grabbed a much needed point for the visitors at the other end just short of 20 minutes from time. He robbed Dave Hill cleanly inside the box only, after he had done the hard bit, to shoot straight at Russell.
BOHEMIANS: Russell; O'Connor, Maher, Hill, Webb; O'Keeffe (Shelley, 53 mins (O'Neill, 79 mins), Hunt, Caffrey, Hopper; Crowe, Molloy.
FINN HARPS: Downey; Kenny, Dykes, Fitzhenry, Bradley; Kenny, Mohan, Nesovic, Tierney, McGranaghan (Bonner, 65 mins); McHugh.
Referee: A O'Regan (Cork).
