FAI CUP FOURTH-ROUND REPLAYS: Bohemains 0 Dundalk 0:BRIAN MURPHY was again the penalty shoot-out hero for holders Bohemians, scoring and saving as the holders reached the quarter- finals after a bad tempered affair at Dalymount Park last night.
There were fireworks within the opening quarter of an hour as both sides were reduced to 10 men with Dundalk lucky it wasn’t nine. Gary Deegan was the first to see red for reacting to an Alex Williams challenge in the fifth minute.
Dundalk’s advantage lasted just seven minutes as Michael Daly joined Deegan after a heavy tackle on Conor Powell and a minute later Michael Collins should have followed him down the tunnel after he reproduced Deegan’s moment of madness with a similar forearm smash on Owen Heary but he saw yellow.
It quietened down after that but a last-ditch Kevin McKinley tackle denied Neale Fenn a one-on-one shot on goal as half-time neared while Liam Burns brilliantly blocked a Joseph Ndo shot as they went in scoreless.
Darren Mansaram brought out the best in Brian Murphy 13 minutes into the far more entertaining second half. Ndo was becoming a more menacing threat with a low shot that went just wide.
Bohemians went agonisingly close twice in the last five minutes as Owen Heary roamed forward and his shot deflected on to Jason Byrne’s head only for Kevin McKinley to clear off the line. A minute later Anto Murphy had a free header in the box but the ball flew wide and the game went to extra-time.
Bohemians pushed for a winner with a Byrne free just going wide and McGuinness going close with two headers before Peter Cherrie brilliantly denied Ken Oman with almost the last touch, taking the game to penalties.
Up stepped Murphy who saved from McKinley after scoring his own, setting up Paul Keegan to finish the job on a night of high drama.
BOHEMIANS: B Murphy; Rossiter (Madden 95), Heary (McGuinness 90), Oman, Powell; Brennan (A Murphy 67), Keegan, Deegan, Ndo; Fenn, Byrne.
DUNDALK: Cherrie; McGowan, Burns, Heary, Kelly (Mulvenna 64); Daly, Collins (Mansaram 14) (Creaney 97), McAreavy, McKinley; Rowe, Williams.
Referee: D Hancock (Dublin).
