Their strong recent form suggested that there wouldn't be much between these two sides at the end of another frantic Dalymount contest and sure enough the honours ended even. Shelbourne, though, may emerge the night's real winners for the visiting side's failure to take all three points at Dalymount last night leaves Dermot Keely's side with the opportunity to move four clear at the top of the table should they win at Bray tomorrow afternoon.

Had the course of the game been different then Damien Richardson might have been more disappointed with the outcome. But trailing for most of a game and grabbing a late equaliser has a way of putting a gloss on even the most bitter of blows.

On both of their previous meetings with the league champions this season Rovers had come away on top. On both occasions the score was 1-0, the scorer Tony Grant but any chance that he and his team might complete a strange hat-trick was scuppered just six minutes into last night's contest when Kevin Hunt's fine run through midfield and Dave Morrison's shot from the edge of the area gave the home side a lead they stubbornly held on to for the rest of the half.

Determined as they undoubtedly were, though, Bohemians still needed just a little luck to go in for the break in front. The visiting side created at least as many chances around goal as their hosts and Damien Richardson's side undoubtedly had the best opportunity a minute or so before the break when Jason Colwell found Billy Woods on the edge of the six-yard box only for the winger to badly fluff his shot with his weaker right foot.

Moments later the hosts struck back, building a move neatly out of midfield before Tony O'Connor knocked the ball firmly to the feet of Trevor Molloy, who produced a wonderful first touch, followed by a shot that skipped low across the goal and just the wrong side of the left-hand post.

The tightly fought pattern of the game continued unaltered into the second period with neither side capable of gaining a clear upper hand. Of the two, Bohemians produced the more flowing passing movements but increasingly those consisted of swift breaks out of defence, for it was their rivals who were exerting more pressure as the minutes passed.

The title chasers even got the ball into the net just short of the hour when Derek Tracey ended a prolonged scramble deep inside the Bohemians box by pounding the loose ball into the roof of the net. As he turned away in celebration, though, referee John Feighery had instead awarded a free out as a result of a push.

Late on there were a couple more scares for Stephen Kenny's back four although only after Fergal Harkin's low drive across the face of the goal had eluded Glen Crowe at the far post by no more than a matter of inches.

In the end Richardson fell back on a ploy that had served him well through his Shelbourne days, throwing on a central defender to release Pat Scully into attack. As it so often did then it paid off nicely with Tony Grant and Shane Robinson initially doing well before Scully produced a header that Wayne Russell could only push into the path of Stephen Grant.

For the former under-21 international it was a fifth goal of a season in which he has been overshadowed by Rovers's more prolific strikers. For his club it was enough to grab an important point but one that nevertheless may not prevent them suffering the same fate at the hands of their Tolka Park landlords at the season's end.

BOHEMIANS: Russell; O'Connor, Hawkins, John, Webb; Harkin (Folan, 85mins), Caffrey, Hunt, Morrison; Crowe, Molloy (O'Neill, 62 mins).

SHAMROCK ROVERS: O'Dowd; Deans (Cousins, 76 mins), Scully, Palmer, Byrne; Robinson, Colwell, Tracey, Woods (76 mins); Francis (Cronin, 86 mins), Grant.

Referee: J Feighery (Dublin).