National League Premier Division: Bohemians 4; Shelbourne 0: As it turned out, the game and Shelbourne's performance were to be overshadowed by what followed afterwards.

It is not every day, after all, that a manager decides to call it a day after his team has, on paper at least, won the championship title.

If the Tolka Park club's players do end up getting league winners' medals, though, they'll be haunted forever more by the asterisk that will accompany their entry in the record books.

And if they ever care to recall in any detail how their dubious success was achieved, then they'll surely be keen to skip over this, a fairly pathetic display that tended to undermine even their claim to being Dublin's second best side.

Dermot Keely called it "an embarrassment" and it's hard to imagine that any of those who had been more directly involved could have argued.

From the first minute until the last, they were taken apart by Bohemians whose superiority can hardly be entirely explained away on the basis of players playing for cup final places.

Kevin Hunt's opening goal was nothing to shout about, a mishit shot that bounced over the goalkeeper after having initially been driven into the ground, but given the quality of the defensive work being produced by the visitors it was, at 30 minutes in, well overdue.

After Pat Fenlon forced a good stop from Wayne Russell in the ninth minute, Shelbourne never once produced another shot on goal while for Bohemians, Trevor Molloy, on his final appearance for the club, and Glen Crowe might easily have run riot.

A couple of others had chances to chip in too, but it was Crowe who did end up doing a good part of the damage.

In the second half, he scored twice to bring his tally for the season to 20 in the league, 31 in all competitions.

Fergal Harkin's 10-yard drive 12 minutes from time wrapped up Shelbourne's worst defeat of the season.

"A performance like that is never acceptable," said a calm but clearly dismayed Keely afterwards.

"Even if we had won the league by seven points, there wouldn't be any excuse for it - and if that's the measure of what I can produce as manager here then Shelbourne deserve better."

The speed with which Keely's decision to quit was accepted by Ollie Byrne, meanwhile, appeared to have been influenced by the latter's desire to revive the idea of a play-off with St Patrick's Athletic, a proposal the manager has been steadfastly opposed to.

"On two separate occasions during the course of saga we have offered the hand of friendship, but our players have made arrangements for holidays and we can only deliver now if decisions are made within the next 48 hours."

Even after it's supposed to be over, this title race may yet produce its most remarkable twists and turns.

BOHEMIANS: Russell; O'Connor, Caffrey, Hill, Webb; Harkin (Byrne, 82 mins), Hunt (Folan, 78 mins), Morrison, Rutherford; Crowe (O'Neill, 86 mins), Molloy.

SHELBOURNE: Williams; Hutton, Prenderville, Gannon (Burns, 58 mins), Heary; D Byrne, Crawford (Minnock, half-time), Fenlon, Houlihan (B Byrne, 58 mins); R Baker, Geoghegan.

Referee: J Feighery (Dublin).