National League/Bohemians - 0 Drogheda Utd - 0: Bohemians and Drogheda United played out a scoreless draw at Dalymount Park last night - a result that will only satisfy the soon-to-return Shelbourne.

Ireland's Champions League representatives return to domestic action to face Cork City this evening knowing that victory would see them move back above Drogheda to the top of the table.

However, given the way last night's game panned out, it will be Drogheda who will be happier to have earned the draw.

They only just survived on occasions, as twice in the second half Bohemians hit the crossbar, while they also had to play the final 20 minutes with 10 men after Steven Grey was dismissed for violent conduct.

Bohemians, on the other hand, will wonder what they have to do to turn around their home form. This season they have picked up just 10 of their 31 points at home, but rarely can they have dominated to such a degree and failed to win.

For 90 minutes, they bombarded the Drogheda defence but failed to get the scores that their play deserved.

James Keddy could have put Bohemians ahead after just 30 seconds with a powerful right-foot drive that Gary Rogers stopped with his legs and the goalkeeper was called into action again in the seventh minute to spectacularly save another long-range effort by Keddy.

The Bohemians onslaught continued with Fergal Harkin and Kevin Hunt both seeing snap shots go wide, but Drogheda gradually got to grips with the game, and nullified Bohemians' threat.

They created little, however, with a Tony Bird volley from a Gavin Whelan cross, which Shay Kelly did well to save, their best opportunity.

In the second half, it was all Bohemians. They hit the crossbar for the first time in the 55th minute when Glen Crowe crashed a header off the woodwork from Harkin's corner.

Nine minutes later, Dave Morrison's dangerous cross evaded everybody, including the goalkeeper, to hit the crossbar, with Foley failing to make proper contact on the rebound.

The odds on Bohemians going on to claim the victory increased with 19 minutes remaining when Grey received his marching orders for elbowing Foley in an off-the-ball incident but, despite throwing everything but the kitchen sink forward, they failed to grab a deserved winner.

BOHEMIANS: Kelly; Rice (Grant, 83 mins), Heary, Hawkins, Webb; Harkin, Hunt, Keddy, Morrison; Foley, Crowe.

DROGHEDA UNITED: Rogers; Flanagan, O'Connor, Grey, Sandvliet; Whelan, Molloy, Lester, Cronin (Reilly, 69 mins); Bird, O'Brien.

Referee: D McKeon (Dublin).