Shelbourne 0 - 3 Bohemians
Credit:
Shelbourne remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier Division after they went down to a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Bohemians on Friday night.
Dinny Corcoran put the Gypsies one up in the first half before second half strikes from Ryan McEvoy and Dave Mulcahy sealed the victory that puts Bohs five points clear of Shels.
It could be sensed before kick-off that there was more at stake than pride at Tolka Park as both sets of fans traded ‘pleasantries’ before the game started.
A minute’s silence for a recently deceased member of the Bohemians community did little to diffuse the tension as the game got underway amidst an electric atmosphere in Tolka Park.
The intensity wasn’t just restricted to the fans as both teams were guilty of some over-zealous challenges in the opening exchanges. At first the long ball and head tennis were the order of the day but Adam Hanlon and Derek Pender tried to keep the ball on the deck for their respective teams.
Defences were clearly on top in the first 15 minutes, as both teams were unable to gain control and both sets of strikers were left feeding off scraps as shots from distance left both keepers untested.
The Gypsies grabbed a foothold in the game on 24 minutes when an Anto Murphy cross was neatly nodded down by Karl Moore then tucked away by Corcoran from 12 yards.
The game returned to its previous pattern after the goal, with Shels looking lean up front and Bohemians’ long range shots only troubling the Drumcondra end chip van.
The match didn’t lose its physicality towards the end of the first half with a number of crunching tackles, the worst of which forced Shels skipper Glenn Cronin off after 33 minutes.
Johnny McDonnell was not best pleased with his charges before half time with Sean Brennan in particular being on the receiving end of much flak from the home support.
The second half came too soon for the Reds as they appeared to be out of sync with the pace of the game. This was apparent early on as Bohemians’ Stephen Traynor nearly pounced on Graham Gartland’s misplaced clearance.
The visitors doubled their advantage on 56 minutes when a perfectly weighted Traynor cross was headed home by Ryan McEvoy. And Traynor nearly provided again when he put it on a plate for Keith Buckley only to see his shot cleared off the line.
As the game progressed the Gypsies continued to pile on the pressure and Lee Murphy was called into action with a fingertip save from Anto Murphy. But his efforts were in vain as Bohemians made it three when Dave Mulcahy latched onto Keith Buckley’s cross on 84 minutes.
The Shelbourne fans had left the ground in their droves before referee Paul Tuite could call time on this fiery edition of the Dublin Derby. The away support could be heard singing “Bohs are staying up” long after the final whistle had blown. It may not have been champagne football but they could well be proven right by the end of the season.
Shelbourne: Lee Murphy; Pat Flynn, Graham Gartland, Adam O’Connor, Ian Ryan (Derek Doyle 76); Adam Hanlon, Glenn Cronin (c) (Darren Tinnelly 33), Stephen Hurley, Sean Brennan; Lee Murtagh, Stephen Sheerin (Jamie McGlynn 60);
Subs Not Used: Niall Burdon (GK), Paul Andrews, Brian Gannon, Jake Donnelly.
Booked: None.
Bohemians: Dean Delany (GK); Derek Pender, Roberto Lopes, Dave Mulcahy (c) (Daniel Byrne 73), Luke Byrne; Anto Murphy, Keith Buckley, Ryan McEvoy, Stephen Traynor (Chris Lyons 90+3), Karl Moore (Kevin Devaney 90+3); Dinny Corcoran.
Subs Not Used: Dave Scully, Darragh Reynor, Andy Mulligan, Greg Murray.
Booked: Anto Murphy (27), Dinny Corcoran (71).
Referee: Paul Tuite.
Attendance: 2,028
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Stephen Traynor (Bohemians).
