League Report: Bohemians 1 - 1 Longford Town

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Frustration bred more frustration on Friday night as Paddy Kavanagh's opener for Bohemians following Keith Buckley's first-half dismissal could do nothing but earn his side a point at Dalymount Park as Noel Haverty's shock equalising header just before the break earned Longford Town a deserved point.

The match eased into itself early on as the high-flying, yellow-card funfair theme of the night would pervade later in the game.

Early chances from Kevin O'Connor and Ismahil Akinade on either goal established an even opening ten minutes before Lorcan Fitzgerald's teasing corner saw Derek Prendergast head the ball narrowly wide of the post in a well manoeuvred set piece that had Longford's defence frozen.

Ayman Ben Mohamed brought Tony Cousins's side back into proceedings as the ball fell to the midfielder. However his tricky effort of dangling the ball in front of Derek Prendergast before snatching it back in a clever dribble failed to materialise as the Bohs centre back stood his ground to martial the chance clear.

Ben Mohamed would find it tough going in the first half as Roberto Lopes presented a commanding presence on the pitch with the Bohs captain’s luminous armband highlighting him flying into every tackle, retrieving the ball where and when a Longford chance came begging.

Buckley would find himself the first name in referee Jim McKell's book as a yellow card was forthcoming for the midfielder's dissent. Dave Mulcahy was booked shortly after for a rule breaking tangle in front of the referee's eyes.

Lopes also went in the book but not before Buckley departed for an early shower ten minutes before the break as his challenge on Pat Sullivan was deemed worthy of a second yellow.

Bohs came back swinging when it seemed least likely in their wallowing pit of vexation as Paddy Kavanagh grabbed a game which was lacking shots on target. He dribbled past a befallen Ben Mohammed before taking the ball past Rhys Gorman and slamming his shot past Paul Hunt for the lead.

The Bohs were cut short almost immediately however as Ben Mohamed made up for his slip with a deadly accurate corner that Longford centre half Noel Haverty headed home a looping effort into the top corner to make it 1-1 at the break.

The Gypsies did not dwell on their bad luck however as they came at their opponents from the off in the second period. Fitzgerald's precision from set-pieces on the night showed again five minutes into the second half as his outswinging corner was pounced upon by the head of Akinade, only for Haverty to clear the ball off the line to keep the scores level.

Former Bohemians striker Dean Kelly rattled the visitors when his sweeping effort from twenty-five yards smashed off the post when it looked more likely to rip the net.

But Keith Long's side pushed on, with Fitzgerald's free kick past the hour mark stinging the wall before the ball was sent back in for Derek Prendergast to angle a header over the crossbar.

The introduction of David O'Sullivan for Dean Kelly and James Kelly for Karl Moore showed both manager's intentions of obtaining a winning result from the game.

Substitute James Kelly brought Bohs something needed in midfield providing a connection between defence and attack, but even his neat link-ups with the perfectly timed runs of Akinade behind enemy lines could not yield a scoring opportunity.

This, coupled with the pervasive appearances of yellow cards from Jim McKell's pocket, caused a frenzy of boiling anger and perhaps justified frustration amongst the home support as the game came to an underwhelming end in front of them.

Ben Mohamed drifted inside on the right wing to cause headaches for Stephen Best and Derek Prendergast late on but a lack of cutting edge enveloping the game meant his effort died out and was cleared with the game petering out to a fair 1-1 draw.

Bohemians: Dean Delany; Lorcan Fitzgerald, Derek Prendergast, Dave Mulcahy (Eoin Wearen 86), Dylan Hayes; Karl Moore (James Kelly 63), Roberto Lopes, Keith Buckley, Paddy Kavanagh; Ismahil Akinade

Subs not used: Lee Steacy (gk), Dan Byrne, Kealan Dillon, Robbie Creevy, Jason Byrne.

Bookings: Buckley (19 + 36), Mulcahy (23), Lopes (47), Prendergast (76).

Sent off: Buckley (36).

Longford Town: Paul Hunt; Pat Sullivan, Martin Deady, Noel Haverty, Ryhs Gorman; Lorcan Shannon (Kaleem Simon 72), Stephen Rice, Kevin O'Connor, Ayman Ben Mohamed, Gary Shaw; Dean Kelly (David O'Sullivan 65)

Subs not used: Paul Skinner (gk), James Mulhall, Mark Salmon, Philip Gannon, Mark Rossiter.

Bookings: Shannon (47), Gorman (67).

Referee: Jim McKell.

Attendance: 1,296.

ExtraTime.ie Man of the Match: Noel Haverty (Longford Town)