Paddy Madden was the hero for Bohemians as they booked their place in the quarter-finals of the FAI Ford Cup following a 1-0 victory over Shelbourne at Dalymount Park.

 

The Gypsies were in control right from the very start as Owen Heary connected with Ruaidhri Higgins' corner on 2 minutes to register the first shot on target.

 

While Shels keeper Dean Delaney had few shots to save, there were still plenty of chances created by the home side as they continued to rush forward at every opportunity.

 

Heary, Brian Shelley and Glenn Cronin all acted as the driving forces for Bohs as they kept their First Division opponents on the back foot for the majority of the game.

 

And the best move of the first half included two of those players as a chipped pass from Heary picked out Cronin, who backheeled to Jason Byrne, but the striker's shot was charged down by Gareth Whelan.

 

That didn't really matter though as Bohs took the lead within the same minute as the ball broke out to Heary and he supplied the perfect cross for Madden to fire in from close range.

 

The scoreboard should have been lit up a few more times as Byrne headed wide, Heary had a goal ruled out and Gareth McGlynn failed to connect with a header from Heary at the back post.

 

Shels, for their part, tried to play more positively in the second half, but they were limited to long-range shots as they struggled to break through Bohs' tough midfield and solid defence.

 

In the end, Pat Fenlon's side picked up a deserved win and they will remain one of the favourites to win the competition. But there is still a lot of football to be played yet.

 

Bohemians: O’Connor; Heary, Shelley, Oman, Powell; McGlynn (Brennan 68), Cronin, Higgins, Quigley; Madden, Byrne (Greene 58).

 

Shelbourne: Delaney; Quigley (Corcoran 67), Ryan, Whelan, Byrne; O’Brien, Scully, Shiels, McGill; Gorman, Hughes (Foley 75).

 

Referee: N Doyle (Dublin).