Longford 0 Bohemians 3 (Crowe 7, Shelley 23, Fenn 68)

Despite the one-sided nature of the score- line, Pat Fenlon will be pleased with this work-out on a soft pitch at Flancare Park.  Despite the playing conditions and competitive midfield exchanges, Bohs seemed more capable of adapting their game and quickly got into their stride. In contrast, the home side took some time to acclimatise and the quality of the visitor's passing and ball retention saw most of the early traffic travelling in the direction of Longford's goal.

Bohemians threatened as early as the fifth minute when Gary Deegan playedFenn through on goal but the striker's effort was cleared by the Longforddefence.  Glen Crowe was to go one better two minutes later. A ball fromGlenn Cronin was deftly lifted over the Longford rearguard by Neale Fenn. Bohemians' record goal-scorer ran on to dink the ball over the advancing Brendan Murphy to record Bohemians' opening goal.

There was more incident in the Longford penalty area as the visitors attempted to double their advantage. Fenn again found himself in space but the Longford defenders crowded him out as he was about to shoot. Killian Brennan combined well with Gary Deegan and Owen Heary down the left to put the full back in behind Longford's back four but an offside flag was raised. A cross from Neale Fenn found the head of Crowe but the effort was saved by the Longford custodian. By the 17th minute, Longford has adjusted their game plan and were putting much more pressure on Bohemians' passing movements.

Their tactic of closing down the man in possession almost paid immediate dividends when Adrian Murphy took advantage of some loose play to send Derek Glynn through on goal.  Ken Oman managed to get back in time and his tackle was at the expense of a corner.  Out of nothing in the 23rd minute, Bohemians were two nil up. Brian Shelley unleashed a powerful shot from 20 yards from the right

corner of the box.  In the 26th minute, a run down the left by Heary was rewarded with a free kick on the edge of the Longford box. Brennan's shot was deflected for a corner. McGuinness managed to connect with Deegan's in-swinger but he could not direct his effort on the target. The balance of the first half was characterised by scrappy play and misplaced passes.

Bohemians resumed the second half with no changes. A saved Glen Crowe effort following some neat close control officially got the action going again. Colm Jinks responded for Longford by spurning a free header just outside the six-yard box.  Jinks again popped up in the box three minutes later but his effort was easily saved by Brian Murphy.

Longford continued their spell of pressure and Gary Curran's shot rebounded off Murphy to Derek Glynn. His blocked effort ran to Curran again but Murphy finally took control of the situation. Neale Fenn almost made it three nil on 55 minutes with a curling shot from the right but the ball just drifted past the left goalpost. Fenlon rang the changes at this point and Mark Rossiter and Glenn Cronin made way for Anto Murphy and Paul Keegan.  Another great chance went a-begging on 63 minutes. Fenn cut a Brennan free kick back for the on-rushing Deegan whose shot was somehow deflected over the bar by the Longford Keeper.  Following that miss, the Midlanders managed to recycle possession around the visitor's box to exert some continuous pressure. Through a melee of bodies, a powerful dipping shot looked goal bound until Murphy directed it away for a corner. Bohemians responded to the close-call immediately. Good interplay between Anto Murphy and Glen Crowe allowed Neale Fenn to turn and shoot for the edge of the box. His pile-driver found the top-corner like a guided missile.

Despite some additional personnel changes, Bohemians maintained their rhythm. Some neat play saw a Killian Brennan shot saved. The wide man was cursing his luck a minute later when clean through on goal but flagged offside. A foul by Anto Murphy on Liam Lynch gave Longford a free kick on the edge of Brian Murphy's area and how the resulting set-piece did not find the back of the net is a mystery. A vicious in-swinger from the left seemed to evade several lunging Longford players. Though it was not redirected, the ball missed the bottom corner by a whisker to leave Murphy's clean sheet intact. Glen Crowe had a glorious chance to make it an emphatic four at the death but somehow he failed to connect with a cross in front of an open goal.

Overall, this was a good run-out for Bohemians and the testing ground with have honed their collective calf muscles to perfection.  Some of Bohemians' interplay was very impressive and some of the touches from Neale Fenn and Brian Shelley in particular were a joy to behold. Glenn Cronin caught the eye in the middle of the park with his link-up play and appetite for the ball. The manner in which the ball was effortlessly conveyed between players in tight situations was very encouraging.

Bohemians;

Brian Murphy, Owen Heary (Capt), Brian Shelley, Jason Mc Guinness (Brian

McCarthy 77), Ken Oman (Sean Byrne 77), Glenn Cronin (Paul Keegan 57), Gary

Deegan, Killian Brennan, Mark Rossiter (A. Murphy 57), Neale Fenn, Glen

Crowe

Referee; Mark Gavin

Assistants; James Dermody & Eugene Deering