Bohemians 1 Shamrock Rovers 0 | Airtricity League

Bohemians 1 Shamrock Rovers 0

Tuesday, 05 October 2010 09:35

Bohemians kept the Premier Division title race alive by claiming a 1-0 win over Shamrock Rovers in a thrilling derby on Tuesday.

Jason Byrne scored the only goal of the game on 21 minutes with a well-taken finish to inject some hope into the Gypsies’ bid to win the league for a third straight year.

Bohs dominated in the first-half and deservedly led going in at the interval, although they probably should have held a greater margin as the visitors failed to threaten at all.

The league leaders were surprisingly slow to get going with a 4-5-1 formation restricting them from getting service into top scorer Gary Twigg, who cut a frustrated figure up front.

That allowed Bohs to push their opponents back into their own half with Paul Keegan and Glenn Cronin excelling in central midfield as they linked play, won tackles and ignited counter attacks.

It was Cronin who registered the first shot of the game when he volleyed wide on 17 minutes after a punched clearance from Rovers keeper Alan Mannus landed in front of him.

Bohs did not have to wait long to get the goal that their early play merited when Cronin chipped a ball to the back post where Ken Oman got up ahead of Craig Sives to nod down to Byrne and he finished from close range for his 10th of the season.

With encouragement from the bulk of a 3,400-strong crowd, Pat Fenlon’s side took control of the game but did not test Mannus as much as they should have with Byrne’s tame header on 25 minutes representating a rare chance.

The former Republic of Ireland international then limped off with a leg injury to make way for Paddy Madden, although that early change did not disrupt their play as they saw out the first period on top.

After the break, it was Rovers who increased the tempo with Thomas Stewart replacing Paddy Kavanagh as manager Michael O’Neill switched to a 4-4-2 set-up.

Twigg almost got them back level on 53 minutes when a crazy back pass by Oman led to a chance that the Hoops frontman had cleared off the line by Brian Shelley.

Bohs eased their way back into the contest after that scare with Madden firing wide, while Billy Dennehy headed just off target for Rovers as the momentum swung back and forth.

Madden again tried his luck with a shot that Mannus held and a header from Twigg tested the alertness of Bohs keeper Barry Murphy, but Bohs held on to win.

The victory takes Fenlon’s side onto 61 points, which is just two behind Rovers with three games left to play. The title race is still very much alive.

Bohemians: Murphy; Rossiter, Shelley, Oman, Powell; Brennan, Cronin, Keegan, McGlynn; Cretaro (Greene 86), Byrne (Madden 35).

Substitutes Not Used: Sexton, Lopez, Higgins.

Shamrock Rovers: Mannus; Flynn, Sives, Price, Stevens; Kavanagh (Stewart h-t), Rice, Turner, Chambers (Fenn 69), Dennehy (Baker 79); Twigg.

Substitutes Not Used: Jennings, Bradley.

Referee: A Kelly (Cork).

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