A LACK of goals but certainly no shortage of entertainment at Oriel Park last night as Dundalk and Bohemians played out a thrilling 0-0 draw.

 

 

Bohs came into the game boasting a 100 per cent record but Pat Fenlon surprised many with his formation. Anto Flood, so effective up front in the Gypsies' opening two league games, started wide on the right with Killian Brennan deployed in the centre of the park.

 

 

Flood and Owen Heary posed plenty of problems down the right flank and the best opportunity of the half arrived from that side in the 24th minute. Owen Heary bombed down the flank before delivering an inch perfect cross which the unmarked Chris Fagan could only head over from eight yards.

 

Dundalk, who had earlier went close through the in form Mark Quigley, gave the ball away too easily to really take control but they looked a threat up front with Jason Byrne twice going close against his old employers.

 

The Gypsies though looked the more likely and they almost took a half time lead when Mark Rossiter's attempted cross in the 44th minute had Peter Cherrie back peddling to turn the ball over his crossbar.

 

Both sides had chances to pull in front inside the opening eight minutes of the second half. Quigley got up highest to head a Kearns free over the bar in the 50th minute and two minutes later Bohs should have been a goal to the good.

 

Lee Dixon was the creator, bursting past Keith Ward and Simon Madden to feed Steven Traynor. Traynor's first touch left Shane Guthrie for dead but he slightly telegraphed his strike with Cherrie getting down to save to his left.

 

Bohs were inching closer to taking the lead at this stage and Nathan Murphy had to hack a Fagan shot off the line on the hour mark but Dundalk, and Daniel Kearns in particular, seemed to come alive with the Belfast boy forcing a great save from Murphy with 20 minutes to go. Substitute Johnny Breen then saw a header cleared off the line by Heary as the game flowed from end to end.

 

There was still time for late drama with referee Damien Hancock leaving the field to a chorus of boos after turning down a home penalty claim late on when Kearns went down under a Cahill challenge.

 

DUNDALK: Cherrie; Madden, Guthrie, Hawkins, N Murphy; Kearns, Maher, McDonnell (Breen 70), Ward; Byrne, Quigley.

 

BOHEMIANS: B Murphy; Heary, Burns, Price, Cahill; Flood, Brennan, Rossiter, Dixon (Joyce 75); Traynor (Somers 90), Fagan (Buckley 84).

 

REFEREE: D Hancock (Dublin).