Rovers 1 Bohs 2

Rovers first-half efforts not enough...

Rovers started this Dublin derby on the offensive and Sean O'Connor in particular caused the Bohs defence all sorts of problems. After only 5 minutes he burst down the left and fed Ndo in space in the area but Murphy beat away his strike. Two minutes later O'Connor again got behind the Bohs defence but Bohs cleared the cross. Purcell had a snap shot saved on 10 minutes before O'Connor again got in down the right only to be taken down. He took the free-kick himself but Murphy claimed the ball.

Bohs had not threatened the Hoops goal until the 18th minute when Maguire couldn't control the ball and Fenn nipped in to dispossess him and Maguires attempts to regain possession saw him clash with Fenn and the Bohs striker fell to the ground. Referee Kelly had no hesitation in showing Maguire the red card to the dismay of the Hoops fans.

However the despair turned to delight as two minutes later an Ndo short corner to Sean O'Connor saw him cross for Purcell to head past Murphy from the six-yard area. Bohs hit back but Treacy made a fine defensive header before 'keeper Duggan made a fine claim from a free-kick. Ndo, Rice and Danny O'Connor combined well on 34 minutes but Murphy claimed the cross well. Rovers had a scare in the 42nd minute but Sean O'Connor and Duggan combined to snuff out the danger. Purcell couldn't find Ndo when he burst forward on 43 minutes but all Rovers hard work was undone a minute into added on time when Bohs broke right through the middle to set-up Deegan who fired past Duggan and into the net off the post.

The second-half was always going to be a struggle with only 10 men but Rovers didn't help their cause by giving the ball away cheaply. Crowe got on to a through ball in the 48th minute and clashed with Duggan who dropped the ball but recovered to force Crowe to shoot wide. Brennan then fired in a free-kick that Duggan punched away. O'Brien was dispossessed by Crowe on 55 minutes but Flynn got across to clear the danger. Crowe then volleyed over from Fenn's pass.

Ndo tried to relieve the pressure when going on a run down the right on 58 minutes and a minute later he fired in a cross that was just too far ahead of Purcell. Duggan made a fine reaction save when a Heary shot deflected off O'Brien after more Bohs pressure. O'Brien and Duggan conspired to hand Crowe a golden opportunity on 67 minutes but he hit the post when it looked easier to score. Substitute Amonds shot from distance didn't really trouble Murphy on 74 minutes.

A minute later substitute Kalonas made space for himself on the right hand side of the box and squeezed his low shot past Duggan at his near post. It was a soft goal for Rovers to concede even if Bohs looked the most likely to score. Just three minutes later Kalonas again was free on the right hand side of the area but this time Duggan advanced to block his shot.

Rovers tried hard to get something out of the game and in the 81st minute Ndo followed up his own free-kick to blast a shot towards goal but a Bohs defender blocked the shot. From then on Bohs held on to the ball to claim all three points.