Bohemians ease relegation worries

TWO early goals from Derek Swan gave Bohemians an early advantage which they never looked like surrendering and also took some weight off their relegation worries.

Dundalk travelled to Dalymount Park yesterday with more immediate concerns of survival having lost three of their last four games, yet their performance hardly suggested the severity of their situation. They hadn't won a league game at Dalymount for over six years and the lack of both conviction and flair on this occasion never brought them close to breaking that deadlock. The loss now leaves them sharing second to last spot with only four games left.

Bohemians won't regard this as one of their better days either, although they were kick-started into the action after just 90 seconds when Swan's first run into the box ended with a penalty. He had Graham Lawlor open to his left but Noel Melvin was guilty of an illegal tackle that brought Swan to the ground and presented the opportunity to create an early lead.

The visitors did manage to hold a decent amount of possession for a time, but they weren't able to make it count. A slip-up in midfield by Lee Thew on 14 minutes was punished by a second Bohemians goal. Lawlor took the ball down his left side and, with a inch perfect pass, found Swan on the run in. His first touch was too swift for Steve Williams in front of the net. The few chances for a response went well astray with only David Hoey coming close to testing Michael Dempsey's hands before the end of the half.

Swan always looked capable of sneaking in around the box at the other end, while Paul Byrne was also willing to try his luck from a long way out. Dundalk, however, were given a much-needed boost seven minutes before the interval when David Crawley made the most of his free kick 18 metres from the goal. He swerved it right past the wall and into the top left corner of the net. Bohemians tightened their backline to ensure their lead remained. Dempsey had a close call when one of his clearances bounced off Maurice O'Driscoll and hit the crossbar. Hoey made a couple more progressive runs but the support was never forthcoming. The introduction of Ciaran Dunne and David Martin also lifted things in the last 10 minutes, but they never looked like scoring.

O'Driscall and Robbie Brunton, however, were most effective in keeping the Bohemians defence tight and ensuring that maximum points were kept in the bag.

BOHEMIANS: Dempsey; O'Conner, Brunton, Maher; O'Driscoll, Byrne, Mooney, O'Hanlon; Swan, Lawlor, Mullen.

DUNDALK: Williams; Reddish, Crawley, McNulty; Brady, Melvin, Campbell, Thew; Hoey, Ward, Brennan. Subs: McGinnity for Thew (45 mins), Dunne for Ward and Martin for Brennan (both 79 mins).

Referee: G Perry (Dublin).