LEAGUE OF IRELAND: Bohemians 2 Bray Wanderers 0 TITLE RACES may be more marathons than sprints but Bohemians looked supremely comfortable leading the defence of theirs from the front at a lively pace at Dalymount Park last night.

The defeat by Cork here a few weeks ago must have provided hope to their rivals but this win makes it 10 points from 12 since then and really, having reminded us of just how well they can play when they want to, they looked to be coasting after late first-half goals by Killian Brennan and Jason Byrne put them on course for victory.

Brennan’s goal was a cracker, a trademark free that left Cork goalkeeper Chris O’Connor helpless as it cleared his wall then dipped into the bottom right corner. It was the overall quality and pace of the passing and movement during a 25-minute spell towards the end of the opening period that will have pleased manager Pat Fenlon most, however, for on this sort of form few of the chasing pack could hope to keep up.

Bray had started brightly and might even have capitalised on some poor defending to open the scoring when Dave Mulcahy’s shot from the edge of the area flew just wide of the angle. Steadily, though, their hosts got going and by the midway point in the half it was Bohemians who were starting to make all of the running.

Having tightened things up at the back, they allowed the Bray Wanderers strikers very little scope to threaten while the speed with which they moved the ball through midfield left the visitors chasing their tails, particularly after Stephen Brennan was forced to limp off in the 36th minute.

By then O’Connor must have started to feel a little besieged as the champions threatened his goal from all angles. Brennan fired just wide after a neat exchange of passes with Joseph Ndo, an attempt by Byrne flew just over, and then Ken Oman and Byrne both failed to turn Conor Powell’s corner home as defenders stood all around them simply hoping, it seemed, for the best.

They got away with it on that occasion and when Dane Massey appeared to make contact with Brennan just inside the box the referee waved play on.

Their luck ran out, though, in the 41st minute when Mulcahy fouled Brennan just outside the area and the former Derry City man picked himself up to curl the free-kick over the wall and into the top corner.

Moments later the home side pretty much put the result beyond doubt with Brennan involved again before Brian Shelley, providing the overlap down the right, crossed for Byrne who coolly found the bottom left corner with his close-range header.

It was the striker’s 145th league goal in a career that started with Bray more than a decade ago and it moves him into the country’s all-time top-10 list.

Apparently not content with the achievement, though, there were a couple of occasions – a 12-yard drive that went wide and a goal disallowed for offside – during the second half when it seemed he might move straight on to chipping away at the lead enjoyed by those still ahead of him in the record books.

To be fair, though, any more goals would have been a little harsh on Bray Wanderers who never let their heads go down on what could have turned into a very difficult night.

With the points safe, Bohemians did let up on them a little but Eddie Gormley’s side worked hard through the second period even if they never really threatened to get themselves back into the contest.

Gary McCabe managed a couple of mid-range shots, the first of which forced a smart reaction save from Brian Murphy but O’Connor was always the busier of the two goalkeepers for the simple reason that the hosts were comfortably the better of the two sides.

BOHEMIANS: Murphy; Shelley, Heary, Oman, Powell; Brennan, Ndo, Deegan (Keegan, 58 mins), Carey (A Murphy, 68 mins); Byrne, Crowe (Fenn, 77 mins).

BRAY WANDERERS: O'Connor; Webster, Deans, Foran, Massey; Kavanagh, Brennan (Shields, 36 mins), Mulcahy, Flood (Kelly, half-time); McCabe, Byrne (Mulroy, 71 mins).

Referee: A Kelly (Cork).