Extra spice in squared encounter

THE racing may have been postponed for a day out at Leopardstown but up at Dalymount Park there was a large crowd on hand to witness Dublin's other big sports event of the day.

Some people in FIFA reckon that football isn't exciting enough and recommend that the goalposts be widened, offside abandoned and all manner of other changes be made.

In this clash, however, referee Dick O'Hanlon took a more ad hoc approach to spicing up the game. A penalty here, a sending off there and hey presto what might have been a pedestrian affair was injected with more than its fair share of excitement.

The first sign of the referee's distinctly interventionist approach came after just four minutes of yesterday's clash.

Home Farm's central defensive unit of Peter Eccles and Brendan Place was caught for the first, but certainly not the last, time of the day and Derek Swan found himself clean through with only the approaching Robert Forde to beat. Forde, however, played his part to perfection, throwing himself to the ground as his opponent attempted to round him and succeeding in pushing the ball wide towards the edge of the area.

The fact that Swan then fell over the goalkeeper seemed incidental to most onlookers and the crowd's surprise was as audible as Forde's despair was obvious when O'Hanlon rushed towards the area signalling to the spot.

Tommy Byrne slotted the spot kick past Forde who even more bizarrely had been merely booked for what must, in theory, have been a sending off offence - and suddenly Home Farm's task, which had never seemed easy, started to look entirely hopeless.

There were indeed chances for the home side to extend their lead over the next 20 minutes with Derek McGrath heading just wide and Paul Doolin missing the target from close range when he had both the time and the space to do a great deal better.

Home Farm, though, never looked second best and when O'Hanlon sent Doolin off in the 29th minute for a rough but innocuous challenge on Thomas Lawless they weren't long about turning the referee's even handedness to their advantage.

Within two minutes the impressive Roy Fox had sent in a dangerously floating cross which Dave Henderson failed to clear. Graham Doyle had a long time to pick his spot but even then his shot took a deflection off Trevor Vaughan that deprived the Bohemians goalkeeper of whatever slim chance of saving he might otherwise have had.

The hosts, whose title challenge has faltered in recent weeks, pushed forward after the goal in search of a win and might have retaken the lead before the break when Tony O'Connor got clean through only to send the ball soaring over the bar as well as the goalkeepeer.

After the restart, though, Turlough O'Connor's side went as close to losing as winning with both of the visiting side's best chances falling to Vaughan. The 23 year old pushed the first, in the 66th minute, just the wrong side of the left post and it took some fine work from Henderson to prevent the second from hitting the back of the net.

With four minutes remaining Place had to time his tackle well to deny Swan after Forde had rashly committed himself.