SHELBOURNE DID JUST enough to keep their noses clear of Bohemians in fourth place but this draw ensures their battle for a European place will likely go down to the wire.
With six games remaining the gap between the sides remains a single point after the hosts earned a deserved draw courtesy of Ali Coote’s powerful second-half strike.
Jack Moylan’s opportunistic opener in the 24th minute had given Shels the edge and put them on course for a fourth successive victory.
That form has catapulted Damien Duff’s side up the table and into the Euro reckoning.
It has coincided with Bohs’ dip and until Coote’s rescue act it looked as though they would slip further back in fifth.
Instead, they rallied and were left frustrated to end the night with the draw.
But when Moylan struck early on the home fans would have taken a point. The goal summed up the nature of the first half.
Shels alert and quick off the mark to make their own luck; Bohs suffering the consequences for being sluggish and laboured.
Harry Wood’s harmless pass into the left channel should have been easily dealt with by Krystian Nowak. The centre half was caught napping, though, and didn’t anticipate that the Shels attacker would cover so much ground.
Moylan got in front of the Polish defender and all of a sudden created an opportunity out of nothing.
He still had plenty to do but with Nowak seemingly still frazzled, he cut inside without any fuss and the goal opened up in front of him.
Keith Buckley did his best to get his teammate out of a hole but the Bohs captain couldn’t recover in time as Moylan got his shot away.
It was a powerful one, struck low and accurately beyond the outstretched hands of James Talbot into the far bottom corner.
It was his second goal in a matter of days having also found the net against Cork City at Tolka Park on Friday.
After the ball hit the net, Moylan continued his run with the momentum behind him and was mobbed by boss Damien Duff and the rest of the Shels bench as he celebrated in front of the packed Mono Stand filled with the travelling fans.
They were in a state of abandon and their side were now in control.
Bohs had threatened for the first time a minute before falling behind, good work from James Clarke and Jonathan Afolabi down the right flank creating a chance for Danny Grant coming in from the left wing.
He miscued his header and barely 60 seconds later Bohs suffered another blow.
The winds were knocked from their sails and the defensive structure of the visitors was proving tough to penetrate.
Afolabi was an outlet, showing to feet and also running into space, but Bohs couldn’t create anything off him because the service was limited.
Their best chance of an equaliser came in the 41st minute when Coote’s dangerous free kick from the right wing was met by Jordan Flores. He made a strong connection with his header but directed it just wide.
Flores had the ball in the net on 58 minutes but referee Rob Harvey disallowed the goal after Afolabi was punished for backing into goalkeeper Conor Kearns when he came to collect a cross from substitute Bartlomiej Kukulowicz.
He was introduced at the break for Adam McDonnell as Declan Devine re-jigged things by moving Buckley into the centre of the park alongside James McManus.
Bohs did get more control of the ball as a result but Duff’s side still seemed relatively comfortable in their own shape.
Still, the earlier threat on the counter offered by Wood and Will Jarvis – the two players on loan from Hull City – wasn’t quite there and Moylan also fell to the periphery.
The Shels boss attempted to see the game out with a triple substitution in the 72nd minute.
Paddy Barrett replaced Shane Griffin in defence and Wood was withdrawn for Andrew Quinn, who made it a back five for the visitors.
The intention was clear but within two minutes the outlook changed when Bohs drew level,
A fantastic Coote strike from 20 yards, just left of centre, arrowed its way past Kearns.
It was a fierce effort and the Shelbourne goalkeeper was well beaten.
He was grateful for a more tame Coote strike in the second minute of injury time finding its way safely into his hands as the away side escaped back to the corner of the northside with a slender advantage in the battle for Europe.
Bohemians: Talbot; Buckley (captain), Nowak, Radkowski, Flores; Coote, J McManus (Akintunde 75), McDonnell (Kukulowicz HT), Clarke (O’Sullivan 90), Grant (McDaid 66); Afolabi.
Shelbourne: Kearns; Wilson, Molloy, Byrne (captain), Griffin (Barrett 73); Farrell (Hakiki 62), Caffrey, Lunney, Wood (Quinn 73), Jarvis (Arubi 94); Moylan.
Referee: R Harvey.
Attendance: 4,390.
Written by David Sneyd and posted on the42.ie
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