Bohemians 3 Sligo Rovers 0:Make no mistake about it, Bohemians were flattered by this scoreline. Sligo deserved great credit for the manner in which they set about their hosts but Séamus Coleman's sending off late in the game left them rudderless at a time when a point was clearly on the cards.
Until that point they dominated possession, frustrated their opponents and showed tremendous tenacity in the physical exchanges, of which there were many.
Sligo took a grip on midfield early on so Bohemians channelled much of their work thereafter down the flanks. But wingers Ryan McCann and Dean Richardson were guilty of wayward crossing when strikers Glen Crowe and Darren Mansaram were well positioned inside.
But Coleman's dismissal, after a crude 70th-minute challenge on substitute John Paul Kelly, killed Sligo's resistance and gifted Bohemians a lifeline.
The locals made hay, not once, not twice, but thrice. First, with 15 minutes to play, a free-kick was rolled into Stephen O'Donnell's path and the midfielder drove high into the net from 25 yards.
Then, two minutes later the locals came back for seconds as Mansaram beat Richard Brush with an angled shot. Mark Rossiter completed the scoring with a fabulous drive from distance which flummoxed Brush.
BOHEMIANS: Murphy; Rossiter, Heary, Burns, Powell; McCann (Kelly, 59 mins; McGinley 73 mins), O'Donnell, Turner, Richardson; Crowe (Rice, 83 mins), Mansaram.
SLIGO ROVERS: Brush; Coleman, Peers, Mackenzie, Foy; Cash (Gordon, 68 mins), Ventre, Boyd, Cretaro; Kudozovic, Judge (Curran, 72 mins).
Referee: P Tuite (Dublin)
