Bohemians 1 Shamrock Rovers 1: It may have been a largely new cast for this latest episode in Dublin soccer's most lively soap opera but they all seemed to know what was expected of them at Dalymount Park last night.
The city's most bitter rivals produced a derby with even more passionate rough and tumble than we have come to expect from the fixture down the years.
The teams started with just nine of the 22 that had lined out for the last league meeting between the clubs in November but there was no shortage of commitment from the new arrivals with both goals and quite a few of the more reckless challenges coming from players making competitive debuts for their new clubs.
Rovers looked second best pretty much from beginning to end and were lucky to take a point but Bohemians, who led from the 25th minute thanks to a Jimmy Aggrey goal, can only blame themselves for the two points that got way with the home side passing up quite a few chances to make the game safe before Thomas Heary's mistake in possession allowed Lee Feeney to grab a fiercely struck equaliser two minutes from time.
Not much about it was pretty to watch with Rovers countering the home side's best attempts at constructive approach work on a very poor pitch with a physical game that might easily have drawn more than the three yellow cards referee Ian Stokes felt were warranted.
Jason Gavin was one of those fortunate not to make the referee's notebook but it was his foul on Kevin Hunt that led to the Bohemians goal with James Keddy floating in a curling free which Dominic Foley flicked on for Aggrey, a close season signing from Welsh side TNS, to tap home.
The 26-year-old took some of the shine off his new found status as a fans' favourite moments later, however, when Martin Cameron left him trailing in his wake with a run down the right flank that he rounded off with a decent low cross to the feet of Trevor Molloy who, had his first touch been better, would have found himself in a good position to level the scores.
Bohemians were as much the better side in the second half as they had been in the first but, after Hunt narrowly missed the target with a curling 20-yard shot and Stephen Ward headed a well-judged Foley cross over, they remained vulnerable to getting caught out late on.
Sure enough Feeney, with Rovers after spells at both Linfield and Rangers, capitalised on Heary's error to salvage the draw, although the injury suffered by the defender in the challenge might well have been of as much concern to manager Gareth Farrelly as the points his side had thrown away.
BOHEMIANS: Gregg; Rice, Aggrey, Heary, Byrne; Harkin, Hunt, Farrelly, Ward; Grant, Foley. Subs: Keddy for Grant (19 mins), O'Brien for Harkin (80 mins), Cronin for Heary (89 mins)
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Payne; Gough, Gavin, McGuinness, Doyle; McCourt, McDonagh, O'Connor, Rutherford; Molloy, Cameron. Subs: Feeney for Cameron (61 mins), Caffrey for O'Connor (72 mins), Daniel for Gough (85 mins).
Referee: I Stokes (Dublin).
