Bohemians 2 Cork City 0The transitional nature of this season might mean that the campaign still runs into the new year, but two more goals from Glen Crowe at Dalymount Park last night kept alive the prospect that long-time leaders Bohemians might kill off the title race in time to celebrate the arrival of 2003 with particular abandon.
Before the game, Cork City manager Liam Murphy had identified his side's lack of application as their main problem when on the road, but by half-time he might easily have added defensive prevarication to the list of shortcomings.
Phibsborough is hardly the place to come and defend absentmindedly these days, but twice in last night's opening half Murphy's back four couldn't match the speed of thought or movement shown by their hosts, and the result was that by the time the two sides made their way in for the break the game already looked to be beyond Cork's grasp.
Crowe's first goal had come just 13 minutes in, the product of good work initially by Paul Keegan and Stephen Caffrey and then fierce determination on the part of the league's top scorer who, having stolen a yard on his marker, then held off the challenge to steady himself before driving the ball low past Michael Devine.
City stepped up their game somewhat in an attempt to produce an equaliser but their tendency to squander possession by knocking long balls too far forward made it all look rather easy for the locals who, just short of the half hour, almost grabbed their second.
Crowe produced a darting run down the left, but his cross to the far post was better judged than Bobby Best's attempt to turn it back between Devine and the post.
Crowe, though, didn't need long to provide the cushion of the second goal. Caffrey again provided the through ball but looked to have overhit it slightly. Both Daniel Murray and Devine looked better bets than the 24-year-old to make first contact, but the striker got a touch at full stretch and the two City players were left to carve up the blame between them.
Predictably, the league leaders were playing now with a lot of confidence and Fergal Harkin, as he had done very early on, tested Devine with a low driven shot towards the near post. But when City threw on Colin P O'Brien for the second half and Stephen Kenny lost first Crowe and then Keegan to injury, the balance appeared to shift slightly with the visiting side finally beginning to look capable of producing a threat.
Ashley Bayes was forced into making a couple of decent saves and there were glimpses of the uncertainty at the heart of his defence that has been evident so often this season. The need for the visitors to guard against being caught on the break by Harkin, Ryan and Mark Rutherford, though, prevented them from completely committing themselves.
And so Bohemians, having survived their worst spell of the evening, gradually got their game flowing again despite the industry of Cork's Greg O'Halloran on the right and the willingness of those in front of him to chase whatever half-chances came their way.
Caffrey remained outstanding in central midfield for the Dubliners and, with Kevin Hunt also contributing much in front of his defence, they pressed forward looking for the third goal that Harkin, more than once, could have scored. The misses won't exactly haunt him over the Christmas, though, as he and his team-mates take time to reflect on a championship race in which the hard bit looks to have been done.
BOHEMIANS: Bayes; O'Connor, Coughlan, McNally, Webb; Ryan, Hunt, Caffrey, Harkin (Reilly, 85 mins); Keegan (O'Neill, 56 mins), Crowe (Rutherford, half-time).
CORK CITY: Devine; Carey, Daly, Murray, Horgan; Warren, O'Halloran, Bennett (Colin P O'Brien, half-time), Woods (Colin T O'Brien, 80 mins); O'Flynn, O'Callaghan (O'Grady, 80 mins).
Referee: P McKeon (Dublin).
The Derry City v St Patrick's Athletic game due to be played at the Brandywell last night was postponed because of a frozen pitch. The game has been rescheduled for tomorrow with the kick-off to be confirmed.
Bohemians ... 2
Cork City ... 0
