Bohemians dropped eight points behind leaders Shelbourne when held to a scoreless draw by Shamrock Rovers in a match marred by crowd trouble at Dalymount Park last night.

The game was only four minutes old when dozens of Bohemians supporters spilled onto the pitch after being attacked by a group of 30 rival Rovers fans.

Referee Gerry Perry took the players back to the safety of the dressing-room while order was restored by gardai and stewards.

It was 22 minutes before play resumed. There was one arrest for another incident, a supporter lunged at a Rovers player.

Those incidents seemed to unsettle both sides as the standard of football left much to be desired. Graham Lawlor came closest to scoring for Rovers on the half hour but his shot was well blocked by goalkeeper Michael Dempsey. Then Ray Kelly was narrowly wide of the target. Shaun Maher nearly had Bohemians ahead on 38 minutes when his glancing header was just wide. Midfielder Jason Colwell was unfortunate when his dipping shot from 22 yards on the restart struck the upright. Rovers were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty when Pascal Vaudequin appeared to pull back striker Sean Francis.

Bohemians were under pressure when first Michael Dempsey grabbed a long-range free kick by Marc Kenny at the second attempt. A late Woods cross was grabbed by Dempsey at the feet of Lawlor.

BOHEMIANS: Dempsey; Vaudequin, Maher, John, Brunton; Byrne, Hunt, Caffrey, G O'Connor; R Kelly, Harris. Subs: T O'Connor for Vaudequin (53 mins), Swan for Harris (61 mins), O'Driscoll for G O'Connor (70 mins).

SHAMROCK ROVERS: O'Dowd; Brazil, Purdy, Palmer, Dunne; Kenny, Colwell, Tracey, Woods; Francis, Lawlor. Subs: Stewart for Francis (73 mins).

Referee: Gerry Perry (Dublin).