Bohemians and Shelbourne must do it all again on Friday evening at Dalymount Park after neither was able to break the deadlock in yesterday's Harp Lager FAI Cup final at Tolka Park.

In what was a remarkably even contest both sides had opportunities to pinch the game but the nearest anyone went was shortly before the end when Shelbourne goalkeeper Steve Williams sealed a Man Of The Match award with a fine reaction save to keep Ray Kelly's close-range header out and his side in the hunt for the double.

"It was just one of those things," said the Welshman afterwards. "I didn't know whether anybody was there when suddenly he popped up. I just threw myself at it and I was delighted to make the save because to lose the game at that stage would have been very harsh after the way we had played over the course of the whole 90 minutes."

After all the banter between the two managers in the run-up to the game the two, Roddy Collins of Bohemians and Dermot Keely of Shelbourne, agreed afterwards that a draw had been a fair outcome to a very entertaining contest. Both reckoned that with a bit of good fortune their respective sides might have nicked it, but neither was complaining. "I thought it was a good, competitive game," said Keely, "odd in that while our other games this season have been very tight all the way through this one ebbed and flowed with the two sides each having spells when they were well on top. Overall, though, it was very evenly balanced."

Collins saw it pretty much the same way and paid tribute to Williams and particularly to his late save. "I thought it was a great match to watch. They edged us on experience but a lot of endeavour from our younger lads was enough to see us through."

The Bohemians manager had promised some surprises in team selection and dropped his regular strikers, choosing to play Derek Swan up front and Gareth O'Connor just behind him. Yet is wasn't until the second half, when they brought on Kelly and reverted to a more conventional 4-4-2 that they enjoyed their strongest spells. But it was the defence, and particularly Avery John at its heart, which impressed most for Bohemians. "I think it was probably one of my better performances since I came to Ireland all right," the 24-year-old Trindad and Tobago international said. However he may miss the replay because of international duty.

"We are playing Haiti (on Saturday) and I think I would start, which would be wonderful for me, but I won't know until, maybe, tomorrow," he said.