Sporting Fingal 0-2 Bohemians

Sporting Fingal were left ruing missed chances when they lost out against Bohemians for the second time this season.

Fingal started brightly and Glen Crowe nearly came back to haunt his old side when he looked to latch onto Lorcan Fitzgerald’s cross only for Ken Oman to head clear.

Bohs didn’t sit back however, and Mark Quigley found himself in space in the centre of the park and pushed forward on five minutes. The striker decided to have a go and he shot narrowly wide of Darren Quigley’s left upright.

Oman once more saved his sides blushes when he headed Conan Bynre’s free kick out for a corner with Kenny Browne breathing down his neck.

Crowe then had a glorious chance to open the scoring but he miscued his shot with the goal at his mercy. Ronan Finn followed up the effort from the edge of the box but his shot couldn’t find its way through the bodies in the box.

Fingal were causing Boh’s major problems down the left hand side of the pitch and their next chance from that route.

Crowe headed the ball into the path of Gary O’Neill who fired the ball across the face of the goal on but Byrne couldn’t get to the ball quick enough.

From the resulting Byrne corner on 37 minutes, Browne came even closer to breaking the deadlock when his header rebounded off the upright.

The deadlock was broken a minute later when substitute Anto Murphy’s cross was headed past Quigley by the inrushing Gypsies skipper Paul Keegan.

It was 2-0 just five minutes when the Fingal defence stood off Gareth McGlynn who made the most of the space and fired low into Quigley’s bottom right hand corner.

Fingal came out all guns blazing in the second half as they looked to drag themselves back into the tie but failed to get any meaningful attempts on goal in the opening minutes of the half.

Neither side had the same success in attack as the first half but Fingal continued to push forward in search of their first goal.

Bohs came close to putting the game out of the host’s reach when Quigley’s cross was headed just over by Paddy Madden who had come on for Jason Byrne early in the half.

Fingal needed a spark and Liam Buckley introduced Eamon Zayed into the game in place of Crowe.

But the Gypsies looked comfortable in defence and threatened on the break with Quigley looking dangerous on the left wing.

Stephen Paisley came agonisingly close to finding the Bohs net ten minutes from time when Zayed failed to connect with Byrne’s free kick which rolled to the feet of the Fingal captain who fired his shot wide from the edge of the six yard box.

Fingal’s night got worse when Fitzgerald was shown a second yellow for a foul on Anto Murphy on 83 minutes.

Bohs held out to pick up the three points leaving Fingal disappointed to lose against the only side they have been beaten by to date this season.

Sporting Fingal (4-4-2): D. Quigley; O’Brien, Paisley, Browne, Fitzgerald; C. Byrne, Finn, McFaul (Kirby 76), Williams (James 76); O’Neill, Crowe (Zayed 68).

Bohemians (4-4-2): B. Murphy; Shelley, Oman, McGuinness, Rossiter; Cretaro (A. Murphy 31 [Higgins 90]), Keegan, Cronin, M. Quigley; McGlynn, Byrne (Madden 51).

Ref: A. Buttimer (Cork)

Attendance: 1564.