In-form Shamrock Rovers beat Bohemians in Dublin derby

Shamrock Rovers closed the gap on bitter rivals Bohemians to the minimum at the Premier Division summit in front of a record crowd at Tallaght Stadium.

A crowd of 7,864 packed into Dublin 24 as second-half strikes from Trevor Clarke and substitute Rory Gaffney took the game away from Bohemians as Rovers claimed their fifth successive win.

Both goals were from close range. Clarke slammed home after James Talbot had superbly saved from a Johnny Kenny header before Gaffney nodded in after Jack Byrne's deflected effort fell his way.

It was a painful night for Jonathan Afolabi who should have equalised on the hour and saw an emphatic case for a penalty waved away before Gaffney doubled the Hoops advantage.

Alan Mannus was missing for Stephen Bradley’s side but Leon Pohls proved an able deputy with two huge saves to deny Paddy Kirk and Afolabi.

Bohemians might have been sitting pretty at the summit prior to kick-off but it was Shamrock Rovers who arrived as the form horses following four successive wins.

Rovers, unbeaten at home since March, roared out of the traps and pounced on a nervy Bohs side. Talbot was called into action in the third minute to get his body in the way of a Richie Towell effort after Kenny dispossessed Kacper Radkowski by the end line.

The Celtic loanee gave the towering Pole a torrid time in the opening half and beat him again before flashing a left-footed effort across Talbot’s goal.

A delicious reverse ball from Byrne set Towell away before he was bundled down by Talbot – fortunately for Bohs the offside flag came to their reprieve and brought an end to a ragged 10 minutes for Declan Devine’s side.

The visitors soon settled and improved as the half wore on. Grant Horton’s cross found the onrushing Kirk at the