Bohemians 2
Finn Harps 0
A GOAL AND assist from Ishmahil Akinade helped Bohemians to a hard-fought victory over a committed Finn Harps at Dalymount Park.
The early stages of the match offered very little in terms of attacking quality as both teams remained cautious although Bohemians did claim much of the possession.
Roberto Lopes was responsible for pulling the strings for the homeside in the centre of the park but a resolute Finn Harps defence kept Keith Long’s team frustrated for lengthy periods.
In the 27th minute, Lopes was instrumental in the creation of the best chance of the half as he intercepted a ball in midfield before piercing a neat ball through for Paddy Kavanagh.
Richard Brush was alert in his box and blocked the resulting shot after darting out quickly from his line.
Sean Houston and Tony McNamee linked up on a couple of occasions for the away side, looking dangerous at times, but it remained scoreless at the break.
The second half began in a similar manner to the first, with little or no threat from either side up front.
Half-time substitute Jake Kelly finally broke the deadlock in the 68th minute as he tapped a low cross from Ishmahil Akinade into Richard Brush’s net.
The goal clearly gave the Dublin outfit plenty of confidence as they continued to attack in search of another.
That goal finally came with two minutes of normal time to go as man-of-the-match Ishmahil Akinade withstood extreme pressure from opposing defenders to roll the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
Bohemians now jump above Finn Harps to eighth place in the table.
BOHEMIANS: Shane Supple, Derek Pender (c), Lorcan Fitzgerald, Roberto Lopes, Derek Prendergast, Mark Quigley, Kurtis Byrne (Jake Kelly, 45), Stephen Best, Paddy Kavanagh, Ian Morris (Eoin Wearen, 63), Ismahil Akinade (Marco Chindea).
FINN HARPS: Richard Brush, Ciaran Coll (c), Keith Cowan, Packie Mailey, Tony McNamee (Ryan Curran, 75), Tommy McMonagle (David Scully, 82), Sean Houston, Josh Mailey, Ethan Boyle (Adam Hanlon,75), Ruairi Keating, Barry Molloy.
Man-of-the-match: Ismahil Akinade
Referee: Sean Grant
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