Ward keeps cool from the spot to snatch late point for Bohs

Keith Ward scored a stoppage time penalty to salvage a point for Bohemians in a rollercoaster of a Dublin derby at Dalymount Park.

Trailing 2-1 two minutes into added time, Bohs defender Kevin Feely, who’d given away a first half spot kick for a foul on David Cassidy, was tripped by the Shels skipper inside the area. Midfielder Ward held his nerve superbly to send keeper Chris Bennion the wrong way from the spot.

Kevin Dawson thought he’d won it for Shelbourne on 83 minutes. Cassidy put Paddy Kavanagh in on the right and when keeper Andy McNulty could only push away the shot, Dawson was there to fire home.

Six minutes earlier Evan McMillan had drawn Bohs level for the first time. Pushed up into attack, central defender McMillan got on the end of skipper Owen Heary’s deep cross from the right to side-foot past Bennion.

Shelbourne edged the opening 45 minutes, hitting the woodwork and forcing the save of the half, but still required a moment of controversy to go off at the break a goal to the good.

That main talking point came on 39 minutes when referee Alan Kelly initially waved play on when Shelbourne’s Cassidy went down under the challenge of teenager Feely inside the area.

Nearer to the incident, assistant referee Allen Lynch flagged and pointed to the spot, prompting Kelly to change his mind and give the penalty which Hughes dispatched under the dive of McNulty.

Seven minutes earlier the Bohs goalkeeper had made the stop of the half with his feet after Glenn Cronin’s through ball caught the home defence flat to put Dawson in on goal.

Shelbourne had also earlier hit the woodwork when Kavanagh cut across field from the right to set up opposite winger Barry Clancy whose curling shot off his weaker right foot came back off McNulty’s left-hand post.

BOHEMIANS: McNulty; Heary, McMillan, Feely, Byrne; Mulcahy; Moore (Barker 79 mins), McEvoy (Martin 29), Ward, McMahon (Corcoran, h/t); Wilson.

Shelbourne: Bennion; Matthews, Boyle, Shortall, Fitzgerald; Kavanagh (C. Byrne 89 mins), Dawson, Cronin, Clancy; Cassidy; Hughes.

Referee: Alan Kelly (Cork).