Composed finishing along with a string of wonderful saves from goalkeeper Ed McGinty saw Sligo Rovers collect their third league win on the spin as the ten-man Bit O’Red beat Bohemians at Dalymount Park.
Wilson Waweru rounded goalkeeper Kacper Chorazka to put Rovers ahead nine minutes from the break. And despite a harsh Stephen Mallon dismissal and facing a second half onslaught which saw large periods of the game played out in Rovers’ own half, the visitors held on courtesy of McGinty’s ninth clean sheet of the season and some wonderful last ditch defending from the Sligo rearguard.
Pandemonium ensued in the away end in the fifth minute of added time at the end of the game when Ellis Chapman made the most of a poorly struck Bohs set-piece. With Chorazka stranded well inside the visitors’ half, the former Cheltenham man let fly from all of 70 yards to secure another big win for John Russell’s men.
The in-form McGinty began his evening by denying James Clarke early on and with Rovers finding their stride, they hit the lead on 36.
Mallon and Niall Morahan combined to find Chapman whose through ball was well weighted for Waweru. The former Galway man showed superior poise and composure to hold off the defender before rounding Chorazka and finishing to an empty net.
Rovers’ joy was somewhat short lived when referee Marc Lynch decided to book Mallon for a second time before the break after the ex-Bohs winger had tugged the shirt of an opponent.
A man down, the second period saw Alan Reynolds’ men come at Rovers in waves but time and time again, they were repelled.
Former Rovers skipper Adam McDonnell flashed an effort wide of McGinty’s goal as Sligo forced the Dubliners into long-range efforts. While McGinty pulled off a great stop from Dayle Rooney’s set-piece.
Clarke was next to be denied by the Oxford loanee when he diverted the attacker’s header from a Declan McDaid cross around his post.
Bohs were lining up at this stage but each effort was stopped by either a late block or a heroic McGinty stop. Ross Tierney, Leigh Kavanagh and substitute Filip Piszczek were all kept at bay, while Reece Hutchinson cleared off his own goal line.
Rovers could have settled the tie eleven minutes from the end but the ball seemed to take a bobble off the Dalymount surface as Simon Power struck it following a well worked counter. Power firing over from inside the area.
There was time for one more McGinty trick when he reacted in time to keep out a Cian Byrne header which looked destined to level proceedings.
However, Chapman made sure the points were safely delivered all the way back up the N4 on 95 minutes when he went for broke from inside his own half after Chorazka had ventured forward in search of an equaliser.
Bohemians: Kacper Chorazka; Martin Miller, Cian Byrne, Jordan Flores (Leigh Kavanagh HT), Paddy Kirk (Declan McDaid HT); Adam McDonnell (Archie Meekison 72), James Clarke (Alex Greive 63); Danny Grant (Filip Piszczek 63), Ross Tierney, Dayle Rooney; James Akintunde.
Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty; Charlie Wiggett, Nando Pijnaker, Oliver Denham, Reece Hutchinson; Niall Morahan, Connor Malley (Simon Power HT), Ellis Chapman; Stephen Mallon, Wilson Waweru (Kailin Barlow 61), Will Fitzgerald.
Referee: Marc Lynch.
Attendance: 4,119.
David Goulden