Bohemian Football Club Crest

@bfcdublin Bohemians lost their unbeaten away record in a hard-fought game in Tallaght Stadium, Cillian Shields reports.

Karl Sheppard scored the only goal and Aidan Price (left) was unlucky to receive a red card. These two incidents either side of half-time defined Monday's clash between the long-time rivals. The opening exchanges were dominated by Bohs. The players showed their intent in holding onto the ball well and moving forward with pace. Anto Flood played on the right wing, with Christy Fagan (below, with Chris Turner) up front and Stephen Traynor just behind him.

Flood and Killian Brennan both had half-chances early on and Bohs had a header blocked over the bar from a Rovers defender. Rovers began to find their feet as Ronan Finn in the middle of the park increasingly dictated the home side's play. Finn had Rovers' first shot in anger on 10 minutes but Chris O'Connor was equal to the attempt.

Pat Sullivan later had a shot from distance after a move on his side's left wing. His effort went over the bar. Attacking on the break, Flood beat his man on the right wing and whipped in a tantalizing low cross across the face of the goal. Fagan wasn't far behind the ball but was unable to make contact.

Shortly afterwards, former Bohemian Stephen O'Donnell had a free-kick from 25 yards out comfortably saved by O'Connor.

The possession that Rovers enjoyed eventually paid dividends three minutes before the break, when Gary McCabe crossed from the left for the lucky Sheppard to back-head the ball into the net.

Just seven minutes into the second half, Price saw red after he was adjudged to have pulled Gary Twigg down at the edge of the box. The subsequent shot from the free-kick was nothing to worry O'Connor in goal. Brennan dropped to left-back in a reshuffled Bohs side.

Midfielder Robert Bayly had an excellent game in his first return to his former club, as he challenged for tackles as often as he could and also did well when advancing. It was Bayly who released Fagan with a neat through-ball into the striker's path towards goal for Bohs' best chance of the match.

The ex-Manchester United youth player cushioned the ball well in his stride, but as he tried to take the ball around Mannus in goal, it was collected from his feet in an instant and the chance was gone. Fagan had several shots on target through the second half but none seriously tested the goalkeeper.

The remaining half-hour of football was relatively balanced in terms of possession, but with one man less, Bohemians found it difficult to create real opportunities, while Rovers managed to test Chris O'Connor a couple more occasions.

Billy Dennehy had a decent chance near the end of the game to seal the victory, as he found space to charge towards goal. He dragged his shot wide, however, leaving O'Connor untroubled. The Australian goalkeeper played a fantastic game, keeping Rovers at bay throughout the match but was unable to do much about the goal that in the end proved to be the important difference between the sides.

BOHEMIANS: O'Connor; Heary, Burns (Feely 87), Price, O'Brien; Traynor, Bayly (Buckley 83), Cronin, Brennan; Flood (Dixon, 83), Fagan. Subs not used: Burke, Joyce, Forrester, Murphy. Yellow cards: Cronin, Brennan. Red card: Price.

SHAMROCK ROVERS: Mannus; Sullivan, Sives, Oman, Stevens; McCabe, O'Donnell (O'Neill, 68), Turner, Finn; Twigg, Sheppard (Dennehy 74). Yellow cards: Turner, Oman