Shamrock Rovers produced a sterling second-half performance to force a 1-1 in tonight's 3rd Round FAI Cup tie with Bohemians at Tolka Park.
The Gypsies had raced into a first half lead when Mark Leech scored his second goal for his new club, but Tadhg Purcell levelled with a penalty after fifty minutes and Pat Scully’s side could have won it in the dying minutes, had David Cassidy not blazed his shot over the bar.
The two rivals will have to do it all again at Dalymount Park on Tuesday night.
Bohs were on top from the outset and were ahead as early as the seventh minute. Mark Leech was the scorer, after being set-up by a delicate chip across the penalty box by Stephen Ward.
It didn't get any better for Pat Scully's side through the half either and the only positive they could really take from the rest of the action was that they hadn’t gone further behind. Ward and Fergal Harkin could well have changed that statistic had they been more precise in their finishing.
But such is football that a game can swing in one moment and Fergal Harkin's handball was just that. It happened to be in the penalty area and Tadhg Purcell converted the spot kick to bring the tie back on terms and Rovers back from the brink.
His strike partner Ger Rowe could even have put the home side ahead minutes later, but his shot lacked the power after he rounded Stephen O'Brien, who had gone walkabout, and Barry Ferguson cleared.
With a replay looming Cassidy could have won it, but his shot rose over the bar after Rowe had found him with precision squared ball with the Bohs defence stretched.
Bohemians: O'Brien; Rice, Ferguson, Caffrey, Powell; Harkin (Farrelly, 57), Heary, Kelly (Dunphy, 80) Ward; Leech, Devlin.
Shamrock Rovers: Murphy; O'Brien, Ryan, Price, Clarke; Duffy, Kenny, Perth, Cassidy; Purcell, Rowe (Flood, 88).
Referee: I Stokes (Dublin).
