Shamrock Rovers closed the gap on bitter rivals Bohemians to the minimum at the Premier Division summit in front of a record crowd at Tallaght Stadium.
A crowd of 7,864 packed into Dublin 24 as second-half strikes from Trevor Clarke and substitute Rory Gaffney took the game away from Bohemians as Rovers claimed their fifth successive win.
Both goals were from close range. Clarke slammed home after James Talbot had superbly saved from a Johnny Kenny header before Gaffney nodded in after Jack Byrne's deflected effort fell his way.
It was a painful night for Jonathan Afolabi who should have equalised on the hour and saw an emphatic case for a penalty waved away before Gaffney doubled the Hoops advantage.
Alan Mannus was missing for Stephen Bradley’s side but Leon Pohls proved an able deputy with two huge saves to deny Paddy Kirk and Afolabi.
Bohemians might have been sitting pretty at the summit prior to kick-off but it was Shamrock Rovers who arrived as the form horses following four successive wins.
Rovers, unbeaten at home since March, roared out of the traps and pounced on a nervy Bohs side. Talbot was called into action in the third minute to get his body in the way of a Richie Towell effort after Kenny dispossessed Kacper Radkowski by the end line.
The Celtic loanee gave the towering Pole a torrid time in the opening half and beat him again before flashing a left-footed effort across Talbot’s goal.
A delicious reverse ball from Byrne set Towell away before he was bundled down by Talbot – fortunately for Bohs the offside flag came to their reprieve and brought an end to a ragged 10 minutes for Declan Devine’s side.
The visitors soon settled and improved as the half wore on. Grant Horton’s cross found the onrushing Kirk at the back post and his piercing effort was tipped over by stand-in stopper Pohls.
Ali Coote was rewarded for his bank holiday brace with a start, but he was replaced by Declan McDaid at the interval having struggled to get into the game.
Rovers emerged from the changing rooms the better and after Byrne pinched the ball from the toe of Keith Buckley, Talbot had to be alert to tip Kenny’s effort over.
Unlike the first half, the hosts made their early pressure pay through Clarke, who hammered home a rebound in the 57th minute after Talbot had saved magnificently from Kenny’s header.
Bohs responded well to going behind but their four-year wait for a win in Tallaght will go on as the big moments went against them in the final half an hour.
Jonathan Afolabi spurned a great chance to draw Bohs level moments later. Jordan Flores cut the Rovers defence open with Afolabi through on goal but instead of shooting across goal with his right foot he opened his body for his left foot, which allowed Pohls to spread himself and save with his leg.
Devine replaced Kirk for James Clarke, which meant Flores slotted in at left-back and Bohs tried to pass into the Rovers midfield but in doing so they were vulnerable to a counter-attack and they were almost two down after Byrne’s long-range effort curled the wrong side of the post.
Substitute McDaid made an impact for the Gypsies and he was inches away from stretching onto Connolly’s fizzing ball across the six-yard area.
Afolabi goes down in the area under Cleary's challenge. The referee books him for diving, but the striker gets a touch before Cleary slides through without getting the ball.
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The Bohs bench were left incensed when Afolabi chased down a Gary O’Neill backpass. The ball ran through to Pohls and referee waved away any appeals that Dan Cleary had taken down the striker.
The points were wrapped up for Rovers with eight minutes remaining after Gaffney bundled home from two yards just as Kris Twardek and Dean Williams were going to be introduced for Bohemians.
The away support gave up the ghost and set off the last of their fireworks which drew jeers from the buoyant South Stand.
It’s seven wins in eight Premier Division games for Shamrock Rovers, who have beaten Derry City and Bohemians in one week.
Shamrock Rovers: Leon Pohls; Trevor Clarke (Ronan Finn 64), Daniel Cleary, Neil Farrugia, Lee Grace, Pico; Gary O'Neill, Markus Poom (Darragh Nugent 88); Jack Byrne (Sean Hoare 88), Johnny Kenny (Rory Gaffney 64), Richie Towell (Graham Burke 78).
Bohemians: James Talbot; Grant Horton (Kris Twardek 82), Patrick Kirk (James Clarke 64), Krystian Nowak, Kacper Radkowski; Keith Buckley (Dean Williams 82), Dylan Connolly, Ali Coote (Declan McDaid 46), Jordan Flores, Adam McDonnell; Jonathan Afolabi.
