Second-half strikes from Dayle Rooney and Patrick Hickey earned Bohemians a deserved 2-1 victory over Drogheda United at Dalymount Park.
Rooney opened the scoring with a rifling low effort just before the hour and Hickey compounded the away side's angst with a trademark bullet header.
Thomas Oluwa gave the visitors a late lifeline with a well-taken header but the damage had been inflicted by the hosts, who comfortably saw out the victory.
Bohemians had the better of a relatively uneventful first half, with the biggest moment coming after three minutess.
Dawson Devoy slipped in Douglas James-Taylor, who rounded the goalkeeper but could not squeeze the resulting effort inside the side netting.
James-Taylor again came within inches of stabbing the ball home but he was denied by a last-ditch block on the line.
Drogs had their first chance of note midway through the first half but, after intricate play between Mark Doyle and Warren Davis, Brandon Kavanagh miscued his shot from the edge of the box.
Fynn Talley denied Rooney with a reaction stop after he was picked out at the back post before Jago Godden did brilliantly to nick Rooney’s cross off Ross Tierney’s toe.
And Talley made another terrific save low to his right to deny Cian Byrne, while Warren Davis looked to have put a tap-in on a plate for Thomas Oluwa before Byrne got back to get it away.
The second half began in tepid fashion but the game turned on a moment of magic from Rooney as he drilled the ball low into the corner before the hour mark following a switch of play.
Bohs looked to capitalise within minutes as Tierney was played into the box, only for sub Andrew Quinn to intervene, and from the resulting corner Byrne headed straight at Talley.
Jordan Flores looked to imitate Rooney from the latter’s pass but his drive cleared the post, but Bohs were not long in doubling their lead.
A Rooney corner from the right hand side was met decisively by centre-half Hickey and the American left Talley with no chance.
Oluwa brought Drogheda into the match in unlikelty fashion as he met the ball at the back post and nodded across goal into the net four minutes from time.
But it proved too little, too late, and sub Zane Myers came close to sealing a glossier scoreline in injury time but could only find the side netting.
Bohemians: Kacper Chorazka; Cian Byrne, Patrick Hickey, Markus Strods, Jordan Flores; Sadou Diallo (Niall Morahan 88), Ross Tierney, Dawson Devoy; Darragh Power, Dayle Rooney (Zane Myers 90+2), Douglas James-Taylor (Colm Whelan 82).
Drogheda United: Fynn Talley; Edwin Agbaje, Conor Keeley (Leo Burney 74), James Bolger (Andrew Quinn 46), Conor Kane; Jago Godden, Brandon Kavanagh (Saán McGrath 74), Shane Farrell; Warren Davis (Kieran Cruise 65), Thomas Oluwa, Mark Doyle (Dipo Kareen 65).
Referee: Marc Lynch (Galway).
