The scoreline suggests a tight and tense battle but the two goals from Rovers, scored in injury time, were consolation efforts at a stage when the game was beyond them as the champions showed more initiative in those moments than they did for long spells of the 90 minutes in one of the last Bohs-Rovers tussles to be played at Dalymount Park before the ground closes for a rebuild.
Points dropped in a home draw with Dundalk and an away loss to a Bohs side were the battles lost on the pitch, but the ongoing boardroom drama over Michael Noonan’s contract cannot be ignored as an issue causing distraction for the champions.
The concern will be how tame they were in this derby before that late, late show and the goals from Pico Lopes…