Bohemians savour title success

Dublin club Bohemian FC ended six barren years without a trophy when they sealed the Irish Premier Division title with four games to spare on Friday. A 2-1 win away to defending champions Drogheda United FC guaranteed Bohemians their tenth league championship on a night when their closest rivals, St Patrick's Athletic FC, lost 3-0 at home to relegation-threatened Cobh Ramblers FC.

Success to savour
Gypsies fans have endured some tough times since they last lifted the crown in 2002/03, but this campaign has been one to savour. Pat Fenlon's side went on a 27-match unbeaten run, losing just once all season. Fenlon has cemented his reputation as Ireland's most successful manager of the modern era, adding this title to the three he won as manager of Shelbourne FC between 2003 and 2006.

'Great night'
"It's a great night for the players, but especially for the supporters," Fenlon said. "The fans have had a hard time over the last few years – a big club like Bohemians should be winning things and now we have won something. It's a great feeling but all the credit goes to the players. We had a great defensive record, we conceded only 11 goals in 29 games, we were unbeaten away from home all year, so the players deserve all the credit."

Byrne praise
Former Irish international Jason Byrne was the hero at Drogheda, scoring both Bohs goals with the winner coming in stoppage time. "Jason hasn't played as many games as he'd have liked, he was on the bench a lot, but he showed his real quality," Fenlon said. Bohemians have the chance of more glory as they are in the semi-finals of the FAI Cup, against Dublin rivals St Patrick's Athletic.