Bohs immediately signalled their attacking threat with a whipped corner from Andy Mulligan that was narrowly headed wide by Beattie. Derek Pender looks to have formed a potent alliance with Beattie on the right flank and these combined for Bohs best opening of the first 20 minutes. Pender’s eventual cross was just inches over Mulligan’s head.

All of the attacking threat was coming from the right side and it was no surprise when this area became the avenue for Bohs’ opening goal in the 28^th minute. Bray full-back Jamie McGlynn dwelt a fraction too long on the ball in the corner and his eventual clearance was blocked down by Kavanagh, who rushed on to the spinning ball and did well to keep it in play. His accurate pull-back found Dinny Cororan, who toe-poked a shot goalwards. Shane Redmond could only parry Corcoran’s shot into the path of Andy Mulligan, who had the simple task of scoring the Gypsies’ first competitive goal of the season.

Kavanagh was excellent in the hole behind Corcoran and was unsurprisingly involved again in the build-up to the second goal, just three minutes later. He had the vision to pick out a perfect through ball to the galloping Dave Mulcahy – again on the Bohs right side. In a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ moment, Mulcahy’s low drilled cross was superbly tucked into the top corner of the net by Corcoran, who made an intelligent strikers’ run to the near post.

Bray’s defence was completely on the ropes and a boxing match would have been stopped by the time Bohs got a third in the 38^th minute. After more neat play from Kavanagh, Corcoran found himself in acres of space, this time in the left channel. His chipped cross should really have been finished by Mulligan, but the winger fluffed his attempt across the six-yard line. Luckily for him, Beattie was on hand to slide the ball into the empty net.

3-0 wouldn’t have flattered the Gypsies at half-time, but there was another piece of action before the break. On a rare foray into the Bohs half, David Webster attempted an outside-of-the-boot cross. The ball struck Roberto Lopes on the upper arm, but the awarding of a penalty seemed extremely harsh. Lopes’ left arm was in a perfectly natural position by his side and he didn’t move towards the ball. Nevertheless, referee Simon Rogers pointed to the spot and Jake Kelly buried the penalty. Dean Delany guessed right, but had no chance of stopping it.

A Bray half-time substitute came in the familiar form of Dave Scully, who was roundly welcomed by the small home crowd. However, the former Bohs cult hero saw the game put to bed just five minutes after the restart. A Mulligan corner was cleared all the way out to Jack Memery, who fired a pass from the halfway line. The ball was brilliantly controlled by the chest of a retreating Corcoran, who promptly rounded Bray keeper Redmond, who clearly brought the striker down. Perhaps because Bohs were already 3-1 up, perhaps because it was a Leinster Senior Cup game – but referee Rogers decided not to send Redmond off. In a league game, there would have been uproar – Corcoran was definitely denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. Either way, Dinny picked himself up and grabbed his second of the night by sending Redmond the wrong way from the spot. Former Bray man Jason Byrne replaced Corcoran soon after. Almost certainly the most difficult decision facing Heary next week is who to start up front, if he opts for a lone striker.

As soon as Byrne appeared, you felt that he would round off the scoring against his old club. As usual, he didn’t disappoint. In the final minute of normal time, Beattie went on one last slaloming run. Beating four Bray defenders and edging closer to goal, he selflessly cut the ball back into the path of Byrne, whose left-footed shot completed the rout.

Performance pluses for Bohs included Walsh, who was neat and bustling in midfield, Kavanagh, who provided a touch of creative class, and Aidan Price, who was solid and composed at the back. Things are looking good for next week’s opener at the Belfield Bowl.

Bohemians: Dean Delany, Derek Pender, Roberto Lopes, Jack Memery, Craig Walsh, Dave Mulcahy (Ryan McEvoy, 77), Andy Mulligan, Paddy Kavanagh (Stephen Traynor, 70), Steven Beattie, Dinny Corcoran (Jason Byrne, 65). Subs not used: Lee Murphy, Kevin Devaney, Keith Buckley, Philly McCabe.

Bray Wanderers: Shane Redmond, Niall Cooney, Danny O’Connor (Shane O’Connor, 39), Shane Byrne (Graham Kelly, 68), Jamie McGlynn, Dean Zambra, David Cassidy, Adam Hanlon, David Webster, Jake Kelly, Ciaran Byrne (Dave Scully, 46). Subs not used: Stephen McGuinness, Philip Nolan, Robert Moloney, Gary Curran.

With 30 minutes gone, the best chance of the half arrived. Patrick Kavanagh, playing behind the front man, pushed a lovely through ball to substitute Keith Buckley who couldn’t beat his former Bohs team-mate Murray one-on-one.

Five minutes later, the Shels net-minder was called into action again as Roberto Lopes teed-up a volley for himself, which was clawed away and behind for a corner.

Shelbourne then had the better of the rest of the first period. First, Darren Tinnelly worked his way into the box but then shot over the bar, while just before the half-time whistle sounded, Michael Duffy found himself in space but shot straight at Delany.

The Drumcondra outfit began the second half as they had ended the first and again tested Delany, this time former Bohs Under-19 ace Dylan Connolly with the effort. Another former Gypsy, substitute Conor Murphy, then had a chance in the box but skewed his shot wide.

On 60 minutes and against the run of play, Bohemians took the lead. A back-pass from the right side put Murray under serious pressure and with Andy Mulligan – only brought on seconds before – about to nip in, he pushed the winger over inside the box, a clear penalty. Byrne stepped up and sent the him the wrong way.

Bohs’ lead was to be short-lived, however. Less than three minutes later, Shels were level and again it was a back-pass which put a keeper in difficulty. Lopes left his effort short of Delany, who could only half-clear the ball to substitute Keegan, whose lovely effort from 40 yards found the empty net.

Owen Heary brought on more reinforcements from the bench at this point and with 20 minutes remaining, one of those subs, Anto Murphy, almost found the corner with a curling drive but again Murray was equal to it.

Bohs were playing with more confidence and an excellent move which involved new signings Walsh and Steven Beattie eventually found its way to Dinny Corcoran, who just couldn’t turn in Mulligan’s pull-back.

Skipper Derek Pender, marauding from right-back, was heavily involved as the men in red and black pushed for a winner and five minutes from time, he found Beattie lurking in the box but the forward could only scuff his shot into the ground, which allowed Murray to collect with ease.

This was the last major chance and Shelbourne saw out the remaining minutes to secure a deserved draw. Next up for the Gypsies is the rescheduled Leinster Senior Cup tie against Bray Wanderers at Dalymount Park on Thursday evening.

Bohemians: Dean Delany, Derek Pender, Roberto Lopes, Aidan Price, Jack Memery, Patrick Kavanagh (Steven Beattie 65), Ryan McEvoy (Anto Murphy 58), Craig Walsh (Darragh Reynor 82), Kevin Devaney (Keith Buckley 17), Karl Moore (Andy Mulligan 58), Jason Byrne (Dinny Corcoran 65).

Shelbourne: Greg Murray, Simon Dixon, Philip Hand, Robert Gaul, William McDonagh, Stephen Sherrin, Keith Quinn, Gareth Coughlan, Dylan Connolly, Darren Tinnelly, Michael Duffy, Subs: Brian Gannon, John Sullivan, Lee Murtagh, Jordan Keegan, Conor Murphy.

The wind and rain kept the crowd low, but those who did turn out got to see new signing Steven Beattie operate with menace from the right flank. The former Northern Kentucky University star looked extremely sharp from the outset, and shone alongside Jack Memery, Aidan Price, and Jason Byrne as the 4 new / returning faces in the starting line-up. Beattie and Byrne linked up for the first shot of the night, but record-chasing Byrne’s curling effort was deflected over on 5 minutes. Midfielder Darragh Reynor will be looking for more game time this season, and he forced an unorthodox save from Tolka ‘keeper Gavin Brown in what was the only other Bohs effort in a tight opening half hour.

Bohs had the ball in the net on 33 minutes, but Dinny Corcoran’s header was ruled out by Rhona Daly, who correctly adjudged that Aidan Price was climbing all over Tolka’s John Brophy. Centre half Brophy was in action again just two minutes later when he headed against his own post under pressure from Jason Byrne. From the resulting corner, Roberto Lopes hit the opposite post with a towering header. The Gypsies were well on top at this stage, and got a deserved opening goal with three minutes to go before half time.  Captain Derek Pender played a crisp one-two with Beattie down the right hand side, out-muscled his full-back opponent, and pulled a by-line cross to the onrushing Stephen Traynor, who scooped the ball past Brown from close range.

Although Heary would have been happy to have the lead, he looked for more creativity in the second half, and his side responded almost immediately. A pinpoint cross-field ball from left full Jack Memery found right winger Steven Beattie, who showed a burst of real pace to beat his man on the inside before unleashing a strong left-footed shot that Brown could only parry for a corner. Beattie was hitting his stride and found himself in behind 5 minutes later when Dinny Corcoran slipped him in. His pulled-back cross was perfect for Byrne, but the veteran’s dragged effort was disappointing for a finisher of his high standards.

On the opposite flank, Andy Mulligan got in on the creative act with a lovely cross that Corcoran headed wide before Tolka scored a very fine equalizer against the run of play. The hour mark had just arrived when Luke Kelly found himself with space, and he spliced the Bohs defence apart with a delicious through ball for Shane Hughes, who finished neatly past the onrushing Dean Delany. Bohs resumed their attacking threat from the right almost at once, with a Pender cross and Corcoran lay-off paving the way for Reynor to hit the angle of post and bar with an 18-yard effort. The offensive triangle of Byrne, Corcoran and Beattie combined in the best move of the match on 63 minutes, but Corcoran’s eventual shot was well saved by Brown in the Tolka goal.

Beattie made way for Keith Buckley before Bohs got the lead goal on 67 minutes. Mulligan was clattered by Aaron Henderson, which set up a free-kick about 35 yards out on the left flank. Reynor’s left-footed cross soared all the way to the back post, where the ever-lurking, always-predatory Jason Byrne was waiting. His first-time volley was the classiest piece of skill in the entire 90 minutes, nestled in the far corner, and proved to be the winner.

It wasn’t the last piece of action however, as Tolka Rovers were awarded a penalty in the 71st minute. Substitute Ryan McEvoy tangled with the onrushing Carl Somers, and referee Rhona Daly pointed to the spot. The penalty was particularly soft – the most dangerous thing about McEvoy’s challenge was the Bohs man’s beard. Tolka goalscorer Shane Hughed stepped up, but his penalty was well-saved by the knee of Delany.

Heary emptied his bench in the last 20 minutes to give much-needed game time to Dave Mulcahy, Anto Murphy, Craig Walsh, Paddy Collins, and another Monday afternoon signing, Philip McCabe. The game petered out with no more incidents to report. Next up for Bohs is a tie with local rivals Shelbourne on Friday evening. Two weeks from that night, the league campaign gets under way. It’s getting close.

Bohemians: Dean Delany, Derek Pender, Roberto Lopes, Aidan Price, Jack Memery (Philip McCabe, 72), Steven Beattie (Keith Buckley, 63), Darragh Reynor (Craig Walsh, 68), Stephen Traynor (Ryan McEvoy, 68), Andy Mulligan, Dinny Corcoran (Paddy Collins, 74), Jason Byrne (Dave Mulcahy, 74).

Tolka Rovers: Gavin Brown, Derek Swan, Aaron Henderson, Niall O’Reilly, John Brophy, Wayne Byrne, Dennis Moran, Brian Fitzpatrick, David Somers, Carl Somers, Luke Kelly. Substitutes: Shane Hughes, Tony Collins, Eamon Moylan, Sean Kelly, Paul Fitzpatrick, Robert Keegan.

Referee: Rhona Daly

Pic by A. Baldiemann: Stephen Traynor scoops home Bohs’ opener.