Fenlon lavishes praise on matchwinner Kelly

Bohemians manager Pat Fenlon lavished praise on John Paul Kelly following the midfielder's virtuoso second half display in the Gypsies' 3-0 win over Cobh Ramblers at Dalymount Park on Friday night.

Kelly replaced the injured Jason McGuinness at half time in the game and fired the Gypsies ahead just 30 seconds after coming on with a fine individual strike. The man the Bohs fans know as 'Joxer' chased down what appeared to be a nothing ball in the corner of the 18 yard box before slipping the ball past a defender on the by-line and firing the ball through the legs of Cobh 'keeper James McCarthy and into the net from the tightest of angles. The former Liverpool youngster then won a penalty for Bohs's second goal before laying on a third for Jason Byrne with a sublime run and pass.

Kelly's introduction came after Bohs had struggled to break down a well organised Cobh back-line in the first half. With McGuinness failing to return after the interval having picked up a knee injury in the dying moments of the first half, Fenlon opted to bring on an attacking midfielder in the shape of Kelly rather than defender Conor Powell. Fenlon was understandably delighted with how it worked out.

"Joxer was first class when he came on. "We didn't play as well as we have been playing, but you're going to get nights like that. Teams sometimes come to frustrate and you just have to be patient and try to use the full-time training and fitness levels to step it up a level. In the second half I think we did that well. We said at the start of the game to be patient and to keep the ball. We're expected to win these games and the supporters get a little bit frustrated early on and that can't get through to the players," he said.

However, while Fenlon was wholesome in his praise of Kelly, he stressed that onus is now on the player, so long considered one of the hottest prospects in the league, to step up to the plate on a more regular basis. "He annoys you some times because you know he can do that sort of thing. He just has to start doing it more often. He knows that himself though. It's worth remembering that he's only a kid, he's only just turned 21. It's easy to forget that because he's been around for so long. You have to be patient with him. When he can perform like that and produce something different, he gets people on the book foot all the time and his pass for the second goal was first class. With the penalty, again he got them on the back foot. That's what he's got, he just has to do it more often," said Fenlon.

Having missed the previous two games through suspension, Kelly started on the bench as recent signing Anthony Murphy continued to occupy the right midfield berth. " He was disappointed about being left out tonight but if he gives me that kind of reaction then it makes it very hard to leave him out again. I think all players need competition. When you're comfortable in your position and you think you're going to play every week then it's not good for anybody. John Paul's probably had that all his life, he's always been the main man. When he was at schoolboy level everybody raved about him, but he's now got to realise that it's a team game and he's a big part of what we're trying to do here. When you see him tonight, you say to yourself 'that's the type of player we want'.

Speaking on the game as a whole, Fenlon admitted that being full-time gave his side a real advantage as the game wore on. "We didn't play as well as we have been playing, but you're going to get nights like that," said Fenlon. "Teams sometimes come to frustrate and you just have to be patient and try to use the full-time training and fitness levels to step it up a level. In the second half I think we did that well. We said at the start of the game to be patient and to keep the ball. We're expected to win these games and the supporters get a little bit frustrated early on and that can't get through to the players."

With nearest challengers St Patrick's Athletic not in action until Sunday, the win stretches Bohs' lead at the top of the league to four points. However, one negative for Bohs on the night was the injury picked up by centre back McGuinness who limped out of Dalymount Park on crutches after the game.

"We're running out of centre halves at the moment," joked Fenlon. "They're all supposed to be big hard men but they're all going down at the minute. He [McGuinness] hurt his knee, but we'll just have to wait and see how bad it was. Hopefully he can get a scan in the morning and see what the damage is."

Fenlon will be praying for positive news from the scan with fellow defenders Liam Burns and Ken Oman also currently sidelined. That could leave Fenlon with something of a selection headache ahead of Tuesday night's Dublin derby against Shamrock Rovers at Dalymount Park. While that meeting is likely to be much hyped in the media over the coming days, Bohs striker Jason Byrne says that it is just another game as Bohs look to capture their first league title since the 2002/03 season.

Byrne told extratime.ie: "It's a big Dublin derby but we'll just be going out to get the three points again. We just want to keep the roll going. It's just another game for where we're trying to get to which is winning the league."

Byrne will go into that game full of confidence having grabbed the third goal in the win over Cobh. Nevertheless, he maintained that all that mattered was the three points. "The thing that was important was the three points and in the end we came through. We got frustrated in the first half and started hitting it long. There wasn't much space but Joxer opened them up in the second half. There's big strong heads in our dressing room, lads who have won the league and that showed tonight, just as has in the past few weeks," said Byrne.