You can always rely on an Ali to deliver the killer punch.
And last night in Dalymount he produced a deadly one-two to send Drogheda crashing to their first defeat of the season.
In Ali Coote, Bohs have a gem.
He was brilliant here, scoring one, making another, the goals coming at critical moments in a match where Drogheda looked like leaving Dublin with more than just pride.
Having seen Frederick Draper cancel out Jordan Flores’ superb opener, Coote then produced a fine volley to restore the Bohs lead just before half-time.
And then six minutes after the break, it was his clever flick that set up Oluwaseun Akintunde for the decisive third.
There was a great tempo to the game, Bohs the better side initially, Coote and Akintunde exerting a positive influence, Drogheda’s Conor Keeley negating that threat from the heart of the visitors’ defence.
Yet there was nothing he, nor keeper Colin McCabe, could do to keep Jordan Flores’ free-kick sailing into the top corner of the net.
That came on nine minutes and when you consider the conflicting statuses of each club - Bohs being a full-time operation, Drogheda a part-time one - you sensed the game panning out along predictable lines.
Instead Drogheda found a way back into it, their midfield being perfectly balanced, streetwise operators Gary Deegan and Ryan Brennan maintaining the side’s shape, Darragh Markey and the brilliant Adam Foley seizing enough possession to pin Bohs back into their own half.
An equaliser came on 15 minutes, Deegan and Weir involved at the start of the move, Dayle Rooney thereafter.
It was his delivery into the corridor of uncertainty between keeper and centre backs that brought confusion and ultimately a Drogheda goal, striker Frederick Draper scrambling the ball across the line.
The mood changed with that, Drogheda’s confidence growing, Foley coming close to putting them ahead with a right-footed shot, Keeley even closer with a header.
They’re clearly a well-coached side, alternating between a narrow shape when they were defending, an expansive set-up whenever they managed to get bits of possession.
But despite making it difficult for Bohs to find any space, they still coughed up a second goal seven minutes before half-time, Coote with a low, well-struck shot that was too powerful for McCabe to stop.
Next came the third, a real cracker, McDaid with the speedy run down the left, Coote with the backheel flick to steer the ball into Akintunde’s path.
The midfielder kept his composure, after that, sliding the ball past McDaid to score and make it 3-1.
Drogheda, to their credit, never gave up. Their set-pieces were a threat; their big defender Keeley an inspiration. But the night belonged to Bohs.
