Dundalk 5 Shamrock Rovers 1:FOR ALL the changes he has made as he has fine-tuned this season's title challenge, there are few players in Michael O'Neill's Shamrock Rovers squad who will need to be reminded of how easily last year's lead over Bohemians was allowed to slip away during the last few games of the season.

Prior to last night’s demolition by Dundalk, a repeat of the calamitous run-in during which Rovers dropped eight points in their final four games seemed implausible.

By half-time here at Oriel Park last night, though, there must have been a few amongst the travelling support who were beginning to imagine the worst.

With the FAI Cup effectively providing a time-out this weekend before their campaign resumes with the visit to Tallaght of Galway United, the timing of the defeat could have been worse but the same can hardly be said of its manner. Ian Foster’s side played the league leaders off the park in the first half and, cushioned by their four-goal lead, looked relatively comfortable through a second half that would have produced more goals at both ends had it not been for outstanding saves.

Rarely can the formbook have been so thoroughly thrown to the dogs with Rovers arriving in search of their seventh straight league win, and a run of 17 games unbeaten. Dundalk may have got the better of Drogheda at the weekend but their form through the summer has been generally miserable. Losing key players hasn’t helped matters for Foster and having made the most controversial exit of them all, Neale Fenn returned last night to a predictably hostile reaction.

After the win at St Patrick’s Athletic on Friday, it had been put to O’Neill that Fenn’s familiarity with the playing surface here would stand to the visitors and the northerner half-heartedly agreed. As it turned out, the striker stood out as having a nightmare even amongst a group some of whom looked at times as though they were trying to play on a bouncy castle.

None of which should take away from Dundalk’s remarkable performance. They were brimming with passion, confidence and determination. Defensively they were strong but what was far more surprising perhaps, given their recent results, was their attacking game with Tom Miller and Dean Bennett dominating in midfield while out wide Ross Gaynor and under-21 international Daniel Kearns ran riot against the Rovers full-backs.

The latter was man of the match although the decision seemed to have been made before Matthew Tipton had completed a hat-trick and the crowd gave the Englishman an ovation when he was replaced just before the end.

It had been Miller, though, who had got the hosts off the mark after three minutes when he headed home Gaynor’s free and Fahrudin Kuduzovic made it two with a low strike a quarter of an hour later. By then Dundalk looked like they might score with every attack and while Alan Mannus made a couple of fine saves, Tipton’s cool finishing ensured it would be a miserable night for the northerner.

The striker got two before the break and added his third after Peter Cherrie gifted Gary Twigg a goal by allowing a harmless looking ball to run into the Scot’s path after having come out of his area. Despite a few chances late on, Rovers couldn’t get any more of a foothold in a game they might have lost by more.

DUNDALK: Cherrie; Madden, Burns, Breen, Hatswell; Kearns (Kelly, 82 mins, Miller, Bennett, Gaynor; Kuduzovic; Tipton (Lennon, 88 mins).

SHAMROCK ROVERS:Mannus; Flynn (Chambers, half-time), Sives, Price, Murphy; Kavanagh, Bradley (Turner, half-time), Rice, Dennehy; Fenn (Stewart, 60 mins).

Referee: T Connolly (Dublin).