HUNDREDS of years to the day since Noah's Ark supposedly reached dry land, the goals went in two-by-two for Garreth O'Connor on Tuesday (Apr 5) - hurrah, hurrah!

The Irishman capped a stunning Cherries display by netting twice in the space of 17 second-half minutes as Sean O'Driscoll's side recorded a potentially priceless victory.

And O'Connor's double also saw the Dean Court outfit chalk up five successive away league triumphs in the same season for the first time in their history.

O'Connor started the ball rolling by bagging a well-taken goal as Cherries took a deserved lead on the hour.

And he finished City off from the penalty spot by converting his 14th goal of the season after John Spicer had been brought down.

Boss O'Driscoll named an unchanged starting line-up following Cherries' 2-1 win at Wrexham on Saturday as his side went in search of a fifth consecutive away league victory.

For the Robins, leading goalscorer Leroy Lita was declared fit after passing a late test on a leg injury that flared up during their win over Port Vale at the weekend.

Steve Fletcher, stretching to meet Frankie Simek's cross, had the first effort on target but saw his header easily gathered by City goalkeeper Steve Phillips.

City's first opportunity fell to Scott Brown whose venomous 25-yard screamer was superbly palmed around the upright by Neil Moss, diving full length to his right.

Cherries were denied an opener twice inside the space of 60 seconds, firstly when Matthew Mills's fierce low drive came back off the base of Phillips's right-hand post.

And then Stock, the provider for Mills, tried his luck with a thumping shot from distance that was tipped over the crossbar by Phillips.

Moss was forced to push Lita's looping header over the top and followed up by pulling off an instinctive reaction save to turn Danny Coles's volley over the crossbar.

Phillips hared off his line to beat O'Connor to Stock's through ball before Moss made light work of collecting Lita's weak header midway through the first half.

Stock, impressive throughout the opening period, blazed a volley high into the Atyeo Stand behind Phillips's goal after latching on to Wade Elliott's centre eight minutes before the interval.

Mills earned a booking after hauling back Steve Brooker before a goalmouth scramble, created by Fletcher's knockdown, saw O'Connor and Hayter both just fail to make contact from close range.

And as the first half drew to a close, Moss came off his line to punch away Joe Keith's dangerous free kick, while Lita spooned a volley high over the crossbar.

Lita wasted a glorious chance to add to his 27-goal tally when he ballooned a right-foot shot high and wide after running on to Brooker's flick at the start of the second half.

Doherty received the second yellow card of the game when he pulled back Elliott before Cherries appealed in vain for a penalty after O'Connor's drive had been charged down by a defender.

Cherries broke the deadlock much to the delight of their 1,000-strong travelling army of supporters when O'Connor grabbed his 13th goal of the season on the hour.

The Dubliner burst through the middle and took control of Fletcher's pass before finishing coolly with the outside of his right foot from just inside the 18-yard box.

And seconds later, another Fletcher assist looked set to see Hayter go clear, but the ball would not sit properly for the striker and the City defence recovered to save the day.

Lita dragged a hopeful left-foot effort well wide as City looked for a response before Phillips snaffled O'Connor's dipping 20-yard volley.

Cherries went close to doubling their advantage when Phillips pulled off a top-drawer save to acrobatically push Elliott's rasping right-footer around the post in the 70th minute.

And as chances came thick and fast for the visitors, John Spicer headed narrowly wide following Hayter's delicately flighted centre.

Moss got down smartly at his near post to scoop up Mickey Bell's low driven free kick before Cherries were awarded a penalty when Spicer was upended by Coles.

And O'Connor, who missed his last spot kick against MK Dons, made absolutely no mistake when he sent Phillips the wrong way from the spot to make it 2-0.