PREVIEW Top half on Bohs’ minds

PREVIEW Top half on Bohs’ minds

With almost half the season gone, Bohemians lie in the bottom half of the table, but that bare fact is not expected to remain a truism for long and they go into tonight’s Dublin derby with fourth-placed St Patrick’s Athletic at Richmond Park as warm favourites.

Bohs have three games in hand on most of their Premier Division rivals, including Pats, yet a victory this evening would see them move alongside the Saints on points, and ahead of them on goal difference.

The relatively lowly position of Stephen Kenny’s side - they led the division almost from flag-fall to take the title last season - can be attributed as much to the fact that their run of four games in the Champions League has spawned a backlog of fixtures as to their early-season slump in form, which was nevertheless undeniable.

What is also undeniable is that they have left their form of April and May well behind them in recent weeks. And while the collapse in Trondheim against Rosenborg was disappointing, it did not point to any permanent withering of the Gypsies’ status, and it would represent a surprise if they were not ensconced in the top two of the table when the final totals are tallied in early December,

While Bohs have been below-par in the league this season, St Pats, on the other hand, have largely over-performed under rookie manager Eamonn Collins, particularly considering their woeful season last term when they were within touch of the relegation battle right up until the final week.

Clear leaders Shels are the only club in the division to have lost fewer games than the Saints, and Collins’s side have the same number of defeats as Bohs. Had they converted just two of their nine draws into victories, they would be just a point behind Shels. On such margins do challengers become realistic contenders.

The double-act of Keith Fahy’s dead-ball delivery and Paul Osam’s aerial ability have contributed many a goal this season, and that pair will form the greatest threat to Bohs this evening, providing Osam passes the inevitable fitness test.

However, with Player of the Month Colin Hawkins on form at the heart of the Bohs defence, and Thomas Heary excelling since his relocation to the centre of defence, the Phibsboro side are better equipped than most to deflect that particular danger.

A greater threat for Pats could be striker Tony Bird, who had a day off for last week’s comfortable Cup defeat of Dublin City. Bird, suspended on that occasion, will return at the expense of Jamie Harris to reform the three-pronged attacking axis with Charles Mbabazi Livingstone (another fitness doubt with a knee injury) and David Freeman.

Since the departure of Ger McCarthy to Shelbourne in the close-season, the Welsh striker, with eleven goals behind him already this season, has emerged as the number one hitman at Richmond Park.

At the opposite end of the pitch this evening, it will be interesting to see if Bohs manager Stephen Kenny risks 17-year-old striker Stephen Ward for his league debut. Ward netted twice in less than 20 minutes in last week’s FAI Cup tie against Skerries Town at Dalymount Park.

He played well on his debut for the Irish under-19 side against Norway at Richmond on Monday night, but did not see any action in the second international on Wednesday, perhaps a pointer to some involvement this evening.

While tonight would be a step-up for Ward from an FAI Cup tie against a non-league side and an under-19 international, Kenny’s hand might be forced by the injury to Paul Keegan, which will keep him out for up to a month.

On the Pats injury front, midfielder Davy Byrne and defender Barry Prenderville are doubts, so Trevor Croly could come into contention for his first start of the season at right back after returning as a sub in last week’s Cup defeat of Dublin City, allowing Paul Donnelly to continue in place of Byrne in midfield.


www.eleven-a-side.com