Preview: Bohemians v St Patrick’s Athletic

Bohemians celebrate in Sligo

Alan Reynolds wants to see Dalymount Park rocking once more when Bohemians host St Patrick’s Athletic in another big Dublin derby on Friday night.

Bohs come into the game after a comprehensive 3-0 victory away to Sligo Rovers thanks to goals from James Clarke, Boubacar Keita and Dayle Rooney.

That was Bohs’ biggest win since Reynolds took charge at the end of March, their biggest league win since the final game of last season and their biggest league win away from home since April 2022.

Rooney was the star of the show, setting up the opening two goals before helping himself to the third, but is set to miss out on Friday’s game through injury while Clarke, who claimed his opener last week just 90 seconds into the game, is suspended.

Reynolds said: “We are missing a few for this one which is a blow for such a big game. Keith Buckley and Rob Cornwall are obviously long-term ones and Brian McManus will be out for another month or so.

“But we’re without Dayle Rooney for this one now too which is a blow because he was involved in all three goals last week and is a big threat for us.

“Jordan Flores, who has been such an important player for us this season, is still out as is Luke Matheson, and James Clarke is suspended, so we are down a lot of bodies for such a big game.”

With that in mind, Reynolds is acutely aware how hard his side will have to work to get a result but believes the absentee list provides an opportunity for others to step up and show what they are made of.

Reynolds: “When you have players missing there is added pressure on players who come in to step up. We had that last week. With Bucko, Rob and Jordan all out last week, it was the first time Paddy Kirk captained the side.

“That was a big moment for him having come through and captained the U19s at Bohs, so I was very pleased with how he stepped up and that we got the win with him as captain. We need to see that level of commitment from everyone who gets an opportunity to play.”

 

Despite only taking charge at Inchicore last week, former Ireland and Bohemians manager Stephen Kenny has already had two games under his belt.

Both have ended in defeat but St Pat’s will have been kicking themselves not to have taken something out of Monday’s game against league leaders Shelbourne, who scored in the sixth minute of injury-time to claim a 2-1 victory at Richmond Park.

Reynolds said: “St Pat’s are a good side. Much like Bohs, they haven’t had the start they wanted this season but it is a very close and congested league table, and there is a lot more football to play.

“Stephen is barely there a week, and wouldn’t have had a lot of time to work with the team until this week but he will have learnt a lot from his team over their past two games.

“Pat’s are a good side. They finished third last year and won the FAI Cup and you don’t become a bad team overnight.

“They have quality players who can hurt any team in this league so we will need to be at our very best to get a result against them.”

Reynolds is hoping though that fans in Dalymount can replicate the vocal levels of support his side received in the Showgrounds last week.

He added: “The support we had down in Sligo was brilliant, and that’s what we will need again for a game like this against a team as good as St Pat’s.

“We have seen in games this season that when the crowd is behind us, our players are spurred on by that.

“Our players know that there is an onus on them to perform at home but we all have our jobs to do, and we need our fans to be loud and on our side right from the start.”

Team news

Bohemians are without the injured Jordan Flores, Dayle Rooney, Luke Matheson, Brian McManus, Rob Cornwall and Keith Buckley. James Clarke is suspended.

Website by Simon Alcock