Bohs welcomed back a familiar face in the blue jerseys of Bray, with Keith Buckley making his first appearance against his beloved Gypsies. However, the midfielder was mostly anonymous as Bohs took hold of the game from the off, and produced a composed and controlling first half performance. Keith Ward and Dinny Corcoran seem to have formed a nice link on their return, and they strung together the first move of the game with a neat one-two followed by a Ward power drive from 20 yards that Peter Cherrie had to acrobatically beat away.

Bohs dominated the middle part of the half with a string of corners, 6 in total peppering the Seagulls’ box. Dan Byrne went closest from a Fitzgerald corner, but the defender couldn’t scramble the ball home after Cherrie missed a punch. Set pieces were a friend to the home side in the first half, and Ward almost gave them the lead when his free kick crashed off the crossbar just before half time. The Jodi Stand crowd gave the Bohs players a hearty ovation on their way off, and Keith Long would have been happy with what he saw. Five minutes after the break, his side were inexplicably two down.

Bray’s first was courtesy of a sloppily-defended corner – their first of the game. Gary McCabe swung the ball in low from the far side, and it squirted all the way across to the back post where John Sullivan had the simple task of side-footing home from four yards. Bohs barely had time to catch their breath before the second came. A hopeful cross-field ball from Aaron Greene was misjudged badly by Derek Pender, leaving Dylan Connolly through on goal. The Bray winger showed why Dundalk pursued him all winter by finishing clinically past Supple, and suddenly, Bray were cruising.

The next goal was obviously going to be crucial, and it was a huge moment when Bohs struck, just 4 minutes after Bray’s second goal. If the game had been allowed to settle down at 0-2, you sense the atmosphere could have turned quiet and despondent in the crowd. As it was, Dinny Corcoran pounced with a goal quite similar to the one he scored on the opening night against Derry City. A ball forward from Jamie Doyle was headed into Corcoran’s path by Bray full back and Domhnall Gleeson lookalike Hugh Douglas. Dinny took his time, and sent Cherrie the wrong way with a rolled finish into the corner.

The home crowd kept behind the team, and the deserved equaliser arrived with 20 minutes left on the clock. This time Corcoran was the provider – squaring the ball to Keith Ward after a fast counter attack. Ward still had work to do 25 yards from goal, but his first touch was excellent out of his feet, and the shot went through Cherrie’s legs into the net. After that, the momentum was all with Bohs, and the winner felt like it was a probability rather than a hopeful possibility.

The fifth and final goal was a simple but effective move – with a long ball from defence flicked on perfectly by Jamie Doyle to set Corcoran through. The striker displayed icy coolness to stare down Cherrie again, and slot the ball into the opposite corner. Both of his strikes were composed finishes, almost trickled into the net with poise and finesse. A striker with those instincts can be worth his weight in gold – and Dinny produced the goods to deliver the points for Bohs tonight – just as he did so often in the 2012 season when he was the last Bohs player to hit 20+ goals in a single campaign.

The games come thick and fast at the start of the season, with the Bohs bus rolling into Limerick on Monday night before a home tie against Galway United on St Patrick’s Day.

Bohemian FC: Shane Supple, Derek Pender, Dan Byrne, Rob Cornwall, Lorcan Fitzgerald, Paddy Kavanagh, Ian Morris, Georgie Poynton, Keith Ward (Philly Gannon, 61), Jamie Doyle, Dinny Corcoran. Subs not used: Greg Murray, Stephen Best, Kaleem Simon, Oscar Brennan, Dean Casey, Dylan Hayes.

Bray Wanderers: Peter Cherrie, Hugh Douglas, Conor Kenna, Tim Clancy, Kevin Lynch, Keith Buckley (Ryan Brennan, 83), John Sullivan, Aaron Greene (Karl Moore, 71), Gary McCabe (Jamie Ahearne, 85), Dylan Connolly, Anthony ‘Bisto’ Flood. Subs not used: Lee Steacy, Jason Marks, Mark Salmon, Derek Foran.

BohemianFC.com Man of the Match: Dinny Corcoran

The night started with some fitting pomp and ceremony as the players were introduced to Bohs’ Honorary Life President Tony O’Connell, and the Finglas Brass Band provided music. With the confusion of Brexit perhaps still swirling, the playing of Amhrann na Bfhiann caused some puzzled faces in the Derry lineup. However, the men in green turned to face the flag eventually. The game itself began with a familiar home-away pattern. Bohs looked to get the ball forward to Corcoran and Doyle as often as possible, while Derry looked to hit on the counter attack.

It was from one of these counter attacks that the opening goal came on 14 minutes. Barry McNamee clipped the ball through to Rory Patterson on the right side of the box, and Bohs keeper Shane Supple raced out to meet him. Patterson touched the ball past Supple – on the way out of play, and the former Dublin keeper somewhat rashly took the striker out. The lack of real protestation from the Bohs players told the story as Paul McLaughlin pointed to the spot. Aaron McEneff dispatched the penalty into the bottom corner, despite Supple diving the right way.

Bohs came into the game in the middle period of the first half. The first real chance fell to the wrong man – Dan Byrne went on a rampaging run and played a one-two with Corcoran. However, he scuffed his shot when bearing down on Ger Doherty’s goal. Jamie Doyle was lively for the home side, stinging the palms of Doherty with a couple of low shots from outside the area. Doyle never stopped running and displayed the kind of attitude that goes down well in Dublin 7.

It looked like half-time would come with a relatively workable 0-1 scoreline, but an injury time moment of calamity gave Derry a huge cushion. Derek Pender had a routine backpass to Supple, but the ball was struck way too hard – and towards the open goal. Supple scrambled to hook the ball off the line, although it looked to many in the Jodi that it had already crossed. However, he could only direct it straight to Nathan Boyle who had the simple task of finishing it off.

The second half was only four minutes old when Derry got the killer goal. After a Bohs corner had been scrambled wide, Doherty launched a quick kick to Boyle on the right wing. Boyle, who had only replaced Paterson early in the first half, out-muscled Oscar Brennan, and after running almost 40 yards with the ball, smashed it through Supple’s legs. With the mood in the Jodi low, Bohs got a lifeline on 55 minutes. Georgie Poynton scooped a ball through towards Corcoran, and a deflection off a Derry midfielder meant the ball bounced kindly for Dinny, who finished clinically past Doherty.

A goal to make it 3-2 would have set the cat amongst the pigeons, and Bohs thought they had it on the hour mark. Pender’s cross was spilled by Doherty under pressure from Doyle, and Keith Ward tapped in – but referee McLaughlin (harshly) adjudged that Doyle had fouled Doherty while jumping. However, the burgeoning Bohs comeback was snuffed out on 65 minutes. Jamie Doyle’s square ball across the pitch was cut out by McNamee who played Boyle through. The Derry man was denied a hat-trick by a smart save from Supple, but another Derry sub – Lukas Schubert – was on hand to tap the ball into the empty net.

The last 20 minutes or so were played out at a slower pace – both teams knew the game was over. Long took the opportunity to give debuts to Kaleem Simon and Philly Gannon from the bench, but neither had the chance to make an impact. Minds turn to next week’s meeting with Shamrock Rovers. If there’s ever a game to erase the memory of a defeat, it’s a trip to that particular part of the world.

Bohemian FC: Shane Supple, Derek Pender, Dan Byrne, Oscar Brennan, Lorcan Fitzgerald, Paddy Kavanagh, Ian Morris, Georgie Poynton, Keith Ward (Kaleem Simon, 61), Jamie Doyle (Philly Gannon, 78), Dinny Corcoran. Subs not used: Greg Murray, Stephen Best, Rob Cornwall, Eoghan Morgan, Dean Casey.

Derry City: Ger Doherty, Conor McDermott, Ben Doherty (Scott Whiteside, 68), Ryan McBride, Dean Jarvis, Nicky Low, Joshua Daniels (Lucas Schubert, 63), Aaron McEniff, Barry McNamee, Ronan Curtis, Rory Patterson (Nathan Boyle, 28). Subs not used: Eric Grimes, Rory Holden, Mark Timlin, Alon Netzer.

BohemianFC.com Man of the Match: Jamie Doyle

There weren’t many clear-cut chances of note in the opening half hour but the hosts began getting on top with some nice sustained bouts of pressure albeit not looking threatening. But the home fans frustration didn’t last too long though when the deadlock was finally broken on the 33rd minute.

Man of the moment, Jake Kelly delivered a dangerously whipped in-swinging free kick from the right side and looked to have gone straight in without a touch but Kurtis Byrne, like all good forwards, claimed he got the faintest of touches to grab his ninth league goal of the season.

The second half started much the same as the first, Bohs looked neat and tidy in possession while the visitors, despite their hard work and endeavor, lacked a bit of quality in possession to sustain any pressure.

The game fell into a lull with neither team creating openings so both managers decided to utilize their benches to inject a bit of life into the game but it failed to materialize. A scuffed effort from Kurtis Byrne followed a David O’Sullivan header just over as the game threatened to come to life.

Just as the game was drifting to a close, Longford decided to go route one and push man mountain Yann Mvita up front as an emergency forward. The big man made his presence felt winning some flick ons, but the Bohs defence managed to deal with the threat and hold on for the win.

Longford will be glad to see the back of Bohs this season as the Gypsies maintained their good run of form against them, with Bohs having not conceded in either game this season, a 2-0 win at home and a 1-0 victory away.

Up next for the Gypsies is a tough away trip to the Carlisle Grounds were they face a spirited Bray Wanders. Meanwhile Longford host high flying Derry City at home, and with time running out to pick up valuable points in order to pull Wexford youths closer, its not looking good for Alan Mathews troops.

Bohemian FC: Dean Delany, Derek Pender, Lorcan Fitzgerald, Roberto Lopes, Derek Prendergast, Keith Buckley, Kurtis Byrne, Jake Kelly (Marco Chindea 90+1’), Paddy Kavanagh (Eoin Wearen 75’), Dean O’Halloran (Mark Quigley 70’), Ian Morris

Subs: Dean Mahon, Dan Byrne, Stephen Best, Dylan Hayes

Longford Town: Ryan Coulter, Jamie Mulhall (Noel Haverty 45’), Conor Powell, Kealan Dillon (David O’Sullivan 66’), Peter McGlynn, Don Cowan (Kaleem Simon 72’) Kevin O’Connor, Yann Mvita, Pat Flynn, Philip Gannon, Eddie Dsane

Subs: Paul Skinner, Mark Hughes, Gaius Makouta, Rhys Gorman