“WE WANT TO DELIVER A TEAM THE FANS CAN BE PROUD OF”
February 26, 2018
BOHEMIANS v DERRY CITY
Tuesday February 27, Dalymount Park, 7.45pm
Match sponsor: Arkway Refrigeration
Matchball sponsor: Conal Devine & Associates
Bohemians welcome Derry City to Dalymount Park tomorrow looking to build on their encouraging start to the season which has seen Keith Long’s side take four points from their opening two games.
The Gypsies kicked off the 2018 season by coming from behind to claim derby-day bragging rights with a 3-1 derby victory against Shamrock Rovers.
And they had to dig deep once more in Limerick on Saturday after frustratingly falling behind against the run of play before new boy Eoghan Stokes’ late equaliser salvaged a 1-1 draw.
Manager Long said: “The character the team showed to dig out a result with a 90th-minute equaliser was really impressive.
“A point was the least we deserved having had the bulk of possession and looking the more likely to score throughout.
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“Conditions were really difficult underfoot and the pitch was awful, which didn’t help us. But we kept going and we found a way through with Eoghan grabbing his first goal for the club on his full debut.”
Long believes his side grew in stature drawing on the support of the big vocal home crowd in their opening night win against Rovers.
And he will be hoping for more of the same tomorrow against a Derry City side who have won all of the last seven meetings between the sides since Kenny Shiels took charge at the start of the 2016 season.
He said: “This is going to be another really testing challenge for us. We face a Derry side who finished fourth last season, have some excellent players and have one of the league’s canniest managers.
“Our home support was fantastic last time out, the noise and colour generated by our fans was amazing and the players could really feed off that.
“It was great to see Dalymount packed to the rafters and we hope we can generate the type of interest there was around the Rovers game for all our home games.
“There is a lot of really good work being done in the community and behind the scenes at Bohs.
“We want to capitalise on that by delivering a team that plays for the club, plays for the jersey, plays for its community and be one that the fans can be proud of.”
But with games coming thick and fast, Long is conscious of the demands being placed on his squad – one of only two part-time set-ups in the division – and could make changes to his line-up accordingly.
He said: “It important that we can depend upon lads to step into the team and do their jobs. This midweek round of fixtures has not favoured us.
“We find ourselves playing Derry with 24 hours less recovery and preparation time than our opponents, who played in Sligo on Friday night with us playing down in Limerick on Saturday.
“It will also see us travel to Cork on Friday with another 24 hours less recovery and preparation time than Cork, who play in Sligo tonight.
“I would like to see more of a level playing field. If there are back-to-back fixtures, they should be Friday/Monday for all teams or Saturday/Tuesday for all teams irrespective of clubs’ preferred night to play home games.
“You cannot underestimate the value of 24 hours when it comes to recovery. Derry and Cork do not need any further advantage over us – they already have one by being full-time.
“Their recovery with their players is more controlled than ours and to compete on the scheduling of these games in my view hands them another advantage and is unfair, especially when you factor in we are part-time.”
TEAM NEWS
Bohs continue to be without long-term absentees Ryan Swan (cruciate) and Cristian Magerusan (metatarsal), while Rob Manley (hamstring) is likely to sit this one out too.
Keith Ward (hamstring) and Kevin Devaney (ankle) were late withdrawals from the squad that travelled to Limerick but both are expected to be available for selection tomorrow.
