While Sligo Rovers have been going through a rough patch, Long still expects a tough game from the Bit O’Red, now managed by former Bohs man Joseph Ndo.

“They’re in a state of flux at the moment, but they’re a full-time team and they have lots of good players. If we’re not on our guard, it could be a difficult night for us,” said Long.

“Joey was one of the great technicians of the League of Ireland, and I have no doubt that he’ll try and play a brand of football that he’s accustomed to.”

At the beginning of the season, many pundits would not have been surprised if the current league positions (5th & 10th) of the two teams was reversed. But the Bohs manager welcomes the new-found expectations that his side’s form has heralded.

“That expectation is there now, and we’ve got to handle that and embrace it. We recognise that the players have done a decent job so far, but we can’t take our foot off the pedal in any way,” said Long.

“The League table doesn’t lie at this stage of the season, we want to kick on, get as many points as we can, and try and finish as high up the table as we can.”

The Gypsies have collected more points on their travels than at Dalymount Park this season, and Long is looking for his side to take the game to the opposition when on home turf.

“It’s a home game. The onus is on us, irrespective of who we’re playing. We’re expected to win, and we want the players to embrace that challenge.”

Bohs will be without the suspended Lorcan Fitzgerald, while Jake Hyland is almost certain to miss out with a groin injury.

Jason Byrne and Dylan Hayes are back in contention after run outs in a friendly against Everton Under 21s on Wednesday. Derek Pender (achilles), Marc Griffin (cruciate) and Dan Byrne (knee) remain on the longer-term injury list.

With the evening sun shining beautifully into the away fans’ eyes, the home side were straight out of the blocks, and grabbed the lead after just three minutes. Robbie Creevy was dispossessed too easily in midfield, and one pass later, David O’Sullivan was in on goal. The striker tucked the ball past Delany into the corner to give Tony Cousins’ side a dream start.

Wearing their changed green strip, it took Bohs a good 20 minutes to string a meaningful move together. Lovely hold up play from Ismahil Akinade and a splayed pass from Robbie Creevy put the returning Paddy Kavanagh away on the right, but his shot / pull-back was just inches away from Adam Evans at the back post.

Evans had another glorious chance minutes later. Akinade was involved again, brushing Mark Rossiter aside before unleashing a shot that was blocked right into Evans’ path, but his effort was blazed into the car park.

At the other end, Dean Delany was extremely busy. First, he tipped a Mark Salmon effort brilliantly over the bar, and then had to claw a Gary Shaw header away. A hoofed Steven Rice clearance somehow turned into a clear run for O’Sullivan, but Delany was out quick and saved well with his legs.

If the Bohs keeper was on top form, it was nothing compared to what Paul Skinner pulled off on 35 minutes. A long Anto Murphy throw in was flicked on by Derek Prendergast, and Robbie Creevy simply buried a header from 4 yards. However, Skinner somehow managed to save the ball and hook it over the bar. As good a point-blank save as you’ll ever see.

Bohs continued to dominate possession in the second half, and you felt an equaliser was coming. Akinade was superb throughout. He flicked a long Anto Murphy ball onto Keith Buckley, and raced onto Buckley’s lovely back-heeled return. However, the Nigerian’s toe-poked shot was just wide of Skinner’s post.

Eventually, the big man was going to make it count, and did so on 67 minutes. The hard surface of the pitch bounced a ball up, and a hesitant Longford defense allowed Akinade to bull his way through on goal. He flicked the ball past Skinner, and Keith Buckley bundled it in for good measure. The ball would more than likely have been cleared by Conor Powell, so Buckley’s intervention was essential.

From that point, it would seem that Bohs would go on and win it, but the equaliser seemed to re-invigorate Longford. A draw would probably have been a fair result, but Bohs switched off in the 88^th minute, and were punished. A long ball forward was only flicked on by Dave Mulcahy, and Anto Murphy got his legs entangled, allowing Pat Sullivan to get a shot away. Prendergast managed to block the initial effort, but the ball fell to substitute Ayman Ben Mohamed, who slapped a low shot in off Delany. Ecstasy for the home fans, a forlorn journey back up the N4 for the Gypsies.

Longford Town: Paul Skinner, Pat Sullivan, Mark Rossiter (Willie Tyrell, 26), Conor Powell, Stephen Rice, Mark Salmon (Lorcan Shannon, 74), Gary Shaw, Kevin O’Connor, Jack Doherty (Ayman Ben Mohamed, 56), Rhys Gorman, David O Sullivan. Subs not used: Paul Hunt, James Mulhall, Martin Deady, Kaleem Simon.

Bohemians: Dean Delany, Anto Murphy, Dave Mulcahy, Derek Prendergast, Lorcan Fitzgerald (Stephen Best, 67), Paddy Kavanagh, Keith Buckley, Roberto Lopes, Robbie Creevy (Kealan Dillon, 85), Adam Evans (Karl Moore, 58), Ismahil Akinade. Subs not used: Lee Steacy, Jason Byrne, James O’Brien, Jake Hyland.

BohemianFC.com Man of the Match: Ismahil Akinade

“We can clear all our major debts and can commit fully to realising our ambitions in football and in the community. The city now owns a major, and historic, sporting facility close to the centre and can provide public amenities, as well as a long-term home for Bohemian FC, Dublin’s oldest football club.

“Bohemians want to thank the city officials, public representatives, the FAI, the local residents and community groups and the many friends of the club who contributed to securing this agreement. We also thank the members and fans for their patience. It has been a long road but one that opens a bright future.”

Further information: Daniel Lambert, Bohemian FC director, 086-8576054

Advisory to media: Bohemian FC will hold a media briefing on the deal at Dalymount Park on Monday, 6 July, at 1.30pm. Matt Devaney, Daniel Lambert and other club directors who have been involved in the negotiations will be present.

Tony Cousins’ side should pose a significant test for Long’s men, who ran out 2-0 winners when the teams met at Dalymount Park in April. “Going to Longford is not going to be easy. They’ve come up from the First Division with a very experienced squad of players,” said Long. “They’ve done extremely well so far this season, but they’ll equally be looking for a win having lost their last couple of games.”

With the four teams above the Gypsies in the table involved in European action over the next few weeks, Bohs have an opportunity to pick up points on the full-time sides above them. “It’s an opportunity to get points on the board, so let’s see how the league table looks after the weekend ,” said Long.

“It does help that we don’t have the distractions of Europe – and we’d like to be in that position this time next year. We’re ambitious, but we have to be realistic about our ambitions too.”

Despite their excellent start to the season, Long insists that his side are still taking it one game at a time. “You can’t look past the next game. If you do that, and get ahead of yourself, you can come unstuck. The second series of games is notoriously difficult – teams have a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses and are therefore better prepared.”

Bohs hosted recently-promoted Scottish Premier League side Hearts in a friendly game on Wednesday night and Long was happy to give some returning players and young players game-time against quality opposition. “I thought it was a good exercise, and I thought we played very well,” said Long.

“It was good to get decent game time for some players and it was a good run out for some members of our Under 19 squad. They did themselves no harm in terms of their performance.”

Bohs will be without Dylan Hayes (back), while the Longford game will be too soon for Jason Byrne (calf), who only returned to training this week. Stephen Best suffered a gash on the head in the game against Hearts, but should be fit to be part of the squad in Longford. Derek Pender (achilles), Dan Byrne (knee) and Marc Griffin (cruciate) remain on the longer-term injury list.