With one eye on Friday’s Ford FAI Cup quarter-final against St Patrick’s Athletic, Heary acknowledges the need to make changes but is adamant he will send out a side capable of winning all three points.

“It’s not an ideal time to have a game,” he said. “We’ve a massive cup game on Friday away to the league champions.

“But the team we put out in Sligo can’t allow that to distract them. The starting XI we put out will be good enough to go there and try to win.

“The players have confidence now and we’ve shown we are well capable of beating the top teams. We want that to continue.

“We don’t sit back – we want to get on the front foot, be positive and take games to the opposition as we have done.”

One enforced change will see Eoin Wearen watch the game from the stands as he serves a ban for a red card picked up against Bray on Friday.

“It was a silly red card,” added Heary. “It was a moment of madness but there is no point in us going on about it.

“He’s gutted with himself so as a team, we will rally behind him.

“Win, lose or draw, we do it as a team, so we will all get behind him and pick him back up.”

Heary is also without young defender Stephen Best (ankle) as well as long-term absentees Dano Byrne (cruciate) and Anto Murphy (ankle).

Boss Heary made just the one change from the side that pushed Dundalk all the way, with Dave Mulcahy replacing Craig Walsh in midfield. Bray were simply crippled with losses – 4 first teamers suspended and 3 injured, they fielded a side that the youthful look of an an Elite Under 19s team rather than an Airtricity Premier Division side.

With that in mind, Bohs’ early goal led to some in the Jodi thinking there might be a rout on the cards – especially considering the Bray defending for the opener. Derek Pender punted a long clearance toward the Wanderers box, and the ball sailed behind centre back Webster’s head. Whether keeper Stephen McGuinness had called it remains a mystery, but the bouncing ball sat up nicely for Dinny Corcoran, who nodded the ball over the now on-rushing McGuinness to open the scoring. That’s an amazing 5 goals in 4 games for Corcoran, who took his tally to a very impressive 17 in all competitive competitions for the Gypsies this season.

Bohs pressed on and dominated the first half. Kevin Devaney continued his excellent form down the right flank – he had put Corcoran through with a beautiful pass just a minute before the goal – and the winger could have increased the lead but for a smart near-post save from McGuinness. Jason Byrne was also at his mercurial best, flicking on numerous passes and showing the kind of sublime touches that often go unnoticed by those who label him a goalscorer only. His flicked header sent Dinny through again, but this time he skewed the shot wide and over.

Alan Matthews would have been pleased to get in at half time just a goal down, but his team-talk went out the window when Bohs doubled their advantage less than 15 seconds into the second period! A beautiful crossfield pass from Eoin Wearen was controlled magnificently by Devaney, who skinned Niall Cooney and pulled it back to Corcoran. Dinny’s shot might well have been creeping in, but Jason Byrne slammed it into the roof of the net from close range just for good measure.

With such a huge week coming up, it was understandable that Bohs took their foot off the gas at 2-0. However, Bray getting one back wasn’t in the script. A sloppily conceded corner was defended even more poorly. Jake Kelly’s second cross bobbled along the edge of the six yard box, and cannoned in off Jason Byrne’s shin. Who says he only scores tap-ins at the right end?

The goal galvanised Bray, but they didn’t threaten Dean Delany’s goal all too often. Jake Kelly was their star man, and he beat Jack Memery a little easily to force Bray’s best chance with 20 minutes left, but the shot was straight at the Bohs keeper. Bohs were visibly jittery in the last 10 minutes, but Bray didn’t have the quality to punish them.

Three minutes of injury time was prolonged by the sending off of Wearen. After bursting forward for the final time, the Bohs midfielder went down a little easily in the box. As the ball was being cleared, David Webster trodded on Wearen, possibly accidentally, probably not. However, Wearen’s right-footed swipe at Webster was spotted by the referee, and the dreaded back pocket was reached-for. It was a silly, petulant thing to do, and Bohs must now wait for the FAI directive on suspensions (which, in all honesty, is as unpredictable as Bohs home form over the last few seasons) to see if Wearen can play next Friday. After watching Wearen’s performances over the summer, Keith Fahey and co will be hoping the Bohs man is banned.

Before that, the Gypsies travel to Sligo on Monday for a key battle in the race for 5th place. A victory for Bohs would put them just two points behind 5th place Sligo with a game in hand. Most likely, there will be players rested for the far bigger cup game in Inchicore.

Bohemians: Dean Delany, Derek Pender, Roberto Lopes, Aidan Price, Jack Memery, Kevin Devaney (Craig Walsh, 85), Dave Mulcahy, Eoin Wearen, Karl Moore (Keith Buckley, 89), Dinny Corcoran, Jason Byrne. Subs not used: Ryan McEvoy, Jake Hyland, Paddy Kavanagh, Adam Evans, Aaron Shanahan

Bray Wanderers: Stephen McGuinness, Niall Cooney, David Webster, Joe Gorman, Robert Maloney (Michael Brown, 55), Sean Noble (Ryan Swan, 66), Dean Zambra, Graham Kelly, Adam Hanlon, Gareth McDonagh, Jake Kelly. Subs not used: Eric McGill, Philip Hughes, Owen Rossiter, Gavin Sheridan

Mr. Green Man of the Match: Kevin Devaney

Pic by Eddie Lennon – eddielennonsportingimages.com

The Seagulls come to Friday’s game with just one win in the league in 14 matches. But that victory came last week against UCD and Heary knows Bray will give them a fight.

“They’ll be looking at this game and saying, if they win, they’re only a couple of points off us, though we have games in hand.

“We have to keep our heads on. Bray will be missing a few players but we mustn’t start to think, ‘This will be easy’.”

Games against Bray have marked important turning points for Bohemians this season and last. Heary started his tenure as Bohemian manager with a 3-1 victory in Bray in July 2013.

A 5-0 win at the Carlisle Grounds in June was Bohs’ best result of this season and started a run of seven leagues matches unbeaten in nine.

Dinny Corcoran scored a hat-trick in that match and last week he kept up his impressive strike record with a “another cracking goal” against league leaders Dundalk.

“Facing Dundalk with some key players missing, the lads put in a tremendous performance. We just got a bit tired in the last 15 minutes,” said Heary.

“We have shown we’re capable of giving anyone a good game on the day. If we lose and we have given it everything, like last week, we’ll hold up our hands say, ‘Fair enough’.

“The pleasing thing for me is that the players came off disappointed, and that shows you how far we have come. They’re coming off saying they should have got something from the game.”

Dave Mulcahy returns for Friday but Steven Beattie (suspension) must sit out one more match. Anto Murphy (ankle) and Dan Byrne (cruciate) remain on the long-term injury list.

After three matches in eight days, Bohemians face into seven games over a month but Heary is proud of how his squad have faced the rigours of league and cup campaigns. “It’s a tough schedule but the lads have stood up well to it.”

Former Bray icon Jason Byrne has played consecutive games and “he’s enjoying it”, according to his long-time associate, Heary. “He’s playing with a smile on his face and I’m sure he’ll start hitting the net again.”

With the glut of matches Heary expects to use his full squad. But the younger players who are also in the senior squad now have a new under-19 campaign starting this week.

Former Drogheda United manager Robbie Horgan took over this week from Bobby Browne as under-19 manager. “I want to thank Bobby for everything he has done for the club and to wish Robbie and the under-19s the very best of luck for this season,” said Heary.

Pic by Eddie Lennon – eddielennonsportingimages.com

Entering Dundalk before the game, it was clear that a title buzz has gripped the town. A huge home crowd was in attendance, with a relatively disappointing away crowd adding little to the atmosphere. Stephen Kenny has revolutionized a Dundalk team that actually finished bottom of the table as little as two seasons ago.

While their title challenge has been built on a solid defence, quality midfielders, and pace and power up front, Dundalk’s quality at set pieces has been a real feature. It wasn’t a surprise when they took the lead from a corner. Darren Meenan’s whipped in-swinger was flicked on by Pat Hoban at the near post, and captain Andy Boyle was left in acres of space to nod home at the far post. Boyle has come a long way since playing alongside your reporter for Lucan CBS in secondary school, and is now odds on to lift the league trophy in late October.

As usual on the astro-turf Oriel pitch, Bohs were finding it difficult to get into any rhythm, but their performance sprang into life with a piece of absolute magic from Karl Moore. Dane Massey scuffed his clearance straight to the right winger, who cut inside and let fly with a dipping, swerving piledriver that almost burst the net from 25 yards. Peter Cherrie didn’t move, and Bohs were instantly galvanised.

Pressing Dundalk higher up the pitch, the boys in green began to take hold of the game, and took a deserved lead with three minutes to go before half time. This time, screamer duty passed to Dinny Corcoran, who collected the ball on the edge of the box, chested it down, and rifled it into the very same top corner! The delighted travelling band could hardly believe their eyes, and the previously boisterous Dundalk fans were silenced.

Unfortunately for Bohs, Dundalk have the kind of options on the bench that Owen Heary could only dream of. David McMillan was introduced at half time, and the former UCD man and brother of Sligo’s Evan turned out to be the difference between the teams. His equalising effort was a brilliant header. Daryl Horgan beat Derek Pender a little too easily, and floated a low cross that McMillan stooped to steer past Delany. The Bohs keeper got a hand to it, and might be a little disappointed to have conceded it.

If Delany had finally won the Bohs fans’ hearts on Monday with a superb performance against Cork, his crown slipped a little with this outing. Dundalk’s winner was the result of a disappointing error from the Gypsies shot-stopper. Dane Massey’s looped cross floated towards Hoban, who forced Delany into a pretty weak punch. The ball fell to that man McMillan, who dispatched the ball into the bottom corner to send the home fans wild.

Jason Byrne had a header from a corner that just went over, but apart from that Bohs didn’t really threaten Cherrie’s goal in the last five minutes. With word of Cork’s draw filtering through to Oriel, Dundalk celebrated a 6 point lead with just 7 games to go. Bohs have a home game against Bray next Friday before a challenging week that sees them travel to Sligo on Monday before an FAI Cup quarter final on Friday.

Dundalk: Peter Cherrie, Sean Gannon, Andy Boyle, Brian Gartland, Dane Massey, Darren Meenan (Donal McDermott, 67), Richie Towell, Chris Shields (Ruaidhri Higgins, 73), Daryl Horgan, Kurtis Byrne (David McMillan, 46), Pat Hoban. Subs not used: Gabriel Sava, Mark Rossiter, John Mountney, Mark Griffin.

Bohemians: Dean Delany, Derek Pender, Roberto Lopes, Aidan Price, Jack Memery (Adam Evans, 81), Karl Moore, Craig Walsh, Eoin Wearen, Kevin Devaney, Dinny Corcoran, Jason Byrne. Subs not used: Aaron Shanahan, Ryan McEvoy, Paddy Kavanagh, Jake Hyland, Keith Buckley, Stephen Best.

BohemianFC.com Man of the Match: Karl Moore