The Bohs manager started with a relatively strong team – the same back five from Friday night’s draw with Shamrock Rovers were retained, and there was a welcome return for Dinny Corcoran following his 3 match suspension. Jake Hyland, who has been the competition’s star man so far, operated in the hole behind Corcoran, but was unable to continue his fine form from previous rounds. Longford fielded some familiar faces, with former Shamrock Rovers ‘heroes’ Stephen Rice, Pat Flynn, and Pat Sullivan in their side. With surface water still lingering on some parts of the pitch, controlling the game was difficult – but the Bohs midfield of Roberto Lopes and Stephen Traynor dominated possession without creating much until the 20th minute.

If Tony Cousins wasn’t already gray, his hair could easily have turned anyway following the sheer madness of his side’s two red cards. Just 19 minutes had passed when a lovely clipped ball from Anto Murphy sent Dinny Corcoran through. The Donabate man controlled well before rounding Chris Bennion. He applied the finish, but defender Noel Haverty decided to blatantly slap the ball away with his hand. The referee had no choice but to award the penalty and flash a red card. The Bohs fans’ chant of ‘super keeper’ followed Haverty down the tunnel, while his manager scolded him for making such a rash decision. However, he would have been soothed to hear the cheers of the home fans as Bennion saved Corcoran’s poorly struck penalty with his legs.

Bohs’ best outlet was down the left flank where Kevin Devaney was giving Pat Sullivan a torrid time. It’s a far cry from White Hart Lane to the City Calling Stadium, but Sullivan simply couldn’t handle Devaney’s pace. Backed up by the increasingly-comfortable at left back Derek Pender, one felt this would be the key to unlocking a stubborn Longford. Indeed, with just 2 minutes to the break, Devaney combined with Pender, allowing the latter to fire a dipping, in-swinging cross toward the 6-yard box. Jake Hyland got the faintest of touches first, but Dinny Corcoran got the final – meaningful touch with a flicked header into the far corner.

The complete gray-ing of Tony Cousins’ hair came on the hour mark. Kevin O’Connor had been booked for a silly lunge in the first half, but his overly-aggressive body check on Devaney was as needless as it was ridiculous. A second yellow was flashed, and O”Connor joined Haverty back in the dressing room. With 30 minutes remaining, the stage was set for Bohs to cruise to victory. Unfortunately, this did not materialise. Longford amazingly grew into the game once their second man was dismissed, forced a corner, and could easily have equalized but Etanda Nkolo dragged his effort just wide following a goal mouth scramble.

Despite the two-man advantage, chances didn’t really arrive for Bohs until Steven Beattie was introduced with 10 minutes remaining. He instantly whipped in an inch-perfect cross for Dinny, who volleyed disappointingly wide from 8 yards. Paddy Kavanagh was also introduced, but lost the ball no fewer than 6 occasions in his brief cameo. The small but vocal away support were audibly unimpressed with being only one goal to the good against 9 First Division men, but they were appeased somewhat with the clinching goal on 87 minutes. Again it was Pender the supplier as his deep free kick was floated all the way into the box where Dano Byrne rose highest to loop a header to the far corner. It was a frustrating night in truth – but a Cup win is a Cup win, and Bohs can now sit back and see who’ll join them in the semi final draw. More pressing for Owen Heary is a league game with current leaders Dundalk on Friday in Dalymount Park.

Longford Town: Chris Bennion, Pat Sullivan, Noel Haverty, Pat Flynn, Willie Tyrell (Don Cowan, 72), Sean Russell, Stephen Rice, Kevin O’Connor, David O’Sullivan (Glen O’Connor, 64), Etanda Nkololo, Peter Hynes (Gary Shaw, 60).

Bohemians: Dean Delany, Anto Murphy, Aidan Price, Daniel Byrne, Derek Pender, Keith Buckley, Roberto Lopes, Stephen Traynor (Steven Beattie, 78), Kevin Devaney, Jake Hyland (Paddy Kavanagh, 70), Dinny Corcoran.

Bohemianfc.com Man of the Match: Derek Pender

“It’s been tough on Jason Byrne. With Dinny suspended and injured before that, Jay has been asked to play nearly every minute of every game over the last few weeks, which is not what we expected.

“With Dinny back, we can mix it up again and between them, we’ll be back scoring and pushing on up the table again.”

While Bohs have struggled in front of goal in recent outings, Heary was delighted with improvements at the back.

“Rovers are a very experienced team and put us under a lot of pressure with the amount of possession they had in the second half,” he said. “But our lads stood up to everything and we limited them to a couple of half-chances.

“It was only our third clean sheet of the season, so it’s something we’ve been looking at. But for that to come away to one of the best sides in the league is an achievement.”

One problem area had been the position of left-back and Heary thinks he has now found the solution. He said: “We needed to improve and Derek Pender has really shored things up there in recent weeks.

“But there are knock-on effects too. Moving Pender meant dropping Steven Beattie back to right-back, which obviously weakened our attacking strengths.

“With Anto Murphy getting back to fitness now, we’ve now a solid and experienced back four to choose from. Dano Byrne is the only inexperienced player there and he’s been absolutely fantastic for us.”

Skipper Dave Mulcahy will not be risked tonight after coming off with a tight hamstring against Rovers on Friday, while Eoin Wearen is also out as he awaits the results of a scan on a groin injury he suffered in training on Thursday.

As well an opportunity to reach a cup semi-final, tonight’s opposition also provide Heary with a chance to gauge just how far some of his younger players have progressed. He said: “You only have to look at their teamsheet to realise what a big test this will be for our lads. Stephen Rice, Pat Sullivan, Pat Flynn – all tough league winners.

“It’s a massive test for us and a great opportunity for our players to up their game and to test themselves against players with great experience.”

And it is young players such as 18-year-old Jake Hyland who will continue to benefit. “It’s a competition we want to win and you have to keep faith with lads like Jake who have got us this far in the first place.

“He’s scored three goals in the last two rounds (1 v UCD, 2 v St Pat’s) so he’s already justified his selection. He’s progressing fast and he should be in the Ireland Under-19 team.”

Tonight they welcome Sligo Rovers in a game that should be a model to be televised live. Many of Dundalk’s games on the box this season have been entertaining, while Sligo never fail to play attractive football. The bet tonight, however, despite references to entertainment value, could be a stalemate. A draw here would probably make Sligo think they are still not out of the title race just yet, while for Dundalk it wouldn’t allow their nearest challengers to make up too much ground on them. Sligo have some injuries including Alan Keane and Kieran Djilali, while Dundalk may have to play without John Mountney, who has been impressive of late. We will thus take the draw at a best price of 11/5 with Ladbrokes

Another bet of interest is to take over 2.5 goals in UCD’s away fixture at Athlone. UCD are capable of playing attacking football under Aaron Callaghan and he has steered them in a manner befitting of their last few years. They are an honest, sporting side who are well able to score a goal or two in this fixture. For their part, Athlone will be targeting points from this game in a season where points have been thin on the ground to say the least. Expecting three goals to be scored in this one is not madness and can be backed at a decent-looking evens.

Recommended:
Dundalk v Sligo Rovers draw, 1pt 11/5 (Ladbrokes)
Athlone v UCD over 2.5 goals, 1pt evens (general)

“Jason [Byrne] was unlucky with a couple last week but we cannot rely only on him. We need someone to help him turn chances into goals.”

With Dinny Corcoran suspended, veteran Byrne is the only out-and-out striker available, and this may be putting particular pressure on him, according to Heary.

“Any striker can have a dry spell but Jason knows it will come right for him because he is getting into good positions.”

Among the midfielders helping to create the openings, Paddy Kavanagh was “brilliant” last week, according to Heary. But it will take supreme effort from all his players to get results over the next eight days.

“In our next two league games we’re playing teams who are contending for the title and a very decent Longford side [in the EA Cup on Monday]. They all have good players, with a lot of experience and the clubs have paid a lot of money for them.

“These will be three tough games, but we will have no fear playing anyone. We just need a bit of luck.”

Filling the full-back positions remains a particular challenge, and with Darragh Reynor and Philly McCabe leaving the club, Jack Memery busy with exams, and Derek Pender (hamstring) facing a late fitness test, that challenge has increased even more.

However, Roberto Lopes returns from suspension and Anto Murphy and Aidan Price came through the Drogheda game well despite fitness concerns earlier in the week.

Goalkeeper Lee Murphy has also left Bohemians for personal reasons and Heary is looking to the July transfer window as an opportunity to freshen his squad and fill some gaps, albeit within severe budgetary constraints.

Meanwhile, the Bohs backroom team are looking to the future, having signed seven under-19 players in the past week. “We had the best under-17s this year and we’ve committed some of them to the under-19s. This is a positive for the future,” said Heary.

Remember, the jerseys are strictly made to order and the deadline for orders. The cost is €49 (fully-paid club members) and €59 (non-members). All children sizes are €49.

They will come in a numbered presentation box with reproduction programme from the game. There will also be a special jersey collection night on September 20th.

Orders can be made using the PayPal button below. Members must supply their membership number after ordering by emailing 1984@bohemians.ie.

3-2 ’84 REPLICA JERSEY

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Heary made two changes to the team that drew with UCD last Friday. Aidan Price returned for the suspended Roberto Lopes, while Anto Murphy made a welcome return to the side – he replaced Kevin Devaney and operated from the right flank. Karl Moore operated from the left – which gave Paddy Kavanagh the opportunity to roam in the hole behind Jason Byrne. This formation almost opened the door for Bohs in the 3rd minute, as Murphy’s clipped pass broke the Drogs offside trap and bounced kindly for Kavanagh. His headed pass across goal took United keeper Dave Ryan out of the equation, but Karl Moore’s bouncing shot was cleared off the line by Daire Doyle.

Drogheda’s only other opening bar their goal came just a minute after that Moore chance. Dano Byrne and Dean Delany left the ball to each other, and Cathal Brady capitalized to turn a half chance into a speculative effort that clonked off the opposite post. However, as the first half wore on, it became increasingly obvious that Drogheda were grossly out of confidence – this was a team who had lost 6 straight games remember. Bohs were dominating possession without creating much, but still should have gone into the break ahead. A Moore corner was nodded down by Dano Byrne, and his namesake Jason preposterously fired the ball into the housing estate behind Ryan’s goal.

Heary clearly sensed that this game was there for the taking, and Bohs noticeably upped the pace at the start of the second half. Mulcahy was in particularly good knick, performing trademark bull-charging runs to start attacks. Kavanagh was pulling the strings, and created another opening for Moore, who’s shot was again poorly struck and allowed Ryan to save. Moore turned provider and whipped in a lovely cross for Jason Byrne who headed just over. The record-chaser’s third and final chance was the killer; an inch-perfect whipped cross from Kavanagh found him just 8 yards out and unmarked, but his downward header was too straight and saved by Ryan’s legs. To the neutral, it looked like a matter of time before Bohs took the lead, but among seasoned followers, knowing glances were shared – we would be made to rue these missed chances.

Bohs had looked relatively solid in defence, but a wild mistake proved to be their undoing. Steven Beattie is not a full back, so was perhaps never taught that famous schoolboy mantra of ‘never pass the ball across your own goal’. Alas, he did just that, catching Price and Darragh Reynor off guard. Carl Walshe pounced on the loose ball, and fired a crisp shot low into the bottom corner. Against the run of play, but they all count. Sadly for Bohs, it seemed they had used up all of their chances, and nothing clear cut materialised in the last 10 minutes. Next up is a daunting trip to Tallaght, hardly a sanctuary for teams in desperate need of three points.

Drogheda United: Dave Ryan, Michael Daly, Ciaran McGuigan, Daire Doyle, Shane Grimes, Cathal Brady (Declan O’Brien 12), Eric Foley, Paul Crowley, Gavan Holohan, Carl Walshe, Gary O’Neill. Subs not used: Dylan Connolly, Paul Andrews, Philly Hughes, Dominic Mahon, Sean O’Connor, Roy Kierans.

Bohemians: Dean Delany, Steven Beattie, Aidan Price, Dan Byrne, Derek Pender (Darragh Reynor 21), Anto Murphy (Kevin Devaney 72), Dave Mulcahy, Ryan McEvoy (Craig Walsh 80), Karl Moore, Paddy Kavanagh, Jason Byrne. Subs not used: Gavin Moore, Eoin Wearan, Stephen Traynor. Jake Hyland.

“We took the game to UCD, we didn’t sit back, and on another night Jason [Byrne] could have had two or three goals. We can build on that, knowing that we’re playing well, we’re doing things right.

“We need wins, and we go out for every game aiming to win. Friday’s game will be no different.

“If we can get a win it changes the table around, as there’s not much between the teams in the middle.”

Heary considers his side to have been unlucky in several recent games and is hoping for a change of fortune.

“We’ve had a few things go against us, even going back to the [Shamrock] Rovers game where a goal was disallowed that shouldn’t have been. Little things seem to have turned games against us.

“We’re hoping that this will change, even if we get goals off Jason’s behind, or the bounce comes for us and the ball goes in.”

Earlier this season, Bohemians went 2-0 up in Dalymount against Drogheda, but were then pegged back for a 2-2 draw.

“We’re going up there on a positive note, even though we’re missing a few players. There’s an opportunity for other players to step up to the mark,” said Heary.

Bohemians’ defence, already shuffled to move Derek Pender to the left and bring Steven Beattie in at right back, will need to be changed again for Friday.

Central defender Roberto Lopes is suspended following his contested sending-off against UCD and Aidan Price (quad tear) is unlikely to be fit for selection.

Meanwhile, Anto Murphy (hamstring) is back in full training and made a brief subsitute appearance against St Patrick’s Athletic in the EA Sports Cup ten days ago. But he may not be fit to start.
Two younger players, Eoin Wearen and Dan Byrne, may form the central defence against Drogheda.

Bohemians have been finding goals hard to get in league games, with the established goal-scorers all having near-misses. “The chances are coming but we’re not putting the ball in the net,” said Heary.

Striker Dinny Corcoran will miss Friday’s game, serving the first additional suspension of two for his sending-off against Derry City two weeks ago. Jake Hyland, 18, scored twice in the EA Sports Cup win over St Patrick’s but Heary is being careful not to over-expose him.

“He’s still on a learning curve, and he’s just come off a long season with the under-19s. The last thing we want to do is just to throw him in and then he’s wrecked before we’ve started.

“We’ll continue to put him in and take him out, and show him what it’s all about. He’s definitely one for the future.”