“Coming back from goals behind two games in a row shows real character,” Callaghan added.

Owen Heary, who made it to the bench last Friday after a month on the sidelines with a knee injury, looks set to return to action. Stephen Traynor is also available after a long lay-off. Derek Pender will have a late fitness test for a strain.

“We will have to prepare really well for UCD. They beat Shamrock Rovers at home. They are performing well and their fitness levels are always good,” said Callaghan.

The Bohemian manager returns to one of his former clubs with a squad that includes recent UCD players Ciaran Nangle and Chris Lyons, who celebrates his 20th birthday on Wednesday.

In the last 12 league meetings between the sides, UCD have won only once. However, last February they defeated Bohemians in the Leinster Senior Cup through a Ciaran Nangle own goal in the last minute of extra time.

In March, Chris Lyons scored penalties in successive games when Bohs avenged that defeat with two victories in three days over UCD in the league and in the EA Sports Cup.

Unfortunately for the visitors, they slept their way through the opening minute, and Drogheda were ahead in no time.  After ex-Bohs man Gary O’Neill had forced a corner straight from the kick off, Ryan Brennan caught the Bohs defence napping by taking it quick and whipping in a devilish cross.  Michael Daly rose to meet the ball at the height of his jump, giving Dean Delany no chance, stunning the travelling Bohs faithful.

A howling gale was blowing straight in Delany’s face in the first half and the Drogs were well on top, playing the kind of neat football that saw them finish a surprise 2^nd in the league last year. Graham Rusk and Brennan both flashed shots across goal as Bohs struggled to get the ball down and play.

When the equaliser came, it was totally against the run of play. Michael Barker played the ball forward to the previously anonymous Dwayne Wilson who’s first touch took him past United defender Shane Grimes.  Wilson then showed an incredible burst of pace and was suddenly through on goal.  For a man who hadn’t yet scored this season, he showed remarkable composure to slide a neat, right-footed finish passed Gabriel Sava into the bottom corner.

The Drogheda response was immediate, and almost produced one of the goals of the season.  Gary O’Neill may not be as nippy as he once was, but he showed incredible control to wrong foot Roberto Lopes.  Just as it looked like he was about to let fly with a screamer – he stopped, checked and chipped Dean Delany – Cantona-esque,  from 25 yards.  The Bohs keeper could only watch as the ball sailed over him and cannoned off the cross bar, with Michael Barker completing a great clearance under pressure from Brennan.

Drogheda didn’t take long to reassert their dominance, and re-took the lead with another sloppy goal for Bohs to concede.  Paul O’Conor’s header was tamely parried back into the danger zone by Dean Delany and O’Conor himself followed up to restore the home side’s lead.  Although it was from close range, Delany might well be disappointed that he didn’t keep the rebound out – as it rather squirmed under his body.

Aided by the wind, Bohs started the 2^nd half much brighter – and were level within just 6 minutes.  Chris Lyons came short, and sent an ambitious ball ahead of Andy Mulligan down the left.  Many players would have given up on the pass, but Mulligan’s lightning pace allowed him to amazingly reach it – before getting to the by-line and pulling it back.  The ball ricocheted off two Drogheda defenders before falling on a plate for Ryan McEvoy who buried past Sava from 12 yards.

Again, Drogheda reacted smartly to being pegged back.  The impressive Ryan Brennan did well down the left and fired a dangerous ball across the face of the goal.  It fell to Gary O’Neill just two yards out with the goal at his mercy – but he inexplicably skewed it over the bar when scoring would have been easier.

You almost felt that Bohs would get a chance to win it, and that chance came on 75 minutes.  Wilson’s pace caused Drogheda problems all night, and again took him clear down the right side.  He clipped a lovely ball that sailed over Chris Lyons head but found Andy Mulligan unmarked in acres of space, just 15 yards out.  If ever a player panicked with the result as his feet, it was then.  Mulligan lost his footing, and fell flat on his face.  He was in so much space that he even had time to pick himself up, jink around the on-rushing Sava before firing a shot disappointingly high and wide.

The home side searched for a winner but couldn’t find a way past a steadfast Bohs defence marshalled well once again by new cult hero Dave Mulcahy. That’s two welcome away points for the Gypsies, with the 3^rd of a travelling trilogy to come against UCD on Tuesday.

Drogheda United: Gabriel Sava, Derek Prendergast, Alan McNally, Shane Grimes, Brian Gannon, Graham Rusk (Declan “Fabio” O’Brien, 74), Paul O’Conor (Eric Foley, 64), Michael Daly, David Cassidy, Gavin Brennan, Gary O’Neill (Peter Hynes, 86). Subs not used: Stephen Quigley, Philip Hand, Cathal Brady, Michael Schlingermann

Bohemians: Dean Delany, Roberto Lopes, Dave Mulcahy, Luke Byrne, Michael Barker, Derek Pender, Keith Buckley, Ryan McEvoy, Andy Mulligan,  Dwayne Wilson (Kevin O’Leary, 86), Chris Lyons (Kevin Devaney, 90). Subs not used: Greg Murray, Ciaran Nangle, Owen Heary, Shane Murray, Stephen Traynor.

Bohs Man of the Match: Dwayne Wilson

Shamrock have scored in each of their home games this season, and will obviously hope that some of the many chances they are creating start going in. A 2-0 defeat at UCD is fairly stark though, if you are looking for indications that this isn’t just a team short on luck and small margins away from turning draws into wins. That doesn’t really explain why they are ten points behind the league leaders, and if they lose and find themselves 13 behind, patience will be severely tested. The bet that appeals is the draw, something that neither team would be too disappointed at. Despite the home team’s need being greater, Sligo are capable of avoiding defeat.

The above bet on the draw will be seen by many as a safe bet, but there could well be another share of the spoils that is somewhat less expected by neutrals, and it is our trip to Drogheda. The home side may well have one eye on their Setanta Cup final date next weekend, and may be without Alan Byrne, Derek Prendergast, and Ryan Brennan. Declan O’Brien is always a threat against us but even in the absence of Stephen Paisley, we have a team capable of building on the confidence injected by the Inchicore result, and sneak a point here.

It is difficult to pick much else to bet on in this series of fixtures, and there may well be some more draws, considering that teams are going into an intense period of fixtures with little recovery time. What you may see in such circumstances is teams reluctant to really commit towards the end of games, and this is good news for draw backers. St Pat’s wouldn’t be too upset at a draw at Cork, who will be in good spirits following their late comeback against Bray. Bray themselves host Dundalk, who despite their fine start to the season might be slightly over-rated at 4/5 away from home.

Derry and Limerick is another one that looks hard to call, with Derry perhaps more stylish as a road team when they don’t have to patiently break through the sort of defensive masses that visitors to the Brandywell often present them with.

Finally, consider a squeak on UCD to beat Shelbourne. After almost a full series of fixtures, we can probably deduce that Shels have serious problems indeed, even apart from their disciplinary record. UCD will be delighted at last Friday’s home win and won’t have any fear of going to Tolka in search of all 3 points.

Recommended:
Shamrock – Sligo draw, 1pt 9/4 (Coral)
Drogheda – Bohs draw, 1pt 11/4 (BetVictor)
UCD, 1pt 21/10 (Coral)

Produced by Peter O’Doherty (podproductions.ie).
Interview by Robert O’Reardon.
Intro by Ray O’Hanlon.

“With so many changes, and so many younger players coming in, I was over the moon to get that result”.

With four of the most experienced players unable to play, even more responsibility than usual fell on Dave Mulcahy and goalkeeper Dean Delany. The No. 1 was, in Callaghan’s view, “exceptional, making three or four fantastic saves towards the end” and Mulcahy’s was rated by his manager as “one of the best individual performances I have seen in the league”.

Bohemians are well aware that Drogheda United have proven very difficult to beat. Last season, Bohemians had one draw and three defeats in league and league cup encounters with the Drogs. Just a month after Friday’s match, Bohs face Drogheda again in the FAI Cup.

“We’ve got to respect them and we’ll do our usual analysis on how they are playing but we have to concentrate on our own performance and on our shape,” said Callaghan.

“We’re getting more players forward, which has certainly helped us. We looked dangerous on the break against Pat’s. As much as they had chances to win it, we definitely had one or two chances to nick it.”

Bohemians secured their point last Monday with 19-year-old Conor O’Brien making his league debut, and 19-year-olds Andy Mulligan and Michael Barker starting for just the second time.

Callaghan has now started 22 players from his squad and it is likely he will have to draw on more, as Stephen Paisley has left the squad due to work commitments outside football and Darragh Hanaphy is on a temporary break also due to work commitments.

With Paisley off the payroll, Aaron Callaghan has some flexibility in his modest budget and is looking to bring in a striker.

For Friday, Owen Heary (knee) remains sidelined, while Derek Pender (bruised ribs) and Dave Scully (hamstring) face late fitness tests before Friday’s game.

At the other end of the age spectrum, 17-year-old Adam Kelly is now training with the senior squad. He joins defender Michael Scott, just turned 19, who has taken the squad number 23 vacated by the departing Niall Forrester.

As if that wasn’t enough, we were given  FIVE COPIES of the game to give away on our Facebook page. The five winners of the game are:  Alan Byrne, Simon Wielens, Mick Slater, Fergus Lynch and Fergie Cronin.

A big thank-you to EA Sports for the prizes!

Bohs made the short trip across the city without the injured Derek Pender and Dave Scully. Conor O’Brien and Dwayne Wilson were drafted into the 3-5-2 formation that began the game against Bray Wanderers on Friday. Initial signs were good, with the visitors’ tactics seeming to catch St Pats off guard in the opening quarter. Chris Lyons was a constant menace, and he created the first chance of the game for himself after 4 minutes. He collected Andy Mulligan’s cross, swiveled on a sixpence, and fired over the bar all in one movement. How many more points would Bohs have if the former UCD striker hadn’t missed half of the 10 league games so far?

Bohs were definitely the brighter team, with Lyons again causing trouble for the Pats defence. He received the ball out on the right from Wilson, and skipped past the lunging Kenny Browne inside the box. The Bohs crowd in the Shed End begged, nay,  implored Lyons to go down, but the honest striker stayed on his feet and crossed for Wilson, whose eventual pass toward Mulligan came to nothing.

With the Gypsies bossing the opening half hour, a sucker punch was almost inevitable, and it came courtesy of ex-Bohs striker Anto Flood. Putting it kindly, Dean Delany is struggling for confidence, and he wont be happy again with his role in the opening goal here. A routine short corner wasn’t reacted to by the Bohs defence, and the cross was floated in by Ian Bermingham. Delany came, flapped, and didnt connect, leaving ‘Bisto’ Flood with the simple task of rising above Luke Byrne to head the Saints into the lead.

The home side’s confidence grew from that point, and they really took control before and after half time. Kevin Devaney came on for the struggling Conor O’Brien at the break, but Pats were well on top by that stage. Delany spilled a Bermingham shot, but recovered in time to collect in front of an on-coming Flood. The introduction of Jake Kelly for Pats added an extra dimension to their game. His slid pass found Conan Byrne who dinked it over Delany, only for Roberto Lopes to clear off the line. Just a minute later, Kelly again found Byrne with a low cross, but the ball inexplicably came back off the crossbar.

A rare glimpse of the Pats goal came for Bohs on 70 minutes when Michael Barker showed great composure to beat two players and let fly with a stinging shot that Brandan Clarke tipped over the bar. From the resulting corner, Ryan McEvoy’s whipped cross was met with blunt force by Dave Mulcahy at the near post. Two men on the line couldnt stop it, and Bohs had smash-and-grabbed an equaliser!

Almost instantly, Pats hit the woodwork again, Conor Kenna’s header was clawed onto the post by Delany, as the home side searched for a winner. Up stepped Mulcahy, who started to produce a string of amazing last-ditch blocks. At one stage, he had been laid out on the ground by a clash of heads with Christy Fagan – but even his prone, spread-eagled body managed to get in the way of a Chris Forrester shot. Jake Kelly blazed over from 8 yards after a slaloming Forrester run, and it started to look like one of those nights.

Bohs almost pulled off an amazing win when sub Shane Fitzgerald crossed for Lyons, but Conor Kenna pulled a Mulcahy-esque block out of nowhere to deny the quiffed forward a fourth league goal. Dean Delany weighed in with a couple of smart injury time saves to deny Fagan and Kelly, and a hard-fought point was amazingly secured. Next up for Bohs, they conclude the first round of league fixtures with a trip to Drogheda on Friday.

St Patrick’s Athletic: Brendan Clarke; Ger O’Brien, Connor Kenna, Kenny Browne, Ian Bermingham; Sean Gannon (Jake Kelly, 60), John Russell, Shane McFaul; Conan Byrne, Anthony Flood (Christy Fagan, 65), Christopher Forrester. Subs not used: Dave Ryan, Aidan Price, Jake Carroll, Stephen Maher, Conor Murphy. 

Bohemians: Dean Delaney; Roberto Lopes, Dave Mulcahy, Luke Byrne; Michael Barker, Conor O’Brien (Kevin Devaney, 46), Keith Buckley, Ryan McEvoy, Andy Mulligan;  Dwayne Wilson (Shane Fitzgerald, 73); Chris Lyons. Subs not used: Greg Murray, Ciaran Nangle, Michael Scott, Darragh Reynor, Kevin O’Leary.

Bohs Man of the Match: Dave Mulcahy