Much like the league opener on Friday, it was a cagey affair early on. Bohemians midfielder Conor O’Brien missed a one-on-one with UCD goalkeeper Mark McGinley,  while Stephen Paisley had a header cleared off the line from another former Gypsy, Gary Burke.

But nine minutes before half-time, the Students drew first blood. The ball ricocheted around the box before Corcoran had the easiest of chances to put the ball past Greg Murray.

The home side responded well though and won a penalty just before the break. A clumsy challenge from Hugh Douglas sent Derek Pender tumbling and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot just before the break. Shane Murray stepped up but McGinley saved the former Sheffield United youngster’s spot-kick and subsequent follow-up.

Aaron Callaghan’s side seemed to have taken the manager’s words on board at the start of the second period and built up a head of steam. But all that momentum was lost as the Students doubled their advantage through Corcoran’s penalty after Roberto Lopes was adjudged to have fouled his former team-mate.

It looked all over but second after the kick-off,  fans’ favourite Scully pulled a goal back for his side and it was game on again.

Lyons and Moore were sprung from the bench as Bohs looked to gather momentum again  - and both of them proved to be inspired changes.

But time looked to be running out for Bohs until Lyons was fouled on the edge of the area in the last minute. Moore stepped up and curled his stunning free-kick into the top corner at the Tramway End.

On a freezing night in Phibsborough, 30 minutes of extra-time and possible penalties beckoned.

Paisley came close yet again at the start of extra-time when his header smashed off the crossbar. And Derek Pender came close too before the deciding moment came.

Referee Derek Tomney pointed to the spot for the third time in the evening as McGinley fouled Paisley.

This time Lyons stepped up, but once again McGinley was equal to the effort. Unlike Murray’s earlier effort, however, Lyons was able to bundle in the rebound to net his second goal against his former club in three days.

UCD pressed for an equaliser but this young Bohs showed great courage and stamina to hold on for victory and get revenge for an extra-time defeat against the same opposition in the Leinster Senior Cup last month.

Next up for the Gypsies is a trip to Turner’s Cross on Friday, before Shamrock Rovers come to Dalymount on Bank Holiday Monday (March 18th, KO2pm).

Bohemians: Greg Murray; Michael Barker, Roberto Lopes, Stephen Paisley, Ciaran Nangle; Dwayne Wilson (Karl Moore 63), Shane Murray, Derek Pender, Conor O’Brien (Chris Lyons 63), Andy Mulligan (Darragh Hanaphy 80); David Scully. Subs not used: Dean Delany, Darragh Reynor, Luke Byrne, Santiago Miguel Falbo

UCD: Mark McGinley; Gareth Matthews, Hugh Douglas, Tomas Boyle (Colm Crowe 106), Mark Langtry; Dean Clarke (Craig Walsh 56), James Kavanagh, Robbie Benson, Samir Belhout (Sean Coyne 78), Gary Burke; Dinny Corcoran. Subs not used: Ger Barron, David McMillan, Tyrone McNelis, Cillian Morrison.

(Picture by A. Baldiemann shows l-r Derek Pender, Roberto Lopes, Darragh Hanaphy, Dave Scully and Shane Murray saluting Karl Moore’s (No 10) late leveller.) View more match pics on our Facebook page!

In a departure from last season’s tactics, Callaghan went for a conventional 4-4-2 formation, with Darragh Hanaphy partnering Chris Lyons in attack. Devaney started the game on the left wing before moving into the forward line with devastating effect in the second half.

After months of anticipation, the first 10 minutes of this clash was not pretty viewing for Bohs fans. Pinned in their own half by the visitors, the Gypsies had to withstand an early flurry of corner-fuelled pressure. Debutant Dean Delany flapped at one such corner, but Lyons thankfully got to the ball before the onrushing Craig Walsh. Bohs eventually grew into the game, with the midfield duo of Ryan McEvoy and Stephen Traynor controlling proceedings for large periods after that shaky opening 10.

Lyons and McEvoy both tried low free-kick drives, but both struck at the feet of the UCD wall. With neither side on top, the game exploded into life in the 20^th minute. Keith Buckley found a sliver of space and clipped a lovely little ball through to Lyons, who seemed to anticipate the oncoming challenge from Mark Langtry. Lyons went down, referee Rob Rogers pointed to the spot and Langtry was on his way to the dressing room. The incident will be an interesting watch on Monday Night Soccer, and it’s very possible visiting boss Martin Russell will feel particularly aggrieved. Either way, Lyons dusted himself down and dispatched the penalty with aplomb – the first goal in the 2013 Airtricity League Premier Division.

Lyons, a former UCD player, made a nuisance of himself all night. He can be extremely pleased with his competitive debut for the Gypsies. Alongside a wonderfully composed and mature showing from Ryan McEvoy, Bohs had two outstanding performances on the night. McEvoy let fly with a rasping 30-yard drive that had pulses racing on the half-hour mark before Devaney struck the post just before half-time. His snapshot had Ger Barron beaten, but struck the outside of the upright.

The home side should really have wrapped up the game just after the break. A poor pass across the defence left Hanaphy almost clear, but he dawdled for too long and allowed Sean Russell to clear for a corner. Just a minute later, Barron’s weak clearance fell straight to Lyons, who stepped inside Hugh Douglas before firing a low shot just wide. Bohs fans could be forgiven for ruing those misses, as UCD equalised soon after.

Ref Rogers awarded the Students a penalty just 10 minutes into the second period. UCD sub Robbie Creevy’s shot was carelessly spilled by Delany, who in his haste to rectify the error, clashed with David McMillan in the box. Arguably another soft decision, but luckily for Bohs, Delany received only a yellow card. McMillan, brother of former Bohs star Evan, sent the ex-Shelbourne keeper the wrong way to even things up.

In response, Callaghan made what turned out to be a decisive substitution. Hanaphy was replaced by Karl Moore who slotted on to the left – pushing Devaney into the centre alongside Lyons. Barely five minutes after coming on, Moore beat Hugh Douglas for pace and stood a tantalising ball to the back post. Lyons jumped with Russell, and the ball broke to Devaney, who coolly smashed home from 10 yards out.

Devaney almost made the points safe with 15 minutes to go. He managed to get himself in the way of a trademark McEvoy strike, but the ball fell kindly and he was able to swivel a shot past Barron. Unfortunately for Devaney, this time it struck the inside of the post and flashed across the goal to safety.

Bar a few set-piece scares, Bohs saw out the final few minutes without much incident. Special mention to Owen Heary playing in the first game of his 21^st and final League of Ireland season. He marshalled the defence from centre-half, and will be delighted along with Callaghan with the valuable opening three points. Next up for Bohs – you guessed it – it’s UCD again in the EA Sports Cup on Monday before an interesting trip to Turner’s Cross next Friday. It’s good to be back!

Bohemians: Dean Delany, Derek Pender, Owen Heary, Roberto Lopes, Luke Byrne, Keith Buckley, Ryan McEvoy, Stephen Traynor (Michael Barker, 71), Kevin Devaney, Darragh Hanaphy (Karl Moore, 60), Chris Lyons (Dave Scully, 88). Subs not used: Greg Murray, Shane Murray, Ciaran Nangle, Stephen Paisley.

UCD: Ger Barron, Tomas Boyle, David O’Connor, Hugh Douglas (Gary Burke, 79), Mark Langtry, Sean Russell, Craig Walsh (Robert Creevy, 56), James Kavanagh, Dean Clarke, Robbie Benson, David McMcMillan. Subs not used:  Mark McGinley, Barry McCabe, Dinny Corcoran, Tyrone McNelis, Samir Belhout.

Attendance: 1,368

Bohs Man of the Match: Ryan McEvoy

(Picture by Eddie Lennon shows Kevin Devaney celebrating his winner with (l-r) Keith Buckley, Chris Lyons, Karl Moore and Stephen Traynor.) View more of Eddie’s pics on our Facebook page!

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Looking at the betting on our game, it is heartening to see a fair bit of divergence in views. William Hill rate us a 5/6 shot (or 1.83), while Pinnacle go 10/9 (2.11). Shrewd punters all over the world are getting to grips with these lesser known firms such as Pinnacle as their prices on big leagues such as the English Premier League can sometimes be significantly better than the better-known bookies in Ireland and England. For each game this season, a bet on every Bohs game will be suggested, but it won’t always be a “tip” as such – for this one, the draw is taken at 23/10 (Bet365, Boyles, Hills).

Scanning the rest of the Premier Division coupon, the big televised game on Sunday in Limerick sees Cork City visit Thomond Park to face Limerick. The home side are playing under a new highly-rated coach, and Cork have racked up some impressive results in the Setanta Cup against moderate Danske Bank League opposition so this one is hard to call. These are probably two teams on whom you would keep a watching brief for the first few weeks of the season.

Title favourites Shamrock travel to Dundalk where Stephen Kenny and Stephen O’Donnell are sure to improve the Lilywhites compared to last season’s showing. 4/6 the away side does not appeal, nor does the 5/4 on Sligo to win in Derry. Until Danny North is fit, punters should not be in a rush to back Sligo to routinely win away from home.

Shelbourne could struggle this season and they travel to Bray who have Gary Dempsey, Kieran “Marty” Waters, and Jason Byrne helping their cause. Surrounded by hungry youngsters, they will ensure that the Carlisle Grounds is unlikely to yield three easy points to any visiting team, and backing the Seagulls off scratch (0 in the Asian handicap means your money is returned in the event of a draw) at 41/40 with Bet365 is a shortlist bet.

The best bet in the Premier Division is at Richmond Park. Some will argue that Drogheda over-achieved last season, but that coupled with their excellent Setanta Cup form means that Hills’ quote of 5/2 is too big to ignore. Liam Buckley’s St Pat’s team may have to deal with more frustration and more missed opportunities – the story of their brief Setanta Cup campaign. Drogheda have no reason to feel inferior to these opponents and can take the three points.

In the First Division Finn Harps are worthy of attention this season, with a large squad training hard under the guidance of the Donegal GAA fitness coach. Make of that what you will. They will have their backers at 7/2 at Waterford. No-one with any common sense likes to use the word “banker” with a straight face but everyone wants one these days, and this week the heavy hitters will have their cross-hairs on Longford to beat Salthill, who have 4 suspended.

Recommended:
Drogheda, 1pt 5/2 (Hills)
Longford, 2pts 4/9 (Hills, Bet365)

“The lads are hungry. Their attitude in training has been fantastic and we hope that will manifest itself in match performances. There’s a desire there to do well and I believe we can win a trophy.”

The manager is not fazed by last month’s extra-time defeat to UCD in the Leinster Senior Cup.

“There was nothing between the teams. They play a similar game to us and their fitness levels are high. But the line-up of both sides will look very different on Friday from what it was.”

Callaghan expects his counterpart Martin Russell to make “five or six” changes for Friday and he himself could be making as many EIGHT changes.

The manager is delighted to have retained 15 of last year’s squad, as the slow start in 2012 was at least partly down to players learning new approaches.

“The fact that we kept so many, and who can help new players coming in, is very good from our point of view.”

Callaghan also believes he has a squad with cover for all positions, and thus competition for starting places. However, he already has a fairly clear idea what his best 11 might look like but “nobody can rest on their laurels, they need to keep their standards high”.

The pre-season schedule has taken a small toll on the players. Shane Fitzgerald (ankle), Kevin Devaney (ankle) and Kevin O’Leary (illness) are not available for Friday.

On Monday 11th March, Bohemians again host UCD at Dalymount Park in the EA Sports Cup (kick-off 7.45pm).

(Pic: UCD’s Michael Leahy and Bohs winger Keith Buckley at last week’s Airtricity League launch at the Aviva Stadium)