Bohemians kick off their league campaign with the second of three early-season meetings with UCD – and boss Aaron Callaghan wants the Gypsies to start as they mean to go on.
Callaghan is keen to make a winning start on Friday (Dalymount, kick-off 7.45pm) and is confident that his squad is much better prepared than at the same time last year.
“We have been able to put a bit of shape and structure on the team but we will see better when we have played a few league games,” Callaghan said.
“A good start can give you momentum, as Drogheda demonstrated last year. It can help the confidence of both the players and the fans and you never know where it can take you.”
Callaghan firmly believes his squad can improve on last season.
“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)
A poster advertising the Hat-trick Sponsorship Initiative is now available to download below.
The 2013 Hat-trick Sponsorship Initiative is a unique fans’ fundraiser, the aim of which is for Bohemians supporters to collectively sponsor a Bohs match, matchball and player – the three goals!
While such sponsorship would be outside the means of many of us individually, collectively it can become a reality when we join together.
When you have goals, you also have an ‘assist’ – the HSI assist will be our designated charity Focus Ireland, who do fantastic work to break the cycle of homelessness. No matter what challenges Bohemian FC are facing, we cannot lose sight of those less fortunate than ourselves.
Focus Ireland will receive 10% of the funds raised, will get a free advert in the Bohemians matchday programme and will do a bucket collection at the HSI-sponsored match.
That match will be Bohs v Dundalk on April 19th and the matchball will also be sponsored by the HSI. The player jersey being sponsored by the HSI this season is Karl Moore’s away jersey.
There will be a major raffle for all fans who sign up to the HSI. One entry to this raffle will be given for each €10 contributed. The prizes will be the inducements offered by the club for match, matchball and player sponsorships, as follows:
Two-match hospitality packages for five people
One-match hospitality package for four people
Signed Bohs jersey
Signed Bohs football
The hospitality packages include tickets to the Bohs v Dundalk game, match programmes, seats in the Directors’ Box and half-time hospitality in the newly-refurbished Jackie Jameson Bar.
Don’t miss out! Be a Bohs Hat-trick Hero and sign up now here.
And help spread the word by printing out and distributing the poster below among supporters:
Bohemian winger Andy Mulligan was in the thick of the action as Carlow IT retained the Colleges FAI Cup with a 1-0 win against Waterford IT at Tallaght Stadium on Wednesday.
Carlow were the early pacesetters and, after just five minutes, were handed a great opportunity to take the lead when Waterford keeper Cormac O’Brien felled Ben Ryan in the penalty area. But O’Brien made up for it by saving Barry O’Mahony’s resultant spot-kick.
Tullow man Mulligan also had a great chance to hand a first-half advantage to Carlow. But the 19-year-old, keen to nail down a regular starting berth at Dalymount this season, dragged his shot wide of O’Brien’s goal on 17 minutes.
Carlow then had another man familiar around these parts to thank for keeping them in the game as former Bohs keeper Craig Sexton dealt with Craig Maguire’s deflected shot comfortably.
In the end, it took a substitute to help settle the game as Shelbourne’s Adam Hanlon was sprung from the bench. And on 62 minutes, his pinpoint cross from the right was met by the head of Ben Ryan to secure Carlow IT their second Colleges FAI Cup in a row.
Meanwhile, next Wednesday’s (13th March) final of the Colleges and Universities Football League Premier Division pits Roberto Lopes against Bohs team-mate Stephen Traynor.
Defender Lopes plays for Dublin Insitute of Technology and attacking midfielder Traynor for Dublin City University. They are up against each other in the final at Frank Cooke Park (Tolka Rovers), kick-off at 7.30pm.
(Picture, courtesy of Sportsfile, shows Andy Mulligan shaking hands with President of Ireland Michael D Higgins at the start of the game.)
EDDIE ROCKET’S are Bohemians’ new matchday catering partners for the 2013 season.
Check out their menu for what’s on offer at Dalymount Park this term, starting with the Airtricity League opener this Friday (March 8th, 7.45pm) against UCD.
Kids meals – a mini hamburger or chicken nuggets served with fries and Fruice Juicy – cost just €5!
Bohemian FC is delighted to announce that it has agreed a training sponsorship deal with IT Blanchardstown for the coming Airtricity League season, writes BRIAN TRENCH.
Under the deal ITB will provide subsidised training facilities, including its new FIFA 1 Star all-weather pitch.
The all-weather pitch has been open for six months. It was part-funded by Fingal County Council and has also been made available to local sports clubs. Bohemian FC will also take advantage of the Sports Management and Coaching Degree students and staff in the Institute who will provide fitness support to the senior and under 19 teams.
ITB will receive pitchside and match-programme advertising and the ITB logo is displayed on this season’s new home and away team kit.
ITB Sports Officer Ronan Keaskin said of the sponsorship: “ITB is excited to provide one of the country’s leading football teams with ongoing support both through its excellent facilities and the additional support we can give through the Sports Management Programmes run here. We wish Bohemian FC the best of luck with their forthcoming season.”
Bohemian FC president Matt Devaney said the club was delighted to form this new relationship with IT Blanchardstown. “We have already benefited from the use of the Institute’s excellent facilities in our pre-season preparations. We were able to host several friendlies on the all-weather pitch there when Dalymount Park could not be used without great risk to the playing surface,” Mr Devaney said.
“Under the partnership with ITB our senior and under-19 teams will continue to train there and I’m sure they will draw strength from the quality of the facilities and the support of the Institute staff,” he continued.
“As a club with many young players and supporters it means a lot to us to have a close relationship with a higher education institution and as a club that is building its support and strengthening its community relations in north-west Dublin, ITB is a perfect fit.”
Player sponsorships for the 2013 season are available to purchase from the Bohs Store online.
Home jersey sponsorship costs €300, while away jersey sponsorship is €250. Home and away sponsorship of the same player is available for just €450.
Sponsors will get their name/company name under their player’s profile picture in the matchday programme and website and will also be presented with their player’s signed match-worn jersey at the end of the season.
To see which players remain available for sponsorship, please visit the Bohs Store. Alternatively, email commercial@bohemians.ie or call 086-1636640.
The Bohemians Last Man Standing competition is BACK for 2013.
We will be using the League of Ireland Premier and First division fixtures, starting with the opening-day fixtures this Friday (March 8th).
The Last Man Standing competitions have raised over €20,000 for Bohemians in the last three season and the same amount has been given out in prize money.
These competitions have raised vital funds for the club and we aim to continue our efforts to support Bohs on and off the pitch. We encourage all true Gypsies to enter the competition and to recruit friends and family members to join in. For this series, the entry fee is just €10.
It’s easy to take part and there’s fun and excitement in the competition, as well as the satisfaction of knowing that half of all the entry fees goes to Bohemian Football Club. There’s also potentially a massive prize for the winner of the competition.
To play, you pick a team from the League of Ireland in week one. If they win you go through to next round where you pick another team (you cannot pick the same team twice). If your team loses or draws you are out. Simple as that.
If you join the competition you get an email notice ahead of each round of fixtures with a deadline to reply with your selection.
This continues until we have a Last Man Standing (or woman, as we have had more than one female winner!), who picks up the prize money. If more than one person is still standing after 10 matches, then they will share the pot of all entry fees received.
At today’s Airtricity League launch at the Aviva Stadium, Bohemians winger Keith Buckley spoke to COLMAN HANLEY about his expectations for the coming season.
Tom Eaton: “A young singer-songwriter from the Sligo scene and plays a mix of his own songs, whose voice, guitarmanship and experience betray his age.”
Roberto Lopes is relishing the opportunity that manager Aaron Callaghan has given him this season, writes FRANKIE LALLY.
The defender will be looking to cement his place in the heart of the Bohemians defence after the closed-season departures of last season’s twin towers Kevin Feely and Evan McMillan, who joined Charlton and Sligo Rovers respectively.
But Lopes – whose father Carlos hails from Cape Verde – insists he is not feeling any added pressure this year.
“Personally I see it as a big opportunity so it’s up to me now to step up and take it. I’m happy to see the two lads who left doing well because we’re still good mates.”
Lopes signed for the Gypsies four years ago under Pat Fenlon after a successful schoolboy career with Dublin side Belvedere. He then made his debut in the FAI Cup semi-final defeat against Sligo Rovers in 2010.
The 20-year-old has come on leaps and bounds since and this season he is ready to announce himself as a first-team regular at Dalymount Park – and mark it with a trophy too.
“We’re very ambitious this year,” added Lopes. “We want to try and win a cup and I think we have every right to be ambitious this year – we’re aiming to finish in the top four too.
“The label of being a young squad can’t hang around forever so we need to be ambitious and go out and try to win something.
“We’re looking really sharp and we’ve had a good pre-season under us. Last year the preparation wasn’t the best at the start of the season. We had too many players and the squad wasn’t settled, but this year we have a good squad together.”
One man who has been vital in Lopes’ career so far is veteran defender and Gypsies captain Owen Heary.
And Lopes reckons he is learning a lot from the 36-year-old seven-time League of Ireland winner.
“Owen is fantastic. He really helps me out, especially being a defender. He has so much information he can give me and we’re good mates too on and off the pitch.
“If I could do half as well as him in my career I’d be doing well.”
