The senior squad, managed by Seán Byrne, was hastily assembled last season after the club’s application to join the WNL was belatedly accepted.

It was the first part of a building process he hopes will grow further this season as Bohs aim towards being the club of choice for women footballers in this country.

While they finished bottom of the table last term, they did so with one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams in the league.

It was a tough learning curve but one he hopes will stand to them this season.

Tomorrow, they host Treaty United, who finished one place and four points above them last season, at Oscar Traynor.

Byrne said: “This is a very strong league with the likes of Peamount, Shelbourne and Wexford ahead of the rest last year.

“We are one of four clubs in Dublin – UCD Waves have strengthened too – and our team is still very young.

“It is a long process to get up to those standards – we still have a lot of building to do. But the experience they had last season will stand to them.

“We have to be realistic but we want to build an environment where our players can fulfil their potential.

“We had a very young team but the likes of Chloe Darby, Abbie Brophy, Ciara Mulligan and others were thrown in at the deep end and showed what they are capable of.”

Bohs’ ranks have been bolstered by new arrivals: Goalkeeper Niamh Coombes, defenders Erica Byrne, Claire Conlon, Jade Reddy, defender/midfielder Isobel Finnegan and striker Naima Chemaou.

Byrne added: “We are happy that the players that we have brought in will add quality to the team. We are hoping to do well.

“They are good additions, Chemaou was with Peamount and an underage international. Erica played gaelic football for Kildare last year, switched codes last year and has looked excellent in pre-season.

“Jade is an underage international who has come in from Peamount, and Isobel is another ex-underage international who has returned from the US.

“We have the benefit of the U19 League starting this year too which will help with bringing players through by bridging the gap between U17s and senior football, and giving us an opportunity to give game-time to young players on the fringes of the team.”

Midfielder Sophie Watters, joint captain with defender Chloe Flynn this season, is already seeing a difference in the competition for places in the team this season.

The Dundalk woman said: “Last season, we were late coming into the league as a club, so we were late coming together as a team.

“We were young and maybe a little bit naive. We feel we can improve now with last season under our belts.

“With the new players coming in, you can already see the difference in training already – we have really good competition for places and we are all pushing each other.

“As a team we are going to try our best to improve on last season – we want to concede fewer goals and score more, and hopefully build from there.”

Prior to Watters’ stint with Crusaders in the north, her previous stint in the league here was with Shelbourne.

She believes the league, and women’s football in general, has come on leaps and bounds in that period.

She added: “You can definitely see that the profile within the three years since then has improved so much.

“The standard within the league keeps getting better and better, and the profile is growing too, with the live streaming this season adding to that.

“It is an exciting time to be a part of it.”

Four of those started in Ballybofey with full debuts handed to Rory Feely, Ali Coote, Liam Burt and Georgie Kelly, while Thomas Oluwa was introduced in the second half.

And Long believes that the more competitive games they play together, the more cohesion we will see, as they look to get back to winning ways against newly-promoted Longford Town, who will come into the game confident after their opening night 2-0 win over Derry City.

Long said: “The relative stability of last season has been replaced this year with change.

“To finish second last season, qualifying for Europe for the second year running with the youngest team in the country is evidence that we are making progress.

“We try to look at change as a positive and an opportunity but there is no doubt that we lost some key players from last year, which are not so easy to replace.

“Time will tell, but we hope we have recruited well and brought the right characters to the club. It takes a certain type to fill a Bohs jersey and it will squeeze out those that look for shortcuts.

“But with nine new players in a squad it will take time for them to settle in. Pre-season went reasonably well but only competitive games can bring cohesion to a team.”

As well as the five who featured in Ballybofey last Saturday, Tyreke Wilson, Bastien Héry, Bradley Rolt and Stephen Mallon, who is currently sidelined, have yet to be thrown into the mix.

Long said: “Of the new players coming into the club, we have looked to try and strengthen all areas of the team if possible.

“Sometimes that can be difficult in this league and replacing so many key players can be an exhausting process but, as in many other seasons before, we hope that we have brought players to the club that can help us improve.”

As well as the new recruits, Long has also promoted from within.

He said: “We have made progress at academy level with Bohs-SKB with eight of our high potential young players signing their first professional contracts at the club.

“It is important for me as manager to have the ability to look within and I believe we have an exciting crop of young players coming through – that extends to some of the players that we currently have in our system not on professional contracts.”

While there has been a lot to be positive over the closed season as the club strengthens for the future, the continued but necessary absence of supporters from stadiums continues to simultaneously frustrate and motivate Long and his players.

He added: “We cannot forget the suffering that people have gone through in this pandemic with the loss of so many loved ones to this horrible virus, with the real toll on our society yet to be seen.

“But, in my view, football is the most important of the least important things. It is our promise that we will try and represent our club and its people as best we can on the pitch until such a time as we can get supporters back into grounds and filling out Dalymount once more.

“It is different, it is not the same, and is almost unnatural to a degree not having them behind us. We understand and are cognisant of how lucky we are to be in a position to do what we love.

“But I long for the day we see supporters, families, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, back where they belong – in Dalymount wearing the red and black of our great club.”

TEAM NEWS

Bohemians are without Stephen Mallon (metatarsal) and Promise Omochere (knee).

Conor Levingston (calf) and Bradley Rolt (hamstring) have both trained well and could come into the reckoning.

Neither Andy Lyons nor Dawson Devoy featured for the Ireland U21s in Wales today so they may be included also.

“Ballybofey is a place no team likes to go to, so it is a tough opening fixture. It’s a long trip, we don’t know what the pitch will be like, and we know Finn Harps will always be organised and up for it. But we have prepared long and hard too, so we can’t wait for it.

“Keith has brought in real quality again this season but with nine new signings, we all know we will need time to gel, especially after losing some good players too.

“The players who have come in will really add to the club – the likes of Georgie Kelly and Liam Burt have been flying.”

As well as the new arrivals, Bohs’ ranks have been bolstered with eight Bohs-SKB Academy graduates signing their first professional contracts and they have been thrown in at the deep end with first-team pre-season training at the club’s new base at the DCU Sports Campus.

Goalkeepers Kian Moore and Reece Byrne, defenders Seán Grehan and Gavin O’Brien, midfielders Jamie Mullins, Colin Conroy and Aaron Doran, and winger/forward Robbie Mahon will be available for the U19s – and for the first team if called upon.

All eight were part of the Bohs-SKB U17s that won their league in December under the guidance of former Bohemians captain Derek Pender, who has now taken on a new role with the first team as academy transition coach.

These young guns are keeping Cornwall and Co on their toes.

Cornwall, 26, said: “As well as the new signings, we have great young players coming through too. You look at Jack Moylan, who came through Bohs-SKB U17s and then our U19s. He was given a taste of first team football last year and now he has really impressed this year in pre-season.

“Young players coming through only have to look at how Danny Grant took his chance in the first team having come through our underage teams. They should aim to be the next Danny Grant. It is a big ask but that is what they should be aiming for.

“Even in my own position, Seán Grehan has come in from the Bohs-SKB U17s and he reminds me of another Warren O’Hora – a Rolls Royce of a player for his age.

“And Ross Tierney, who came through Bohs-SKB U17s and our U19s as well, is like a young Bucko. Those lads are built differently – they can run for miles!”

There is no doubting that there is huge excitement about the new arrivals but Cornwall is right to urge patience for the team to settle.

As well as losing Cornwall’s regular centre-half partner Dan Casey to Sacramento Republic, Bohs have lost firepower too from the side that came second in 2020, the club’s highest finish in a decade.

Danny Grant and Andre Wright, who netted 15 times between them in the halved 2020 season, have left for Huddersfield and Ayr United respectively, while veteran goal-poacher Dinny Corcoran joined Drogheda United.

But Cornwall has backed Bohs’ new look attack to find their groove, adding: “Georgie is a quality player. I first knew him back when we were with Derry City. He had hair back then and looked like Justin Bieber!

“He went on to prove himself as a brilliant finisher with both UCD and Dundalk, so we know what he is capable of.

“We’ve seen in pre-season that we have a number of players who can chip in with goals too – the likes of Thomas Oluwa and Liam Burt as well. They are all hungry to get going.”

Cornwall finished with a thank-you to the Bohs supporters, whose dedication during the 12 months of Covid-19 has seen membership figures soar past 1000, a record high in 131 years of fan-owned football.

He added: “It is such a pity that the new lads coming in won’t get the joy of playing in front of a packed Jodi Stand for a while yet.

“We can’t wait to get back playing in front of fans again, there is no better feeling. But we are all very aware of how much the supporters have got behind the club over the past year and that drives us every time we walk out on to the pitch.”

TEAM NEWS

Bohemians are without Stephen Mallon (metatarsal), Promise Omochere (knee) and Rory Feely (hamstring). Conor Levingston (calf) and Bradley Rolt (hamstring) are both back training but this game comes too soon for them to be considered.

PRE-SEASON RESULTS

Shelbourne 0 Bohemians 2 (Oluwa, Burt)
Dundalk 2 Bohemians 1 (Burt)
Bohemians 2 UCD 0 (G Kelly, Rolt)
Bohemians 2 Bray Wanderers 1 (Moylan, Oluwa)
Bohemians 0 Derry City 0
Galway United 1 Bohemians 2 (Burt, Oluwa)
Bohemians 6 Cobh Ramblers 0 (Tierney, Mullins, Ward 2, Moylan, Doran).

The Bohs DSA is an independent supporters group that is the voice of fans with a disability.

We encourage any fan with a disability to join the Bohs DSA and you can email them at bohsdsa@outlook.ie.

The Bohs DSA will liaise closely with James Flanagan, the club’s Disability and Social Inclusion Access Officer, on several areas to improve accessibility and inclusion at the club, while also working with James and key stakeholders to ensure the new Dalymount will be accessible to all for generations to come.

The launch of the supporters club was held via Zoom with Bohemian FC president Chris Brien and first team manager Keith Long in attendance as the club gave formal recognition to the group.

The Bohs DSA is the first DSA in the country.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Paul Dwyer said: “I believe as part of Ireland’s first DSA I can help make simple changes that make football accessible for anyone and everyone who wishes to enjoy it regardless of a physical or intellectual disability.”

Bohemian FC Chief Operating Officer Daniel Lambert said: “This is a fantastic new addition to our supporters clubs – a group that is comprised of people living with or affected by a disability and their family members.

“They know better than anyone what measures we can take to make our club the most inclusive and accessible environment possible. We look forward to engaging with them and working closely together, and congratulations to them on establishing the first DSA in Ireland.”

The launch of the Bohs DSA is in celebration of CAFE Week of Action 2021. The Week of Action is a annual celebration of access, inclusion and the many diverse roles that disabled people can play right across the industry.