Bohemian FC and St Kevin’s Boys FC feel we have no option but to respond to accusations levelled at us on social media in recent days with regard to the U17 Mark Farren Cup semi-final forfeited by Bray Wanderers-St Joseph’s Boys FC.

There appears to be a concerted effort by some to offer a narrative, which has quickly gained traction, that we feel is lopsided and at times disingenuous in relation to why this tie did not proceed.

Before countering some of the points made, we wish to put on record our regard for those involved with both Bray Wanderers and St Joseph’s Boys.

Only last season, Bray Wanderers looked to be staring into the abyss and unlikely to survive as a League of Ireland club.

Niall O’Driscoll and St Joseph’s rescuing of a proud club is one of the all-too-rare number of good news stories in our league of late and those efforts deserve more credit than they have received to date.

Like Bohs’ link-up with St Kevin’s, both Bray Wanderers and St Joseph’s have tried to make the most of the at times challenging new departure of schoolboy clubs linking up with League of Ireland clubs to forge partnerships to enable a pathway between youth and senior football.

The Bohs first team twice travelled to the Carlisle Grounds last season. In May, the club seemed to be on life support. When we met again in October, the contrast could not be overstated. It had quickly returned to its original community-orientated ethos and we were welcomed with warmth.

Bray Wanderers have clearly been reinvigorated under the stewardship of Niall and the partnership with St Joseph’s – two clubs close to the heart of our first team manager Keith Long, who cut his coaching cloth at both.

With that regard in mind, the tone of some of the comments emanating from some at both clubs in recent days has been a source of disappointment.

The timeline below will be tedious to most but given how we feel the integrity of those involved in the Bohs-SKB U17 set-up have been impugned by some of the online commentary, we feel it necessary.

Jimmy Mowlds, our manager at U17 level, is one of our most dedicated and honest servants. He has been a constant understated force behind the scenes in the success stories of underage players making it through from the Bohs-SKB underage teams right through to our first team over the past number of years.

His contribution to development of both talent and character is something he does not get enough credit for. We are not prepared to have his reputation and that of his backroom team and set-up tarnished.

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Wednesday August 14: Bohs-SKB U17s lost to St Patrick’s Athletic in quarter-finals of Mark Farren Cup. It later transpired St Pat’s had fielded a suspended player and the result was overturned. Bohs-SKB were on the wrong side of a similar instance last season at U15 level when we won on the field against Shamrock Rovers but had the result overturned for the same reason. It is always hard to take and we fully empathise with St Pat’s.

Tuesday August 20: Bohs-SKB U17 manager Jimmy Mowlds received a call from a representative of Bray-SJB trying to arrange the semi-final fixture. Their suggestion was August 27 as Carlisle Grounds was available then. Bohs-SKB did not feel it appropriate to arrange a date until FAI disciplinary committee had made a final decision on whether St Pat’s or Bohs-SKB would compete in semi-final.

Thursday August 22: FAI indicated fixture should not be played on Tuesday 27 as Pat’s could yet appeal disciplinary decision.

Friday August 23: FAI indicated St Pat’s were not appealing and to go ahead and plan for Tuesday 27. Despite Bohs U19s having a semi-final that night, which impacted on player availability for U17s, a Bohs coach being off sick, another being unavailable due to work commitments, we agreed to proceed on August 27.

The alternative offered was Wednesday September 4 when we would have at least four players away with the Ireland U17s in Spain and another on standby.

Monday August 26: A Bray-SJB representative made contact to say they could not put a team together to play our fixture the next day. If this was the case, why would they allow players from their squad to go to the UK for trials when they knew they had a semi-final? No answer to that has been forthcoming. At 6.45pm the FAI confirmed Bray-SJB had no team to play the next day.

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We sought clarification: What did it mean for fixture? We were obliging in agreeing to the original date in the first place. And, given it had been three days since Bray-SJB’s last fixture, why was notice regarding their inability to fulfil tie so late?

We were told that if we agree to a refix then we would have to play it three days before the then scheduled date for the final at the end of the month and on the day our four players away on international duty returned home.

We questioned why it was down to us to make the decision rather than the league.

We believe we were put in a position we shouldn’t have been. We had agreed to the date they had insisted on and it wasn’t our responsibility to resolve an impasse that was entirely of their making.

If we were to agree to another proposed refixture date, it would have been when six members of our U17s were away with the Bohs U19s in the Uefa Youth League as well as occurring during the week of the play-off section of the league. We would be in as bad – if not worse – position as Bray-SJB were for the date they reneged on.

Bray-SJB asked us to play on a date that was entirely inconvenient for many of our coaches and players. We went to considerable trouble to arrange transport/lifts for players coming from Dundalk, Portlaoise, Longford, Navan and Kildare to get them to Bray for 6:15pm on a Tuesday evening for this game. All of which was for nothing.

Since last week, members of Bray-SJB management took to twitter to slate Bohs-SKB for not allowing them to reschedule the game, ignoring any of the issues mentioned above.

They even set up a survey asking other coaches/clubs what they would do in our position again without giving the full facts of what actually happened.

Why would Bray-SJB insist on a date that they couldn’t fulfil given they have been suffering injuries over a number of weeks unless it was to gain an advantage over us with our U19s playing on the same night? (There has been an average crossover of 4-5 players between our U17s and U19s in recent months.)

Why would you allow players attend UK trials on the same week you fix a semi-final?

Why were the U19 and U17 semi-finals fixed for the same time and date? This shouldn’t happen again and shouldn’t be the call of clubs.

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It is always our objective that results are decided on the pitch. We empathise with St Pat’s for the sanctions imposed on them having their quarter-final result overturned.

The semi-final not being contested is regrettable but we feel we have acted appropriately in our efforts to accommodate it.

While this episode has left both parties frustrated, Bohemians and St Kevin’s hope to draw a line under it and look forward to maintaining our good relationship with both Bray Wanderers and St Joseph’s.

Both clubs will always be welcome visitors to Dalymount Park and Shanowen Rd/St Aidan’s.

Football is your passion. You go to every match. You never miss a game. Football is in your blood. Now imagine you lost your sight. What would you do?

The reality is that there are over 54,000 people living with serious visual impairment or blindness across Ireland and this number is growing.

Many of those people affected by sight loss are isolated and alone and have even stopped accessing their favourite pastimes or hobbies.

If you have a passion for football, how can you go to your local game when you can’t see the play or what’s happening?

Good news: NCBI is now working in partnership with Bohemians to enable people with sight loss to support their local team through audio description.

James Flanagan, Recreation and Fitness Coordinator from the Iona Resource Centre, will provide audio description of the matches whilst being seated with blind and vision impaired supporters so that once again they can enjoy the passion of the game.

Flanagan explains: “Everyone should have access to sport, regardless of disability. Bohemians is my local team and I am excited at the prospect of enabling people with sight loss to support their local team. Sport should be accessible for everyone.”

When someone has being diagnosed with a sight impairment, they have already suffered the loss of their sight, nobody should have to lose anything else from their life, and certainly not the enjoyment they get from supporting their local game.

If you – or someone you know – have stopped attending Bohs games due to sight loss, please get in touch. We want you and can support you!

If you are interested in partaking in this scheme please contact daniel@bohemians.ie

See Irish Times article for more or listen to Ray Darcy show segment.

AIRDRIEONIANS v BOHEMIANS
Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Scottish Challenge Cup
Saturday September 7, Excelsior Stadium, 1pm

The involvement of Irish clubs in the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Scottish Challenge Cup has come in for much criticism and derision.

Even the name of it seems to invite a sneer.

But for Robbie McCourt, the competition formerly known as the IRN-BRU Cup, already holds fond memories and represents an opportunity for him and many like him to stake their claim for first-team football.

Glasnevin man McCourt, a product of Bohs’ partners St Kevin’s Boys, returned home last summer after three years with West Brom.

And it was in this competition that McCourt made his first-team debut in a 1-0 win away to Peterhead this time 12 months ago.[t0ggle title="READ MORE"]

Ali Reghba, who signed for Premier League Leicester City in July, did likewise.

McCourt, 21, said: “I played 80 minutes and I enjoyed it. Ali made his debut in that game too and look at him now.”

Both were then thrust into league action a fortnight later in a Dublin derby against St Pat’s. McCourt bagged one and Reghba netted twice in a 3-1 win in Richmond Park.

McCourt said: “Yeah that was a good game, an enjoyable one for me and for Ali getting the goals. That’s where I kind of announced myself as a Bohs player and I want to be able to do that again.”

Players of similar inexperience could find themselves sampling first-team football for the first time tomorrow with the carrot of further opportunities dangling in front of them.

With bigger priorities ahead, several regular starters have been left at home.

Instead, this tournament is being used as a chance to give those on the fringes of the first team some game-time and to expose some of the U19s to first-team football.

Six of Craig Sexton’s current U19 squad – Seán Bohan, Mitchell Byrne, Alex Kelly, Ross Tierney, Brandon Bermingham and Dawson Devoy – are included in the travelling party who made the journey today from Dublin to Belfast to get a ferry to Cairnryan and coach onwards to Motherwell where they will stay overnight tonight.

McCourt said: “It’s a good opportunity for players to get a chance to show what they can do, to make a name for themselves. The lads coming up from the U19s tomorrow and who might get an opportunity know it’s a chance to play themselves into the reckoning.

“Everyone in the group want to win this competition. It’s something different but I think it’s a good tournament. There’s some good teams in it and we’re coming up against opposition we wouldn’t otherwise.”

While McCourt is a fan of the tournament, not everyone is so keen.

Scottish clubs and media alike have questioned the merit – and expense – in inviting League of Ireland, Irish League, Welsh League and English Conference teams to compete in it.

Last season Bohs were the first League of Ireland club to win a tie in the tournament and went one further to reach the quarter-finals by beating English side Sutton United in a dramatic penalty shootout.

The fact that the quarter-final tie was scheduled to take place after the League of Ireland season had finished invited further scrutiny as to the benefit of Irish clubs’ involvement.

Bohs’ offer to extend their season to accommodate the last-eight tie against East Fife being played in November was ignored by many of the detractors in the Scottish media, however.

The Gypsies instead agreed to a date in February, despite it being in pre-season and thus weakening their chances of progression. But much to the dismay of supporters who travelled over from Scotland, the tie was called off due to a frozen pitch minutes before it was due to kick off.

Running out of available dates to fulfill the tie and with the League of Ireland kicking off a week later, the decision was made to withdraw from that season’s tournament.

None of that has served to endear Irish clubs’ involvement to a skeptical Scottish football family.

In Ireland, similar doubts exist.

The fact the FAI Cup quarter-finals are scheduled the same week as when Irish clubs are supposed to compete in the Scottish Challenge Cup is a source of much frustration.

Many argue – convincingly – that Irish clubs’ participation in the Scottish Challenge Cup taking precedence over the last-eight of the FAI Cup is an insult to the country’s premier cup competition.

It is particularly frustrating considering the same scheduling clash occurred last season. Once was perhaps understandable, but for it to happen a second time is hard to fathom.

Ultimately international call-ups to Derry City players last season meant that FAI Cup tie would not proceed on the scheduled date anyway.

Similarly, Ireland U21 call-ups for Danny Mandroiu and Darragh Leahy this time around mean Bohs’ FAI Cup quarter-final against Crumlin United would not have proceeded this weekend either.

But if Irish clubs are to continue in this tournament, the scheduling of the FAI Cup ought to be addressed and given the respect it deserves.

None of those concerns will come into the players’ thinking when they line out tomorrow. It is a chance to play their way into Keith Long’s first-team plans.

McCourt added: “I haven’t played much but when I do play, I like to give my all for the team. It’s a chance to show what we can do. Hopefully I can get in and play as many game as I can.

“We’ve important games coming up in the league and cup between now and the end of the season and you want to play in those.

“Obviously it can be frustrating not playing but the lads who have been there have playing very well. The likes of Keith Buckley and Conor Levingston, they have a good partnership so it’s been hard for me and the likes of Scotty Allardice to get in.

“When we have got in, I think we’ve played well but with such good midfielders it’s a difficult task to stay in the team.

“But the best thing about this group is that everyone pushes each other. In training we’re all on to each other the whole time as we all want the best for the team.

“That’s why we’ve done well so far this season and we want to continue that and push ourselves even further.”[/toggle]

Bohemians U19 boss Craig Sexton wants the Dalymount roar behind his side in the Uefa Youth League next month.

In Nyon, Switzerland, yesterday the Bohs U19s were drawn to play Greek side PAOK in the first round of the Champions Path of the competition.

The Gypsies are at home first at Dalymount Park on Wednesday October 2 with the return leg in Thessalonica three weeks later on October 23.

The winners of the tie will face Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine or Shkëndija of North Macedonia in the following round.

Sexton said: “We don’t know a whole lot about PAOK yet but we obviously know their first team has been quite successful in European competition.

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“So it’s a massive game against a club with big European calibre. It’s a huge honour and opportunity for our players. They’re testing themselves against the very best in Europe at their age.”

A crowd of 1600 got behind the Bohs U19s in Dalyer last year for the second leg of their Uefa Youth League tie against Danes FC Midtjylland.

There was a sense of realisation for supporters and members of the club of the hard work being done behind the scenes at youth level.

Bohs Honorary Secretary Stephen Lambert, Bohs-SKB Technical Director Alan Caffrey and Bohs U19 boss Craig Sexton at yesterday's draw in Nyon

That is from Sexton’s U19s all they way down through to the player pathway partnership teams with St Kevin’s at U17, U15 and U13 level and beyond at both clubs, with the proof being in the success stories being brought through to Keith Long’s first team: the likes of Warren O’Hora, Andy Lyons, Paddy Kirk, Daniel Grant, Ali Reghba, Ryan Graydon and Ross Tierney among others.

Sexton’s side are chasing a third league title in a row, hold a 14-point lead in the Northern Elite Division and have also qualified for the final of the Enda McGuill Cup once more where they will face Shamrock Rovers.

But representing the country in the Uefa Youth League is the pinnacle of their achievements and a chance for the players to show what they can do on an international stage.

Sexton said: “We got a big crowd behind us at Dalymount last year and we’ll need that again. Now that people have seen what we can do last year we might get an even bigger crowd.

“We’ll be up against a side with good pedigree so a big support behind us at home in the first leg will be important.”

Sexton and his staff are still exploring the logistics and travel arrangements for the return leg.

He said: “Travel-wise, it’s going to be a challenge for us. It’ll be a long way to go for the team but that will be part of the experience.”

Last season Bohs lost out 4-2 on aggregate to Midtjylland, who subsequently knocked out giants Roma and Manchester United before bowing out against eventual winners Porto.

Sexton’s selection options were curtailed last year due to the competition’s complicated player eligibility rules and was forced to raid the Bohs-SKB U17s and U15s to fill his substitutes bench.

Sexton said: “Last year was a hugely positive experience for management and players and their development. We all learned a lot from it.

“We don’t have quite the same issues regarding eligible players this year so we will have a larger pool to pick from this year, so thankfully we have more options than we did last year, but we will still look to include some U17s.”

Five of this year’s Bohs-SKB U17s squad are on international duty with Ireland U17s in Alicante, Spain, this week where they will play Russia twice in friendly games: Colin Conroy, Evan Ferguson, Bosun Lawal (now with Watford), Robbie Mahon and Gavin O’Brien.

Bohemians U19 manager Craig Sexton is delighted to be handed a ‘glamourous tie’ after they were drawn against PAOK FC in the UEFA Youth League.

The draw, which took place in Nyon, Switzerland earlier today, saw the SSE Airtricity League Under-19 Champions drawn against the Champions of Greece jn the first round of the Domestic Champions path.

It will be the second time Bohemians will compete in the competition after they suffered a narrow two-legged defeat against Danish Champions FC Midtjylland last season, who went on to beat Roma and Manchester United, and reach the quarter-finals.

“Travel-wise, it’s going to be a challenge for us. It’ll be a long way to go for the team but that will be part of the experience which this tournament offers and we’re looking forward to it,” said Sexton.

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The Bohemians U19s will tomorrow find out who they will face in the opening round of the Uefa Youth League.

64 teams enter the competition – 32 qualify via the Uefa Champions League path based on fact their senior team have qualified for the Uefa Champions League, while the 32, including Bohemians, qualify via domestic champions path having won their underage league.

The champions path has been split into four groups of eight meaning Bohs will face one of Rennes (France), Porto (Portugal), Young Boys (Switzerland), PAOK (Greece), Brodarac (Serbia), Rangers (Scotland) or Liepãja (Latvia).

The draw will be made at 1pm Irish time and will be streamed live on the Uefa website.

The domestic champions round one matches are over two legs and pencilled in for October 2 and October 23.

As well as representing Ireland on an international stage, it is an exciting time for Bohs and our League of Ireland player pathway partnership teams with St Kevin’s Boys on the home front too.

As we near the end of the regulation league rounds and the beginning of the knockout phases, all four teams top their division/group.

Craig Sexton’s Bohs U19s, chasing a third league title in a row, hold a 14-point lead in the Northern Elite Division and have also qualified for the final of the Enda McGuill Cup where they will face Shamrock Rovers (date/venue tbc).

At U17, U15 and U13 level, Bohs-SKB hold more moderate leads on top of each division/group under the steady guidance of Jimmy Mowlds, Ger Browne and Karl Lambe respectively.

And there was further international recognition for our Bohs U17 women’s team in their inaugural season in the WNL with Alannah Maxwell and Chloe Darby representing the Ireland U19s in their 2-1 defeat against Austria on Thursday.

WEEKEND RESULTS

• U19: Bohemians 8 (B Bermingham 3, D Devoy 2, M O’Keane, T Considine, K Mashigo) Drogheda United 1
• U17: Drogheda United 3 Bohs-SKB 4 (E Ferguson, C Conroy, R Mahon, L O’Sullivan)
• U15: Galway United 0 Bohs-SKB 3 (J Mullins 2, E Harte)
• U13: Bohemians 5 (R Markey, M Tarzan, A Coyle, M Cherico, J Okagbue) Galway United 0

Mountjoy Gardaí are holding an open meeting to discuss setting up a business watch scheme in Phibsborough.

Meeting will be held at Phibsborough Scout Hall, Royal Canal Bank, Thursday September 11, 11am.

All local business owners/managers invited.

SHAMROCK ROVERS v BOHEMIANS
SSE Airtricity League
Friday August 30 2019, Tallaght Stadium, 8pm

Derek Pender believes the best chance of continuing Bohemians’ recent record against Shamrock Rovers is forgetting it exists in the first place.

Bohs travel to Tallaght Stadium tomorrow looking to continue a remarkable run against their arch-rivals of seven wins and a draw in their last eight meetings.

The last time Rovers claimed the Dublin derby bragging rights was May 2017. But second in the table and unbeaten in 10 domestic games, there is more expectation than ever on Stephen Bradley’s Hoops going into this fixture.

For Bohs skipper ‘Detser’, that is not something he or his team-mates will dwell on. Their number one priority is making sure their own performance is the best it can be.

He said: “We’re looking forward to it. The Dublin derbies are great occasions to play in for both sets of players. It’s a game every player wants to be involved in.

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Uefa Youth League draw this Tuesday

The Bohemians U19s will face Shamrock Rovers in the final of the Enda McGuill Cup.

Craig Sexton’s side sealed their place in the decider on Tuesday night with a 2-1 win over Shelbourne thanks to goals from Dawson Devoy and Brandon Bermingham.

Rovers followed suit last night by beating Sligo Rovers 3-1 in their last-four tie at Roadstone. No date has been set for the final and the venue is likely to be decided by a coin toss.

Bohs won this competition last season with a 2-1 win away to St Pat’s in the final in Richmond Park with Ali Reghba on target twice.

They also defended their league title in a final win against Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium with Reghba also the goalscorer.

It is an exciting time for Sexton’s side.

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