SLIGO ROVERS v BOHEMIANS
SSE Airtricity League
Saturday July 27 2019, The Showgrounds, 8pm, live on eir

Rob Cornwall’s determination to play for Bohemians ended up contributing to a longer spell on the sidelines.

But back in training and ready for selection once more, he is ready to redouble his efforts to win back his place in the team.

Unusually, the famous story of Manchester City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann playing through the 1956 FA Cup final with a broken neck drove Cornwall on to play through the pain barrier.

Cornwall was a mainstay in the heart of the Bohs defence alongside James Finnerty at the start of the season, playing 11 games of which he contributed greatly to James Talbot keeping a clean sheet in eight of those.

After a somewhat stop-start and injury-interrupted 2018 compared to the high standards he had set a year previously in his debut season for the club, Cornwall was determined to keep that run going.

READ MORE

That drive ended up costing him, however.

An Achilles injury has kept him out of action since the end of April and with Talbot keeping three clean sheets in his last four games, those who have come into the team in his place have fared pretty well of late.

Cornwall, 24, admits: “I had tendinitis in my Achilles. It just felt a bit sore, so I played on with it.

“I felt it about ten days before the Derry game away in April. Then I felt it again playing against Derry but I didn’t want to come off, I just wanted to keep playing.

“I kept thinking ‘what’s wrong with me?’ It’s just a bit sore.’

“I don’t know why this went through my head but all I could think about was that goalkeeper who played on in the cup final with a broken neck, so I didn’t want to come off with just a sore foot!

Bert Trautmann

“I just wanted to get on with it and that probably made it worse.

“The staff have been great at the club. Our physios Paul Kirwan – Paul is an expert in this particular area – and Robbie Murray have been first class with me, so I have to thank them, Cathal Murtagh (strength and conditioning coach) and Remy Tang (club sport scientist).

“I’m back training now and my objective is to get fit and back into the team when an opportunity comes. I’m back training since last week and fully back this week.”

But winning back his place in the team now will be trickier than one would have expected earlier in the year.

His form then was such that he was probably one of the first names on Keith Long’s teamsheet each week.

His absence was felt too – Bohs went on a run of six league games without keeping a clean sheet. But they’ve shored up since with those tasked with filling his place in the side stepping up to the plate.

Cornwall admits: “The lads have done really well. I’ll have to bide my time to get an opportunity.

“We’ve some very good defenders at the club. With myself and Aaron Barry being injured, Michael Barker has come into the team and has done really well.

“He’s one of the most underrated players in the league in my opinion but he’s done so well people are starting to realise just how good he is now.

“Barks was unlucky at the start of the season getting injured himself but he’s got into the side now and has done really well. I’ve seen it in training, so it’s no surprise to me.

“Then you’ve had Darragh Leahy play centre-half recently. To move from left-full to centre-half and do so well is impressive.

“He was brilliant against St Pat’s… I was cursing him. I might have to change position to get in the team they’ve done so well.. maybe there’s room in midfield.”

Bohs travel to Sligo buoyed by 3-0 Dublin derby win against St Patrick’s Athletic on Sunday.

It was an encouraging performance from Bohs, particularly in the second half, but certainly not as emphatic a performance as the scoreline suggested.

Sligo beat the Gypsies in their last meeting with a sucker-punch in the 89th minute to win 2-1 in Dalymount Park back in May, so they too are not a side that Bohs will underestimate.

The previous meeting between the sides at The Showgrounds in April saw Bohs travel home happy with three points and a 2-0 win in a game that Cornwall was sent off in for a clumsy last-man challenge.

“We still kept a clean sheet though,” he is at pains to point out and adds: “Every game for us from now until the end of the season is a tough one. We’ve got ourselves into a good position but we have to be at it every game to stay there.”

“Sligo have already beaten us this season. Liam Buckley has won everything there is to win as a manager in this league so we know we are in for another tough game.”

TEAM NEWS

Derek Pender and Danny Mandroiu return from suspension.

Aaron Barry (hamstring), Rob Cornwall (Achilles) and Danny Grant (hamstring) all returned to full training last week, with Grant coming off the bench against St Pat’s on Sunday, and all are in contention against Sligo.

Dinny Corcoran (ankle) and Cristian Magerusan (cruciate) remain out.

Andre Wright could be included in squad for first time after international clearance came through on Thursday.

Andy Lyons has returned following Ireland’s exit from the Uefa U19 European Championships but is likely to be rested.

THURSDAY AUGUST 29 2019
ST MARGARET’S GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB, 2pm

• Teams of 4: €300 – pay online
• Tee or Green Sponsorship: €100 – pay online
• Shotgun Start
• Mail honsec@bohemians.ie to confirm team or sponsorship

Bohemians are delighted to confirm that striker Andre Wright has signed for the club until the end of the season, subject to international clearance.

The Englishman, 22, joins after a successful trial period during which he also impressed in the 1-1 friendly against Chelsea 11 days ago.

A product of the West Brom academy, Wright has most recently played for Gloucester City.

Manager Keith Long has worked hard to strengthen his attacking options since first-choice frontman Dinny Corcoran suffered a long-term ankle injury at the end of May.

His options up front had already been curtailed after Cristian Magerusan’s season was ended before it began when he suffered a torn cruciate injury in pre-season training in January.

Long said: “Obviously since Dinny’s been out, our options have been curtailed and it was clear that we needed to strengthen up front.

“Andre has had a number of training sessions with us over the past two weeks and has impressed as he did in the 65 minutes or so he played against Chelsea.

“Ryan Swan needs support up front, it’s his first season playing Premier Division football and he can’t do it all on his own.

“We felt we needed to look further afield than just our own league to bring someone in who could make a difference.

“Andre was someone recommended to us by Alan Caffrey through his contacts in the UK and we did our own research on him.

“It’s obviously a new league to him and a new environment. In terms of where he is fitness-wise, he’s towards the latter part of pre-season so he’s fit, not 100% match fit, but ready to feature in games.

“He’s excited to be here and looking forward to getting started.

“He’s had a few clubs since leaving West Brom so he wants a bit of stability in his career now and is determined to knuckled down and score goals for us between now and the end of the season and we believe he can.”

In recent weeks in particular, Bohs have struggled for goals, firing blanks in games against Derry City, Cork City and UCD.

But the Gypsies ended that barren run in style with a 3-0 derby win against St Patrick’s Athletic, with Swan helping himself to a brace in a man-of-the-match performance.

Long said: “Ryan was fantastic. He works really hard and that’s the best we’ve seen from him in a Bohs jersey yet.

“He had a tough year last season being ruled out for the year but he works extremely hard for himself and the team, so we were delighted with his performance yesterday.”

Bohs can also confirm that with Wright coming in, fellow striker Sam Byrne has been released from his contract.

Long added: “I want to thank Sam for his commitment to the club during his time with us. He needs to be playing games and I wish him all the best both personally and professionally for the future.”

BOHEMIANS v ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC
SSE Airtricity League
Sunday July 21, Dalymount Park, 3pm

Match sponsor: Bonobo Bar

Keith Long has told Bohemians to go out and show their real character in this afternoon’s Dublin derby against St Patrick’s Athletic at Dalymount Park.

Bohs are still licking their wounds after a frustrating few days.

An uncharacteristic performance saw them beaten 1-0 away to UCD on Monday, a defeat that was compounded by regrettable post-match scenes between both sets of players and the result being overturned with Collie O’Neill’s side instead being awarded a 3-0 walkover after it emerged the Gypsies fielded a suspended player, Danny Mandroiu.

Mandroiu will instead serve that suspension today alongside skipper Derek Pender, who received a ban for his part in the unnecessary post-match scuffles, which were initiated by UCD goalkeeper Conor Kearns goading and deliberately inciting Bohs fans.

Long was visibly and understandably angry by those scenes and conceded: “Monday wasn’t good enough. We need to show our character now – on and off the pitch. We need to improve our discipline, it has to be better than that. What went on after the game wasn’t good enough, that wasn’t us.

“It was a bad week for all of us in the club. UCD deserved to win. We struggled to break them down. They were well organised and got men behind the ball but our performance was lacking.

“It was to me our worst performance in 12 months, going back to when we lost to Sligo at home last season. We didn’t play to our strengths but perhaps there were some warning signs in previous weeks since the break.

“Maybe this was coming. We needed at last-minute goal to beat Waterford a few weeks ago and our performances in the draws against Derry City and Cork City weren’t where we want them to be.”

But Long is never one to dwell on the past. He had his side knuckle down in training the following day and determined to make amends against St Pat’s who by all accounts impressed in their 2-1 defeat away Norrkoping on Thursday night.

While Long will be without key men in the suspended duo of Pender and Mandroiu, there was some good news with Danny Grant, Rob Cornwall and Aaron Barry all taking part in full training this week and all now available for selection.

Long said: “We have to take our medicine and get on with what we do. We have refocused since Tuesday on St Pat’s, who are a good side and have good players.

“We are missing Derek and Danny but have options elsewhere coming back with the three lads training this week, which is a positive. They’ve had a frustrating time coming back, with a few set-backs along the way, so it’s great we finally have them back and in contention.”

TEAM NEWS

Derek Pender and Danny Mandroiu are suspended.

Aaron Barry (hamstring), Rob Cornwall (Achilles) and Danny Grant (hamstring) all returned to full training this week.

Whether all three will be risked remains to be seen, but all are likely to return to the matchday squad.

Dinny Corcoran (ankle) and Cristian Magerusan (cruciate) remain out.

DALYMOUNT DELIGHT AS The Gypsies seal all three points at a rain soaked Dalymount Park.

Both sides came into this hugely important Dublin Derby on the back of a disappointing week, with Bohs going down unexpectedly 1-0 away at “The Battle at the Bowl”as some have dubbed it. Meanwhile, The Saints saw their European dream ended at the hands of Norrkoping on Thursday night.

Both teams started the fiery affair with a look of neither wanting to loose. Ryan Swan looked dangerous over the top for the home side, whilst Simon Madden and Paddy Kirk looked a great clash in the offing.

The visitors were well on top as the half progressed, as the Bohs side looked devoid of intensity or creativity. Keith Buckley, skipper for the day, was the one stand out in a poor opening period, as he was first to every second ball and trying to rally the troops.

Mikey Drennan forced James Talbot into a couple of smart saves, but just before the break it was The Gypsies who snatched the lead through Ryan Swan. Luke Wade-Slater caused all sorts of trouble running at the Pat’s rearguard, but just as he looked to go down a blind alley, Kevin Devaney appeared out of nowhere to help out. Devaney, then dug out a wonderful cross with his left, and Swan reacted sharply to nip in front of Brendan Clarke to nod home.

READ MORE

Due to circumstances out of the club’s control, tonight’s event can no longer be hosted by the club and no longer take place in Dalymount Park.

The organisers will instead hold an alternative event in Jigsaw, Belvedere Court (off Mountjoy Square).

It’s BYOB and we hope as many supporters as possible can still support their event.

Bohemian FC acknowledges the statement released by the Football Association of Ireland today confirming that the club unintentionally fielded a suspended player, Danny Mandroiu, in Monday’s game against UCD.

The sanction imposed is a 3-0 walkover for UCD and a fine for Bohemians, which the club accepts.

While Bohs losing the game 1-0 on the night reduces the impact of the walkover somewhat, it does not in any way whatsoever reduce the seriousness of the initial error and also means Mandroiu must now serve his one-match ban against St Patrick’s Athletic on Sunday.

The FAI sent the club notification of the suspension as normal but internal IT issues led to restricted access to emails and the notification being missed.

It is clear that better procedures and support for our staff should have been in place and the board of management wish to unreservedly apologise to the first-team backroom team, players and supporters for this failing.

We will endeavour to ensure our procedures are improved and that such a costly oversight is never made again.

Bohemian FC once again invites football fans from all communities for a celebration of the Africa Cup of Nations final this Friday.

For the sixth Africa Cup of Nations final in a row, we will be hosting a night solidarity, friendship, football and music.

This time around we also welcome residents from the Finglas and Clondalkin Direct Provision centres.

Working with MASI (Movement of Asylum Seeker in Ireland) this season, Bohemians have got behind a supporter-led initiative to assist residents from these two centres to attend every home league game this season.

The initiative was piloted by supporters last season and proved so popular that it was decided to extend it to all league games this year.

To that end, ten per cent of Bohs’ profits from the 2019 away jersey has funded match-night buses from the Finglas and Clondalkin centres as our supporters strive to make Dalymount Park an inclusive and welcoming place for all and to highlight the challenges faced by those living in Direct Provision.

But with no Bohs game this Friday, Dalymount’s newest regulars will instead join us for the ACN final.

The first of the six Bohemians Africa Cup of Nations final celebrations was held nine years ago in 2010.

Each of these occasions, also organised by Kevin Brannigan and friends, has been one to remember and we hope our own supporters and wider community will get behind this one again.

Our club’s interest in this year’s tournament piqued with the involvement of former Bohs man Ayman Ben Mohamed.

We remember with pride his first call-up for Tunisia in 2016 for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier during which time he was quickly establishing himself as a fans’ favourite at Dalymount Park in his brief spell with the club.

A 2018 Africa Champions League winner with his present club Espérance Tunis, Ben Mohamed’s endeavours for his country helped them all the way to the semi-finals of this year’s ACN tournament.

Alas, his involvement in it will come to an end later today when Tunisia face Nigeria in the third/fourth place play-off.

Attention then turns to Friday’s finale where Senegal face Algeria. Jigsaw open at 7.30pm ahead of the game, which kicks off at 8pm.

Afterwards, top DDR (Dublin Digital Radio) DJs, Heat Werk and Killian Red Monk will be playing tunes late into the night.

We hope you can join us.

After six matches in 96 hours, the Bohs U17s reached the final of the San Marino Cup where they faced Belgica Boys on Saturday.

Six injuries and 32° heat saw Bohs tire in the second half and eventually succumb to a 2-0 defeat.

All the lads can look back and be extremely proud of how they represented the club and country over the five days of competition. Well done all.

Best of luck to Andy Lyons who is flying the tricolour for Bohemains in Armenia and is set to start for Ireland against Norway later this afternoon as they get their European U19 Championships campaign under way.

In total there are three players in Tom Mohan’s squad who have passed through our youth structures including Ali Reghba, who recently transferred to Leicester City, and Brandon Kavanagh, who joined Shamrock Rovers at the start of last season having been released.

Kick-off against Norway today is 3.45pm. They then face France on Thursday and Czech Republic on Sunday. All three games are being broadcast on RTÉ 2.