GALWAY UNITED v BOHEMIANS
SSE Airtricity League, Eamonn Deacy Park, Friday September 16 2016, 7.45pm
Keith Long is targeting a first Bohemian victory away to Galway United since September 2011 as the Gypsies look to stay ahead of tomorrow’s opposition and push up the league table.
Just one point separates Bohs in seventh and the Tribesman in eighth.
Long said: “They’re once place below us in the league, so we have to go down there and get a result.
“There hasn’t been a lot between the sides this season. Between the league and cup, we’ve won one, lost one and drawn one.
“At home, we’ve had the upper hand against them this season and last. But we want to redress our record away from home.
“We lost our last game out there 1-0. But it was a scrappy game ruined by the conditions.
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“It’s a great surface out there now, so it’s a good place for us to go and show what we can do. If we play like we did against St Pat’s in our last away game, we can get a result.”
Before the home defeat against Dundalk a fortnight ago, Bohs were on a run of 10 points from 12 and were unlucky not to extend that unbeaten sequence against the champions and league leaders.
Long said: “We played well in the second half. But that was after we went 2-0 down and obviously you have to ask why we got ourselves in that position in the first place.
“The plan was to take the game to them from the start. Perhaps we were guilty of giving them a little bit too much respect early on.
“We didn’t get enough pressure on the ball in the first half. We changed things around in the second half and started it much better.
“We were perhaps a little naive in not contesting the drop ball that led to Dundalk’s second goal.
“But we showed great character to get back into it. We brought on a second striker in Jake Kelly and went 4-4-2 to give Kurtis Byrne a bit more support.
“That gave us a bit more threat and momentum up front. We brought the game to them and got back into it with a great goal from Kurtis.
“The players and supporters responded to that – the atmosphere was great from both sets of fans. We attacked in droves and were very unlucky not to get the equaliser.”
Byrne’s sensational strike against his former club followed successful free-kicks in the previous two league games against St Patrick’s Athletic and Sligo Rovers.
With seven league goals to his name and 13 in all competitions, he is the club’s top goalscorer this season.
With Ismahil Akinade ruled out through illness in recent weeks, Byrne has found himself in the unfamiliar position of being the team’s main striker.
But it is the quality – not quantity – of his goals that has become a talking point.
Long added: “Kurtis is a scorer of spectacular goals. He has certain qualities that other players in this league don’t have.
“To be fair, he’s started more games than he hasn’t. But he can play and has played in a variety position across the front four, so doesn’t usually lead the line.
“We haven’t always had the clean bill of health required to try Izzy and Kurtis as a No 9 and No 10 pairing this season.
“But Izzy’s absence has seen Kurtis come in at No 9. There are some flaws in his game, so we’ve changed our shape subtly to accommodate him in that position.
“But he has a good work-rate and he’s come in and done very well for us.”
TEAM NEWS
Bohs are once again without Akinade through illness, but are hopeful he may be ready again for Monday’s visit of Wexford Youths to Dalymount Park.
The Gypsies must also plan without defenders Derek Prendergast and Lorcan Fitzgerald through suspension. But skipper Derek Pender returns after a three-week lay-off with a thigh injury.
Under-19 team starlets Warren O’Hora and Dean Casey will again be included in the first-team squad.
