BRAY WANDERERS v BOHEMIANS
Friday May 19th, Carlisle Grounds, 7.45pm
Bohemians boss Keith Long wants his players to dust themselves down as they aim to get back to winning ways.
The Gypsies are sore after last week’s 2-0 derby defeat to Shamrock Rovers but Long says nobody will be feeling sorry for themselves when they take to the field at the Carlisle Grounds.
He said: “It’s not easy for anyone at the club when you lose, especially to Rovers. Everyone was hurting. Training earlier in the week wasn’t a nice place to be for anyone.
“We had a full house last week that were right behind us and we don’t want to disappoint our fans.
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“It’s up to us now to go out, show what we are capable of and put things right.
“We’ve analysed the game and where we went wrong. We matched Rovers for much of the game but ultimately they were more clinical.”
In a congested league table, just seven points separates Derry City in fourth place and Bohs in 10th.
And having slipped into the relegation zone, Long has challenged his side to dig deep to climb back up again.
Bohs’ previous meeting with tomorrow’s opposition is the perfect reminder of the character his team possesses.
When they met in March, the Gypsies bossed the first half before falling 2-0 behind after the break. They refused to let that deter them and battled back to claim a 3-2 victory.
Long said: “There is plenty of fight and spirit in this team, they’re certainly not lacking that.
“But previous games have no bearing on this one. Bray are up to second for a reason. They’re an excellent team.
“But we know our results have to pick up and we will not be found wanting.”
There was one big positive to take out of the Rovers game, however, with star forward Dinny Corcoran playing the full 90 minutes.
With options up front already limited by the absence of Ismahil Akinade due to surgery to remove his spleen, Bohs could have done without losing another striker.
Last Friday was Corcoran’s first game since suffering a knee injury against Galway United on St Patrick’s Day – his team-mates scored just three league goals in his absence.
Long added: “You could see in his performance that he hadn’t played.
“He’s fit but there’s no fitness like match fitness, so it is a huge positive that he got the 90 minutes.
“We didn’t expect him to see out the full game but he will be all the better for it now.”
TEAM NEWS
Skipper Derek Pender, forced off with a groin injury last week, is expected to be okay to start.
Ismahil Akinade is continuing his recovery after surgery to remove his spleen. It is hoped that he will return to action at the start of July.
Eoin Wearen (cruciate) remains sidelined.