GALWAY UTD v BOHEMIANS
FAI Cup Rd 2
Friday August 24 2018, Eamonn Deacy Park, 7.45pm
Keith Long says there is no room for complacency if you want to progress in cup competitions.
Bohemians are on a high after last week’s 1-0 Dublin Derby win away to Shamrock Rovers.
But no trophies are handed out for winning the Dublin Derby. While supporters lapped it up, the team’s celebrations were brief and measured as they knuckled down in preparation for tomorrow’s FAI Cup tie away to Galway United.
Long’s men are a team in form, however, and will travel west in confidence having won four of their last five games – losing only to the country’s form team Dundalk – and having kept four clean sheets while scoring 22 goals in the process.
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Long said: “The upturn in our form is no coincidence. We’ve been able to plan and recover properly playing games Friday-Friday as opposed to earlier in the season when we were playing Friday-Monday-Friday.
“Being able to plan for games consistently is very important and it’s played a big part in our results.
“We’ve been on a good run recently but tomorrow is a very important game for the club and it’s important we maintain those standards if we want to progress in the cup.”
The high tempo and energy-sapping nature of the Dublin Derby has at times in recent years seen Bohs struggle to reach the same heights in subsequent games but Long is confident this week’s recovery and preparations will ensure that the Gypsies will be well-primed.
He said: “I don’t think that’s going to be a factor for us.
“We were up in Derry on a Monday after the last time beating Rovers whereas this time we’ve recovered well on the Saturday and got back into our normal training schedule for the week.
“We had to win for our own reasons last week too – it wasn’t just because it was a derby. We wanted to put some distance between ourselves and the play-off spot and we managed to do so.
“Everyone was obviously in good spirits in training this week but everyone knows last week is in the past now. Tomorrow is a different game and a very important one.”
Bohs notched up a stunning 7-0 win in the last round in Ferrycarrig Park but before that game Long warned that “we can’t go looking ahead dreaming of a cup run without overcoming Wexford first.”
And Long and his troops will travel to Eamonn Deacy Park tomorrow in very much the same frame of mind – First Division sides Drogheda United and Longford Town claiming the scalps of Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers respectively in the previous round a timely reminder to proceed with caution.
Long said: “If you take things for granted in a cup competition, you can very quickly find yourself out of it.
“Galway United is a club geared towards being a Premier Division club. They have some excellent players, excellent facilities and an excellent pitch.
“They will have been happy with a home draw so we will be going down there taking absolutely nothing for granted.
“Anything can happen in a one-off cup game. The onus is on us to go down there and impose our game-plan on Galway.
“They’ll have a big support behind them but I think we will too.
“This is a competition everyone at the club wants to do well in and know they’ll be right behind us down there. We’re looking forward to it.”
TEAM NEWS
Kevin Devaney (septum) misses out. Rob Cornwall (hamstring) returns. Ryan Swan (cruciate) remains sidelined.
