Bohemians got back to winning ways in the league against Finn Harps last weekend following their FAI Cup capitulation against Shelbourne – now Rory Feely says Bohs are determined to build on that and finish the year in form.
With little left to play for other than pride, six games remain for what has been a disappointing season.
Tonight Bohs, with a lengthy absentee list of nine players, face UCD with the Students scrapping for survival, one point off the bottom of the table.
Jodi Stand tickets are sold out, but Des Kelly Stand tickets remain and can be purchased online from tickets.bohemians.ie or supporters can pay at the turnstiles.
Goals from Declan McDaid and a wonder strike from Jordan Doherty gave the Gypsies a 2-0 in Ballybofey on Saturday and Feely said: “We got back winning ways.
“Our main goal coming off the week previously against Shelbourne was that we needed performance and hard work, and with that hopefully the result would follow. It did in the end.
“It was a rough first half but much better in the second. We got to play some good football and scored a really good goal.”
That FAI Cup quarter-final against Shelbourne was seen as a golden opportunity for Bohs to salvage something from their season, so the manner of the 3-0 defeat against a team that had failed to beat them in four previous attempts this year was all the more galling.
Fans made their feelings known at the full-time whistle, while many others left the ground long before the game finished.
Feely believes that reaction was justified, and that it is up to the team to try win back support with performances on the field.
He said: “The reaction from supporters was deserved. The performance against Shels was by no means good enough.
“There was nothing we could look back at from that game that was positive. Nothing went right. The work-rate wasn’t there which is something we pride ourselves on.
“The fans’ reaction was justified. We had to react to that going up to Finn Harps. That was the only thing in our minds.
“We wanted to try and redeem ourselves, to ourselves as well. Coming off that pitch embarrassed, we had to change our mindset.”
The remaining six games will determine whether they have succeeded to do that.
Feely added: “All we can do now is try to keep the pressure on the teams above us and try to move up the table that way.
“UCD is a must-win game that we are expected to win. We have six games left to prove to ourselves our own ability. We know each other well enough now, we should be clicking.”
TEAM NEWS
Bohemians are without Jon McCraken, James Talbot, Ryan Burke, Laurenz Dehl, Tyreke Wilson, James Clarke, Liam Burt, Johnny Afolabi and Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe.
