DUNDALK v BOHEMIANS (Oriel Park, Friday July 13th, 7.45pm)
Bohemians go to Dundalk determined to get league points after a series of “good performances, but bad results”, according to manager Aaron Callaghan.
The Bohemian manager is strongly focused on getting his team to create and take goal-scoring opportunities.
“What we have had in the last three games is three good performances but three bad results”, said Callaghan.
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“Goals are hard to come by in any league. Look at what Paris St German are paying Ibrahimovich to make a difference for them. It’s been a problem for us, last season and this season but goal-scorers are few and far between.”
Having signed Conor Murphy in the last fortnight, Callaghan is also looking at signing other forwards.
The series of three friendlies in three weeks, starting with Derby County next Saturday (kick-off 3pm), gives the Bohemian manager opportunities to look more closely at potential recruits.
“We’ll give most of the lads who play on Friday game-time against Derby and Bradford, so they can test their skills against opposition of this kind,” Callaghan said.
“But we‘ll bring on some of the lads who have not been getting so much match experience. Plus, we have a couple of players coming in from England and some others we’re having a look at, from the Leinster Senior League and one lad coming back from America.”
Callaghan expects to sign some players, especially with a view to strengthening the attack. In defence, he notes his team has “paid heavily” for errors, but he is full of praise for how Roberto Lopes and Luke Byrne have taken on their responsibilities as centre-backs.
“They’re only in their second season in a very tough league. They are fantastic young footballers and they are going to be very good in the future, whether they are playing in Ireland or the UK,” he said.
Callaghan must plan for Friday without Stephen Traynor (ankle injury) and Andy Mulligan, on duty with the Ireland team at the World University Games in Kazan, Russia, where the Irish have advanced to a quarter-final against France on Friday afternoon.
Ciaran Nangle and Ryan McEvoy (ankle injuries) are also likely to be ruled out for the Dundalk game.
Owen Heary and Dave Mulcahy returned to the bench last weekend after recovering from a hip injury and a virus, respectively.
