LOI preview: Bohs aim to keep some heat on Shamrock Rvs

RTÉ News​

2 days ago

As the most hectic period of the season comes to an end, many sides have been left licking their wounds and some purring at what is to come.
Shamrock Rovers were left smarting from a 2-0 derby defeat to Bohemians last Monday, but they have plenty to look forward to in the coming weeks.
The Hoops have opened up a gap on their rivals despite that loss and with favourable draws in Europe and the FAI Cup as those competitions come upon us in July, they are in a fine position to have a memorable season.
Stephen Bradley's side face Waterford tonight.
The Hoops boss was quite cutting in his assessment of the loss to Bohs and has been trying to address the issues this week.
He said: "There are a few things that went wrong, that's clear to see. It's our job as a staff to understand that and try to understand why that happened, because the players have been excellent for long periods of this season.
"We've obviously reviewed the game and we know why, so we need to make sure it doesn't happen again. It's unfortunate it's in that type of game that it's happened, but it did and we got punished."
Looking ahead to tonight's encounter, he said: "We know it's a difficult game, we know Waterford have been very good. We've watched them really closely all season because of Conan Noonan, so they've been very good, especially since the new management under John Coleman have gone in. They're playing slightly differently, so we need to be at our best tomorrow to go and win the game."
Perhaps the most important game tonight concerns two sides wondering where it has gone wrong.
Cork City supporters have been protesting against owner Dermot Usher this week but they must put that to one side for a crucial match against an out-of-sorts St Patrick's Athletic.
The Saints have struggled to find any momentum this season and left Stephen Kenny working hard to turn things around.
Injuries to key midfielders have hampered them, but with a squad filled with talent, their current spot 15 points behind the leaders is a major disappointment.
Much has been made of the fallout of Damien Duff's exit from Shelbourne after also slipping to a mid-table position.
As each day passes, life goes on at the Tolka Park side. They face a trip to Galway tonight, ironically a fixture Duff struggled to master in his near-four years in the dugout.
Interim boss Joey O'Brien knows the importance of lifting spirits, given the cloud that has been over Tola Park: "We need a win, that does wonders for confidence. Some of the individual mistakes are hard to pinpoint, and while we're not giving up many chances in most games, it's been a case of one really poor mistake costing us a few times this season.
"The fact is we haven't kept enough clean sheets. That's something we want to address.
"It's about trying to impose our game on them, taking the bull by the horns, and bringing it to the level we know we have, but maybe that we've not shown enough in recent weeks."
United most cope with their top scorer Moses Dyer. He was due to be suspended after a red card in the 2-1 loss in the Showgrounds on Monday, but he is also set to depart the club for a move to Cambodia.
Bohemians are at a high point for the season having moved to second place. How times have changed as the last time they welcomed Sligo Rovers to Dalymount Park, it felt as it was a must-win scenario for Alan Reynolds.
They secured a nervy 4-2 victory against a depleted Bit O'Red in that game in question.
Both outfits will feel stronger going in this fixtures as they Gypsies look to make it nine points from their matches with Sligo so far this campaign.
John Mahon is out for Sligo due to suspension, but Ollie Denham may make a first start since the previous meeting of the team back in April having overcome a hip problem.
Sligo boss John Russell admits his side will be up against it given the momentum Bohs have: "Every game and every ground has its own challenges. But at the moment, I think Dalymount is probably the toughest place to go given Bohs' recent form. They've been very good, particularly at Dalymount but we've spoken since Tuesday morning about our game plan and we're happy the players are well prepared.
"We're happy with our form since the break but it stands for nothing if we can't keep it up and the challenge now is to do exactly that."
The final game sees Derry City take on Drogheda United.
City opened some eyes with back-to-back victories in Dublin last weekend. In a league where a run of wins can change everything, Tiernan Lynch may be finding some consistency at last.
It's been a turbulent time for Drogheda as they were denied late on in Cork on Monday.
Despite that setback, and many others in this month, they remain well-placed to stay in the top four for a while.
They will have a quiet month with no European matches and scheduled league games moved forward in the thought they would be otherwise engaged.
Now that it isn't the case, points on the board are all-important given the teams around them will be in action more in July.