End of Season Report Card - Bohemians

Team: Bohemians

Head Coach: Keith Long

Top Scorer: Danny Mandroiu (11 league goals from 28 games)

Stadium:  Dalymount Park

Highest Attendance: 3,640 (v Shamrock Rovers, 14 June)

Lowest Attendance: 2,046 (v Finn Harps, 31 May)

Star Player: Danny Mandroiu

Bohemians had a sole representative in the PFAI Team of the Year and it was no surprise to the Dalymount faithful that it was Danny Mandroiu. The midfielder had a breakout season which included 11 league goals (with quite a few that any player would love to be included in their YouTube highlight reel).

He also featured for the Irish under–21 squad and received a nomination for the PFAI young player of the year award.

While James Talbot may have received the club’s player of the year award it was Mandaroiu who was box office in a season which saw fans flocking back to Dalymount. His exceptional winning goal in the Dublin Derby against Shamrock Rovers in the Dublin 7 venue was undoubtedly a season highlight for Bohemians supporters.  

Best Young Player: Danny Grant

Dalymount Park was full of excitement this season as several young players emerged as genuine prospects with the club making headlines in September when 14-year-old Evan Ferguson made his full senior debut for the Gypsies.

Big things are expected of Ferguson in the future, but this season Keith Long gave opportunities to young players such as Ross Tierney who established himself in the first team squad. 

Darragh Leahy, in only his second season at the club, continued to show at 21 his ability, with his appearances for Stephen Kenny’s Irish Under-21 team garnering the attention of Mick McCarthy who namechecked him as a standout player in their win against Armenia in September. 

Both Tierney and Leahy showed they have the ability to have a significant impact in this league, but for his consistent performances across the season, 19-year-old Danny Grant is the young player that emerged as the brightest star.

The winger is a fan favourite and his performances this season attracted the attention of Stephen Kenny who called him into his under – 21 squad for their qualifier away to Iceland.  

Best New Signing: Andre Wright

Bohs had to reshape and re-engineer their squad prior to the start of this season due to the massive turnover of players from 2018. Keith Long showed his resourcefulness again when it came to recruitment bringing in players such as Danny Mandaroiu, Scott Allardice, James Talbot and Conor Levingston.

Andre Wright signing for the club in July was also a key signing as it plugged the huge gap left after Bohs main striker Dinny Corcoran was ruled out after a season ending injury.

Wright returned a focal point to the Gypsies attack with his four-goal haul against UCD in August highlighting the threat he can pose to defences in this league.

Although Wright joined late in the season, it was at a key juncture and his ability to slot straight into the side and establish himself as a key player contributed greatly to the club securing European football for 2020.

What we expected they would do:

Well we are going to have to hold our hands up here and admit we really didn’t see this coming. Ahead of the start of the season, the extratime.ie team predicted that the Gypsies would finish seventh.

They finished in third which was probably beyond Keith Long’s expectations and certainly beyond what the extratime.ie team envisaged for the Phibsborough outfit at the start of the season.

What they actually did:

SSE Airtricity League

The Gypsies were the surprise package of this year’s Airtricity League and indeed early in the season they looked like potential title challengers. When Bohemians beat Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght in April they went top of the table and with Dundalk adjusting to life after the  loss of Stephen Kenny it seemed like something spectacular could happen with Keith Long’s side.  

However, the squad depth and understandable occasional inconsistent performance by this young team was bound to produce dips in form across the season. 

So, amazing performances such as their 2 - 1 victory over Shamrock Rovers in June and their 10 -1 thrashing of UCD in August were followed by unexpected results with Bohs losing to UCD in Belfield in July and Waterford in Dalymount in September.

Despite the occasional wobble they finished the season strongly with European football secured in their second last game of the season away to St. Pats. The game which was a tense and often turgid affair showed the team’s battling qualities as they held on with ten men to gain the point they needed to send the travelling Bohemian fans armed with passports and inflatables into raptures.

Third place was then secured on the last day of the season as Derek Pender signed off from League of Ireland football with an excellently converted penalty which gave Bohs the 2 – 1 win. 

FAI Cup

The Gypsies, who haven’t reached an FAI Cup final since 2008, suffered heartbreak for the second year in a row as they exited again at the semi final stage. This would have been bad enough but it was their fierce rivals Shamrock Rovers who administered the pain at Dalymount in a game that saw pandemonium grip both sets of supports beforehand to ensure they acquired one of the precious golden tickets. 

Graham Burke and Aaron Greene scored the goals for Shamrock Rovers to bring Bohemians FAI Cup journey to an end. The Gypsies had despatched Shelbourne, Longford Town and non-league Crumlin United in previous rounds, with Longford Town taking the game all the way to penalties before Bohemians escaped with the victory.

Their tie against Shelbourne provided another night of drama at Dalymount with Bohs going two goals down after 81 minutes but still securing an unlikely 3 – 2 victory thanks in part to another Danny Mandroiu wonder goal.

EA Sports Cup

The semi-final proved a hurdle too far again for the Gypsies when they suffered a heavy 6 – 1 defeat to Dundalk at Oriel Park. Bohemians had beaten Cabinteely and Cork City on their route to the semi-final of this competition. 

What they need to improve on for next year:

It has been an amazing season for Bohs but Keith Long now faces the pressure of having to replicate it all over again in 2020. This will be no easy feat as Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers will strengthen again and clubs such as St. Patricks Athletic, Cork City and Derry City will expect to be challenging for European football next season.

Long needs to hold onto what he has built this season and not have to spend his winter searching for potential returnees from the English leagues.

The club have taken steps to ensure that the squad will have a familiar ring to it next season with James Talbot, Conor Levingston, Keith Buckley, Danny Mandroiu, Danny Grant, James Finnerty, Ross Tierney, Rob Cornwall and Dinny Corcoran already re-signed for 2020.  

European football next year and the money that comes with this should also help convince players that Dalymount is a place worth being at for the coming season. 

Bohs have a number of talented players and if they can keep the nucleus of their squad together with a mixture of Keith Long’s shrewd recruitment and promotion from their youth teams, a similar league position should not be beyond their reach again in 2020.