League Preview: Shelbourne -v- Bohemians

SHELBOURNE

The Reds welcome Dublin rivals Bohemians to Tolka Park on Friday night as they look for their first goal and first win of the season (kick off 7.45pm).

Shels have just one point from their first two outings, a scoreless draw at home to Drogheda ahead of their 1-0 defeat to St Patrick’s Athletic at Richmond Park last week.

Damien Duff’s side have won just two of their last 17 league games and haven’t won in their last 11 Premier Division games although that run was arrested by a thrilling cup run that saw them reach the final of the FAI Cup at the end of last season.

The last time both sides met was in the FAI Cup quarter-final at Tolka Park when the hosts ran riot with a 3-0 win.

Overall, the Drumcondra side’s record against Bohs last term was mixed. In their five meetings they won once (in the cup), drew twice and lost twice.

Duff celebrated his birthday on Thursday and he will be hoping for a belated birthday present with a first win of the season.

The former Ireland international feels his side’s performances haven’t yielded the deserved results and is urging his side to rise to the occasion on Friday.

Duff said: “We trained really well this week, with our lads they can hide their excitement well at times, but we know how excited they are, it is all business with them and all the prep is done for Bohs.

“Regardless of getting one point from two games. I think it mirrors how we finished the season in 2022, a team in good form, decent performances week to week, but not getting the results the performances were due.

“We should have won the Drogheda game, listen it was the same again then last week if there’s one team that’s going to win it in the end it should’ve been us. We played really well, and that was against a team you could argue will see themselves as among the title challengers. So we can take a lot of positives from the performance, even though we didn’t get the result we deserved.”

Duff continued: “Bohs are a different team to the one we played in the FAI Cup last year. They have an energy and a togetherness, last year they didn’t look like they had that.

“It looks like the signings and new staff has brought them on, they look more unified. We pride ourselves on being a tight dressing room as well so a team with that unity, can be a match for anyone. On top of that they brought in real quality.

“Keith Buckley knows the league. He’s Bohs through and through. Afolabi is playing well, looks sharp. Dylan Connolly coming back from the UK but he has experience in the League of Ireland. We know they’ve quality from distance, especially off set pieces. Flores and Coote. We need calm heads. No silly fouls.

“Try to control the emotions but balance that with the edge we want to bring to our games. It can be a war at times probably won’t be pretty on the eye but that’s Dublin Derbies, that’s what they’re about."

BOHEMIANS

Successive 2-1 wins have Bohs sitting top of the Premier Division, the only team in the league with a 100 percent record.

The Gypsies have beaten Cork City and Dundalk as Declan Devine’s reign got off to the perfect start.

Friday’s return to Tolka Park, the site of the Gypsies lowest point of last season will gauge how far they have come since then or how far they still have to go to banish the demons of that chastening 3-0 FAI Cup defeat.

This is the first of two quick fire games for the Phibsborough outfit who welcome Drogheda United to Dalymount on Monday night but Devine knows his side are going to have to match Shelbourne’s intensity on Friday.

“Going into these games with confidence isn’t enough, we have to know we can push our performances up a level or two,” Devine told Bohemianfc.com.

“It is going to be a very tough game. Shelbourne have been very unlucky in their opening two games. They were unfortunate not to beat Drogheda and they were unfortunate to lose to St Pat’s. They played really well in both games.

“We know the intensity of the game is going to be high and we know the expectation levels of both sets of supporters is going to be high.”

Devine has been happy with what his side have produced in their opening two league games so far but the Derry native is hungry for more and desperate for clean sheets after two concessions of late goals.

“Our performances have been good but I still think there is a lot more in us. For a group that has only been together for 10 weeks, we have made great strides but we need to strive to get better still.

“It is still very much early days but this group has given us a hell of a lot on a daily basis.

“Their mental capacity to deal with the pressure of the opening two games – one on live TV and the other in front of a sold-out Dalymount against one of the top teams in the country – gives us confidence going into the next game.

“The quicker we gel as units and become harder to break down from front to back, the better.

“We have conceded late goals in our last two games and that is something we want to get out of our system. We have got to get back to keeping clean sheets.

“Obviously that has been difficult as some of the defenders we brought into the club only came in over the last few weeks – we were light in defence right through pre-season. That’s not an excuse but it is a fact. Our defence hasn’t played a lot together.

“For me, though, the most pleasing thing about this group so far is how they have all gelled – not just football-wise but friendship-wise. They have been fantastic together.

“There is an incredible togetherness there and a willingness from everybody to do each other’s work in difficult moments of games.

“Their mentality has grown as a group and we want to improve that further over the course of the season.”

Referee: Arnold Hunt

PREDICTION

1-0 away win

Bohemians

Injured: None

Doubtful: James Clarke (thigh)

Suspended: None

Shelbourne

Injured: Sean Boyd, Jad Hakiki, Shane Griffin

Doubtful: None

Suspended: n/a

League Preview: Dundalk FC -v- St Patrick's Athletic - https://t.co/94rjArr8tjhttps://t.co/AML8kf2Vz5

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