League Preview: Bohemians -v- UCD

BOHEMIANS

Bohemians have steadied the ship in recent weeks after a series of poor results and now share fourth place in the league table along side Dundalk, pipping the Co Louth side to that fourth position by virtue of their better goal difference.

They faced Shelbourne twice in the last fortnight, initially in the league and then in the FAI Cup last Friday night.

They trailed to a 56^th minute Jack Moylan goal in the league game only for in form striker Jonathon Afolabi to score an equaliser in the 80^th minute.

The ex-Glasgow Celtic player was their key man again last weekend when his solitary goal saw them knock last season’s finalists out of the cup on a 1-0 scoreline. That win incidentally has given them a very winnable home tie against non-league Rockmount in the second round of the cup.

Declan Devine further strengthened his squad for the closing stages of the league by signing ex- Bohs player Danny Grant recently.

Grant had an injury ravaged stint in the UK with Huddersfield and Harrogate Town (on loan) and now returns to his old stomping ground where he accumulated 60 appearances and 17 goals in a two-year stint at the club.

Manager Declan Devine spoke with the Bohemians media team this week in advance of the game and said “Listen, UCD have caused us problems this season. In Dalymount, they took the lead and should have been two ahead before we got a grip of the game.

“We dropped points in Belfield too so we know we need 100% focus from the start. Last week is in the past, nobody is thinking about anything other than UCD.

“We need a high-level performance, nothing less.”

UCD

UCD’s automatic relegation back to the First Division looks like a foregone conclusion at this stage with a 14-point gap between themselves and Cork City who occupy ninth place in the table.

They also have a vastly inferior goal difference of – 50, having conceded 64 goals in the 24 games played to date, an average of approx. 2.5 goals per game.

To add to their defensive woes, they have also lost the services of central defender Sam Todd to Derry City. The Donegal native has been a rock at the heart of their defence in recent years and will be sorely missed as they face into the final quarter of the season.

Despite their lowly position they have shown themselves capable of causing trouble to other teams with top four aspirations since the beginning of the season.

They have taken points off Dundalk, Shelbourne and Friday night’s opponents Bohemians and gave themselves a further confidence boost last weekend with a comprehensive 3-2 win of Cobh Ramblers in the FAI Cup.

That win incidentally has paired with another First Division team, Galway Utd, in the second round of the cup so they will no doubt fancy their chances of maintaining strong momentum in the cup competition while they struggle in the league.

Referee: Kevin O’ Sullivan

MATCH STATS

UCD have never managed to beat Bohemians in any of their last eight encounters, although they did force a 1-1 draw at home in the last match in April this year.

Jonathon Afolabi gave Bohs the lead in that game but Jake Doyle levelled the match with a late strike in the 88^th minute.

The college team won’t need any reminding of one of their most humiliating performances in recent years, a 10-1 drubbing by Bohs back in 2019.

One consolation for UCD is that all of the goal scorers on that occasion (with the exception of the now returning Danny Grant) have long since departed Dalymount Park, with Andre Wright, Conor Levingston, Danny Mandriou and Ross Tierney all plying their trade elsewhere.

BETTING

Bohemians 1/8; Draw 11/2; UCD 14/1

PREDICTION

Bohemians 3-0 UCD

Bohemians

Injured:  Dean Williams, Krystian Novak, Luke Dennison

Doubtful: Danny Grant

Suspended: None

UCD

Injured:  None

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

Cork City sign former Manchester United youth Ollie Byrne - https://t.co/94rjArr8tjhttps://t.co/ir5Gj47Kf4

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) July 28, 2023