League Preview: Bohemians -v- UCD

• Gareth O'Reilly
• Fri, May 09 2014




BOHEMIANS

Bohemians head into this game sitting in 9th position in the league, only ahead of their opponents on goal difference. This game in Dalymount Park will get underway on Friday evening at 7.45 pm.

 

The last time these two sides met Bohs ran out convincing winners on the opening day of the season but since then things have not gone to plan as the last time the Gypsies won in the SSE Airtricity League was seven games ago when they conquered Athlone Town.

 

Owen Heary was in confident mood having watched his side see off Pats in the EA Sports Cup Second Round on Monday night when he then looked ahead to Friday's game.

 

"We've turned good performances into decent results. We've drawn away to Cork, drawn against Derry and pushed on to get the win against St Pat's in the EA Cup. The challenge now is to push on further and get that first win at home in the league, which is long overdue.

 

"After good results against strong teams, fans can sometimes think 'ah it's only UCD'. It's important that the players don't think that way. UCD have very good players - some of the best young players in the league, so you can never write them off. We can't let our standards slip."

 

UCD boss Aaron Callaghan returns to Dalymount Park having parted ways with Bohs back in July of last season and Heary was sure to give his fellow manager a number of compliments in his pre match notes.

 

"Aaron had only just come in then," he said. "He's put his own stamp on things now and has them playing the way he wants them to play. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the games we had against them at the start of the season. 

 

"They have kicked on since. They're coming here on the back of two good results themselves having beaten Drogheda after a good point against Derry in the Brandywell. We'd be focusing on those performances rather than looking back to how they played against us two months ago."

 

In Bohs last league game former UCD man Dinny Corcoran saw red for an off the ball incident so he will be missing in action for this game. Aidan Price and Paddy Kavanagh also look set to miss this game with quad and ankle injuries respectively.

 

UCD

Aaron Callaghan’s men are on target to hit their points target of a point for every game they play in as they have the opportunity to leap frog up the table if they manage to come away from Fridays games with some points in the bag.

 

With only two points separating 6th from 11th place things are going well for Aaron Callaghan’s men.

 

"In recent weeks I have been saying how we have been performing extremely well even though we weren’t picking up the results we quite deserved. However in the last two games against Derry and Drogheda we have started to get those results, and I still believe that if we keep playing the way we are playing we will continue picking up some good results over the coming weeks and that starts with Bohemians on Friday.”

 

Aymen Ben Mohammed and Dean Clarke continue to be the two men occupying the treatment room in Belfield with the club announcing that Clarke looks set to be out till after the mid season break in June.

 

Cillian Morrison got the all important come back goal that allowed the Students to take all three points off Drogheda United last Friday and will be looking to continue that form heading into this weeks game.

 

"We'll be looking to build on recent victory against Drogheda but know how difficult it will be against a Bohemians side who beat us well on the first game of the season and who are on the back of a good victory themselves midweek. But, if we play like we know we can then hopefully we will be able to pick up a positive result”

 

Referee: Paul McLaughlin

 

 

MATCH FACTS

Bohs are hoping to make it a third 3-0 win over the Students in a row this season having already beaten them on the league’s opening night along with an EA Sports Cup victory just three days later.

 

The Students have only come away with 5 wins out of the 26 clashes between these two Dublin sides in the league.

 

UCD will be hoping for a repeat in last years sequence of events when they were beaten by Bohs on the opening day only to beat the Gypsies in the two subsequent fixtures.

 

 

BETTING

Bohemians 5/6 Draw 11/5 UCD 11/4

 

PREDICTION

The odds for UCD are amazingly good and I would make the Students favourite for this one. Bohemians 1-2 UCD

 

 

Bohemians

Injured: Aidan Price (Quad), Paddy Kavanagh (Ankle)

Suspended: Dinny Corcoran

 

UCD

Injured: Aymen Ben Mohammed (Knee), Dean Clarke (Back)

Suspended: None