League Preview: Bray Wanderers -v- Bohemians
Bray Wanderers
Bray Wanderers will be looking to get back to winning ways on Saturday evening when they welcome Keith Long’s Bohemians to the Carlisle Grounds.
The Seagulls picked up their first league victory at the end of March when they dismantled basement club Sligo Rovers 4-0 following a superb second half display against the Bit O‘Red.
However, they failed to carry this momentum into their game last week as they went down 2-0 to Wexford Youths, handing the new boys their first ever League of Ireland Premier Division win.
A win on Saturday would push Mick Cooke’s men level with the Gypsies on points and would certainly be ideal as their remaining April fixtures will prove testing with trips to Finn Harps and Shamrock Rovers separated by a home game with St. Patrick’s Athletic.
Mick Daly, Conor Earley and Mark Salmon remain injury concerns for Mick Cooke but otherwise he will be able to select from the same squad which played Wexford.
Bohemians
Bohemians have been in fine form at home in recent games, going five unbeaten in all competitions so far this season, a run which includes a fine 2-0 win over Longford Town in last week’s Premier Division fixture.
In contrast, the Dublin side’s away form has left a lot to be desired and are yet to pick up a point or a goal away from Dalymount Park in the league this season as they have gone down 1-0 to Galway United, 3-0 to St. Pat’s and 2-0 to Cork City.
Speaking to bohemianfc.com, manager Keith Long spoke of how he hoped that his side can begin to carry their excellent home form into their away ties going into Saturday’s game with Wanderers.
‘‘It's still early days. We've had two good wins but Bray will be tough opponents. They'll be disappointed at being beaten by Wexford Youths on the back of a fantastic result against Sligo Rovers. It's not going to be easy and we've got to show we want it more.’’
Reflecting on last week’s victory over Longford, Long felt he could take a lot of positives from that performance.
‘‘It wasn't perfect. But we showed more of what we're capable of. We were delighted to keep a clean sheet but we got away with some errors that might have been punished against other teams.
“But with that two-goal cushion, you could see that the players were really playing with confidence in the second half.’’
The Gypsies have notched six goals in their last two games, and competition up front for the Phibsborough side is quickly beginning to heat up especially with Kurtis Byrne scoring a hat-trick midweek in a 4-3 Leinster Senior Cup win against his former side Dundalk.
‘‘We still need to tighten up defensively and that has to start from the front. But between Kurtis Byrne, Mark Quigley, Izzy Akinade, Jake Kelly and Adam Evans, we have really good attacking options.
‘‘Obviously the Leinster Senior Cup is down our list of priorities but it meant that, bar the injured players, we were able to give everyone in the squad a game over the two matches.
“Kurtis was disappointed not to start against Longford but he really showed his quality against Dundalk."
Mark Quigley is again considered a doubt with a quad injury while Jason Caffrey remains out with a hamstring injury.
Referee: Derek Tomney
MATCH STATS
These two sides met a total of four times last season. In the league, Bohemians won the first fixture one nil at the Carlisle Grounds thanks to an Adam Evans strike. This was followed up by a stalemate at Dalymount before Bray came out on top 3-1 in the final game between the sides, again at Dalymount.
The Seagulls also eliminated Bohemians in the third round of the FAI Cup last year as they reached the semi-final stage, being knocked out eventually by a tight one nil defeat against Cork.
In all competitions, these sides have met a total of 55 times with Bohemians coming out with 34 wins to Bray’s 9.
Robbie Creevy, now of Bray, scored Bohemians’ 100th ever goal against Bray in last season’s 3-1 defeat.
BETTING
Bray Wanderers 15/8; Draw 9/4; Bohemians 7/5.
PREDICTION
Bray Wanderers 1-2 Bohemians
Bray Wanderers
Injured: Mick Daly, Conor Earley, Mark Salmon.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Bohemians
Injured: Jason Caffrey.
Doubtful: Mark Quigley.
Suspended: None.
League Preview: Longford Town -v- Dundalk
LONGFORD TOWN
Town haven’t won a league game since the opening weekend when they defeated Wexford Youths 2-0 at Ferrycarrig Park.
Since then they’ve lost four and drawn one, meaning that a win over league leaders Dundalk would be a major surprise this Saturday night.
Tony Cousins’ side have had a week to forget, losing to Bohemians in Dublin last Friday night with their former star Ayman Ben Mohamed inflicting major damage upon the midlands club.
Monday evening’s defeat after 120 minutes by Wexford in the Leinster Senior Cup compounded their week’s misery.
They’ll be keen to stop their three match losing streak in all competitions, but their record against the Lilywhites last season will not fill Town fans with much optimism.
Although, they frustrated the champions in each of their four games with their solid and concise defensive displays, they lost three of the meetings and failed to score a goal in any of the games between the two.
Ahead of the game, Cousins bemoaned the unavailability of some of his key players which has led to their poor form, however, he remains optimistic that they can get out of their early season rut.
“It’s been a difficult time for us with suspensions and injuries but we are starting to see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. We feel that if we get our strongest panel back that we can put some wins together.”
Their excellent sixth placed league finish and FAI Cup semi-final place last season had much to do with the prolific goal scoring exploits of striker Gary Shaw, now with Shamrock Rovers.
However, Cousins sees signs that his new strike pairing of Josh O’Hanlon and David O’Sullivan are beginning to click.
“I’m really happy with the two front men. It’s a new partnership, but you can see with every game that they are starting to link up a little bit better and they’re a threat. I’ve no doubt that the two of them will score goals.”
DUNDALK FC
Inconsistent is something that Stephen Kenny’s men have been labelled this season. Having obliterated the majority of those who stood in their way over the past two seasons, they’ve been caught at home by Cork City and Derry City over the course of the past month.
Goalkeeper Gary Rogers expressed his disappointment at their dropped points last weekend when entertaining Derry at Oriel Park, but is looking forward to his sides trip to the City Calling Stadium tomorrow night.
“It’s a good game to bounce back into against Longford Town because they are a good side and it’s a difficult place to go to at any stage and Saturday will be no different. We have to go and bounce back ourselves.
“We want to win every week, we want to get three points on the board and we’ll go there in a positive mind set to try and win the game.”
It would be hard to pick on any other team in the league if they’d achieved 13 points from their opening six league encounters, however, such is the standard that this seemingly infallible Lilywhites side have set for themselves that their apparent blip is being viewed as the beginning of the end for the Lilywhites.
If their home form has been questionable, their away form has been far from it. Unbeaten on the road so far with a 100% record, Kenny’s men were irresistible during their 4-0 throttling of St. Patrick’s Athletic at Richmond Park on Holy Thursday evening.
Manager Stephen Kenny is keen to add to their flawless early season form on the road and defy the critics.
Kenny said: “We have a 100% record away from home this season. We have had three straight away wins in Bray, Wexford and Inchicore. Three great away wins and we have to take that into this weekend.”
Referee: Graham Kelly
MATCH STATS:
Longford and Dundalk played each other on four occasions last season. Dundalk won three of the four meetings (1-0, 2-0, 0-0 & 2-0), with Longford failing to register a goal in any of the games.
Former Dundalk defender Mark Rossiter is likely to line-up against the club with which he secured a league winners medal with in 2014. Dundalk have gotten no former Longford players in their squad, however, both Stephen Kenny and his assistant Vinny Perth were part of the club in managerial and playing capacities during their golden era in the late nineties.
There has never been a scoreless draw between these sides at the City Calling Stadium.
PREDICTION:
Longford Town 0-2 Dundalk FC
MATCH BETTING:
Longford Town 10/1;Draw 4/1;Dundalk FC 2/7.
Longford Town
Injuries: Unknown
Doubtful: Unknown
Suspensions: None
Dundalk
Injuries: Patrick McEleney, John Mountney.
Doubtful: Shane Grimes.
Suspensions: Chris Shields.LONGFORD TOWN
Town haven’t won a league game since the opening weekend when they defeated Wexford Youths 2-0 at Ferrycarrig Park.
Since then they’ve lost four and drawn one, meaning that a win over league leaders Dundalk would be a major surprise this Saturday night.
Tony Cousins’ side have had a week to forget, losing to Bohemians in Dublin last Friday night with their former star Ayman Ben Mohamed inflicting major damage upon the midlands club.
Monday evening’s defeat after 120 minutes by Wexford in the Leinster Senior Cup compounded their week’s misery.
They’ll be keen to stop their three match losing streak in all competitions, but their record against the Lilywhites last season will not fill Town fans with much optimism.
Although, they frustrated the champions in each of their four games with their solid and concise defensive displays, they lost three of the meetings and failed to score a goal in any of the games between the two.
Ahead of the game, Cousins bemoaned the unavailability of some of his key players which has led to their poor form, however, he remains optimistic that they can get out of their early season rut.
“It’s been a difficult time for us with suspensions and injuries but we are starting to see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. We feel that if we get our strongest panel back that we can put some wins together.”
Their excellent sixth placed league finish and FAI Cup semi-final place last season had much to do with the prolific goal scoring exploits of striker Gary Shaw, now with Shamrock Rovers.
However, Cousins sees signs that his new strike pairing of Josh O’Hanlon and David O’Sullivan are beginning to click.
“I’m really happy with the two front men. It’s a new partnership, but you can see with every game that they are starting to link up a little bit better and they’re a threat. I’ve no doubt that the two of them will score goals.”
DUNDALK FC
Inconsistent is something that Stephen Kenny’s men have been labelled this season. Having obliterated the majority of those who stood in their way over the past two seasons, they’ve been caught at home by Cork City and Derry City over the course of the past month.
Goalkeeper Gary Rogers expressed his disappointment at their dropped points last weekend when entertaining Derry at Oriel Park, but is looking forward to his sides trip to the City Calling Stadium tomorrow night.
“It’s a good game to bounce back into against Longford Town because they are a good side and it’s a difficult place to go to at any stage and Saturday will be no different. We have to go and bounce back ourselves.
“We want to win every week, we want to get three points on the board and we’ll go there in a positive mind set to try and win the game.”
It would be hard to pick on any other team in the league if they’d achieved 13 points from their opening six league encounters, however, such is the standard that this seemingly infallible Lilywhites side have set for themselves that their apparent blip is being viewed as the beginning of the end for the Lilywhites.
If their home form has been questionable, their away form has been far from it. Unbeaten on the road so far with a 100% record, Kenny’s men were irresistible during their 4-0 throttling of St. Patrick’s Athletic at Richmond Park on Holy Thursday evening.
Manager Stephen Kenny is keen to add to their flawless early season form on the road and defy the critics.
Kenny said: “We have a 100% record away from home this season. We have had three straight away wins in Bray, Wexford and Inchicore. Three great away wins and we have to take that into this weekend.”
Referee: Graham Kelly
MATCH STATS:
Longford and Dundalk played each other on four occasions last season. Dundalk won three of the four meetings (1-0, 2-0, 0-0 & 2-0), with Longford failing to register a goal in any of the games.
Former Dundalk defender Mark Rossiter is likely to line-up against the club with which he secured a league winners medal with in 2014. Dundalk have gotten no former Longford players in their squad, however, both Stephen Kenny and his assistant Vinny Perth were part of the club in managerial and playing capacities during their golden era in the late nineties.
There has never been a scoreless draw between these sides at the City Calling Stadium.
PREDICTION:
Longford Town 0-2 Dundalk FC
MATCH BETTING:
Longford Town 10/1;Draw 4/1;Dundalk FC 2/7.
Longford Town
Injuries: Unknown
Doubtful: Unknown
Suspensions: None
Dundalk
Injuries: Patrick McEleney, John Mountney.
Doubtful: Shane Grimes.
Suspensions: Chris Shields.
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