Bohemians return to Dalymount Park on Saturday afternoon as they welcome an in-form Sligo Rovers side to the capital in the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division (kick-off 3pm), writes Gary O’Connor.
Bohs will be looking to bounce back after a 3-0 defeat away to league leaders Athlone Town last weekend. Alan Murphy’s side trailed 1-0 at the interval before two early second-half goals put the result beyond doubt. While the scoreline was disappointing, Bohemians remained competitive for large spells against the reigning league champions.
Saturday presents another difficult challenge. Sligo have been one of the league’s form teams this season and travel to Dalymount unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions. Their league form has been particularly impressive, with Gavin Hughes’ side going eight league games without defeat. It marks a remarkable turnaround from last season, with Sligo already surpassing their entire points tally from 2025 by seven points despite still having ten league games remaining.
There will also be familiar faces in the away dugout. Former Bohemians Women’s Under-19 manager Gavin Hughes is now in charge of Sligo, alongside former Bohs staff members Ciarán Fadden and Tom Donovan. The Bit O’Red also recorded a 5-1 victory over Bohemians when the sides met earlier this season at The Showgrounds, giving Murphy’s side added motivation to produce a response on home soil.
Reflecting on last weekend’s defeat to Athlone, Murphy acknowledged the quality of the opposition but felt his side’s use of possession ultimately proved costly.
“We’re disappointed to lose the game. We don’t set out to lose games, but Athlone are a really good side. I thought they kept the ball quite well. We looked a little bit rushed at times in possession. I thought our shape defensively was okay in the first half. We didn’t concede too many clear-cut chances. But I suppose we invited pressure on ourselves by not looking after the ball when we had it. We were too rushed. We were almost a little bit too nervous, trying to find attacks straight away rather than settling the ball down.
“So I think that was a disappointment because we’d worked on that last week. Then obviously, like the second goal from a set-piece so quickly after halftime is a bit of a body blow because we started the second half quite brightly, probably similar to the Shels game in Tolka a few weeks ago, in the semi-final, defensively we were okay, could have been better on the ball, but started the second half well and then conceded from a set-piece shortly afterwards. So I think that’s the most disappointing part about it, is that we’ve had experiences before and it’s like a carbon copy of what happened a few weeks ago, so that’s disappointing from that end.”
Despite the result, Murphy believes there were valuable lessons to be learned, particularly for some of the younger players who continue to gain experience at senior level. He also stressed the importance of managing key moments in matches more effectively.
“We had a couple of the younger girls start there, Aoife Sheridan and Alex Devoy and it’s important they get the exposure to playing against those type of teams. From a learning point of view, when you’re 17, 18 years of age it’s a really good learning, playing against players that have played in England and have played in the Champions League this week.
“The biggest area, I think, for us as an overall group is managing the key moments in games. We’re in the game after halftime, it’s 1-0, and we spoke with the girls that we have to be comfortable in tight games because you’re not always going to win the games like we have done the last couple of weeks, be that 5-0, 8-0 and I suppose on the flip side of that, if we concede a goal, we have to be more resolute and we have to manage those key moments where it’s okay for the game to be tight, but we have to just stick to what we’re looking to do because I feel at times we’re going away from what we want to try and do because maybe we’re 1-0 down. We have to get more comfortable in those tight games and manage those key moments better.”
Attention now turns to a Sligo side enjoying an excellent campaign. While Sydney Stephens’ departure has altered some of their attacking threat, Murphy expects another physically demanding contest against a team that has built its success on hard work and intensity.
“Yeah, the obvious thing is that Gavin, Ciarán and Tom were at the club previously. So, you know, from that aspect, I think that’s something that everybody will directly go for, they’re having quite a good season. Obviously Sydney Stephens has moved on now, so from an analysis perspective for us, it’s quite difficult because obviously she’s been leading the charge, I suppose. So we only really have one game to go on now where she hasn’t played. So no different to anybody else, we’ll have our game plan this week to win the game and the hope is that we manage those key moments better.
“Coming off a really poor result last week, the attitude that the girls showed in competing and being defensively resolute for quite a period of time was really good. We have to be calmer in possession and like that we have to work hard, Sligo are a team that work really, really hard. If you look how they press, if you look how they move the ball around the pitch, like everything is done at a high tempo. So, it’s a game we’re going to have to be up for physically, mentally, and where we’re going to have to make sure that we leave everything out on the pitch on Saturday to try and get the three points.”
Although Bohemians have six of their next eight games at Dalymount Park, Murphy insists there is no point looking too far ahead. His focus remains solely on Saturday’s encounter.
“Momentum is winning the next game, and that’s all we can look at. I think if we start looking beyond what we have right in front of our face, I don’t think we’ve earned the right to do that just yet. So full focus is for Sligo on Saturday, and everything after that will come. But in this league it’s unforgiving, so if we look beyond Saturday, it’s not an area we want to go with the girls. So, full focus on this and then once we get Saturday out of the way, the rest will follow.”
Saturday’s fixture will also mark the final appearance in a Bohemians shirt for Hannah Healy before she departs for the United States on a scholarship. Murphy was keen to pay tribute to the midfielder and wished her every success in the next chapter of her career.
“It’s Hannah Healy’s last game before she goes on a scholarship to the States. Hannah’s been amazing for us over the past couple of years. She’s amazingly talented. It’s an amazing opportunity she’s got in the States. She goes with our best wishes, and hopefully we’ll see her back in Dalymount as she comes home visiting or over the next couple of years.”
Team News
Bohemians have a full squad to choose from. Hannah Healy is set to make her final appearance for Bohemians before departing for the United States on a scholarship. The club wishes Hannah every success and thanks her for her contribution during her time at Dalymount Park.