Bohemians return to action on Saturday evening (note 5pm kick-off time) as they welcome Waterford to Dalymount Park in the final group game of the All-Island Cup, writes Gary O’Connor.
In a quirk of the fixture list, the sides only met last weekend in the league where they played out a disappointing 0-0 draw in Dublin 7. Neither side created many clear-cut opportunities in a cagey contest, although Bohs controlled large spells of possession and extended their unbeaten run to two games following the previous week’s draw away to Shamrock Rovers.
Despite recent improvements defensively, Bohs know they must now add goals to their performances as attention turns away from league action and onto a crucial cup tie.
The group permutations are straightforward for Alan Murphy’s side. Bohs must beat Waterford on Saturday to have any chance of reaching the quarter-finals. Any other result will see them eliminated from the competition.
Even with a victory, Bohs will still need results elsewhere to go their way. Shelbourne currently top Group D on six points, with Glentoran second on three points with a superior goal difference to both Waterford and Bohs.
Therefore, Bohs need Shelbourne to defeat Glentoran while also overturning the current goal difference deficit to finish in second place. As things stand, Bohs would need to beat Waterford by three goals while also requiring Shelbourne to defeat Glentoran by at least two goals in order to advance to the quarter-finals.
Speaking ahead of the game, Bohs manager Alan Murphy felt last weekend’s performance deserved more despite the frustration of not finding a winning goal.
“The performance was quite good until the final third, I thought we dominated every single part of the game, stats wise, we just didn’t put the ball in the net and it’s disappointing considering that’s what we focused on last week. But look, 90, 95% of the performance was excellent. I can’t fault the girls. We just have to go again this week.”
While pleased with the overall control his side showed throughout the game, Murphy admitted Bohs lacked a real cutting edge in attack.
“Yeah a lack of cutting edge was frustrating and I suppose not even lack of cutting edge, but probably didn’t create as much as we would have wanted to anyway. There was no real clear-cut chances. So yeah disappointed in that aspect but happy with another clean sheet, and we looked really comfortable in terms of how we possessed the ball and then how we managed their transition. So I’m happy with that aspect.”
Bohs currently sit ninth in the league table on six points, while Waterford occupy eleventh place on five points, but league standings will matter little heading into a game that effectively acts as a knockout tie for both sides.
Murphy also expects a much different encounter this weekend given what is at stake in the group.
“Yeah, I would think so (when asked if this game will be different to last week). We all have a chance of going through in the group. I think that’ll bring a different focus to the game this week. Probably more of an edge from Waterford’s point of view. So yeah we’ll expect a different game. But look, we’ll be ready and we’ll be well prepared, as we always are.”
With this being the final game before the mid-season break, Bohs will also be eager to head into the pause with momentum after a difficult opening half to the campaign.
Murphy believes a positive result on Saturday could provide the squad with a valuable boost before the season resumes.
“Look, it’s something the girls have had in the diary since the start of the season. So, it’ll be good to go into the break with two draws and a win having had a tough start to the season. The break gives us another week or two to get everybody back into the mix in terms of fitness. So I think ideally we go into the break with a win. We’ll have three games unbeaten then, ideally a clean sheet and then we’ll be good to go with a quarter-final to come back into after the break.”
Team News
Eimear Lafferty (ankle) and Ciara Maher (hip) are doubtful.