Bohemian FC return to SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division action this afternoon as they travel to the UCD Bowl to face DLR Waves, with kick-off at 3pm, writes Gary O’Connor.
After a break from league action due to cup commitments, Bohs will be looking to carry their recent positive momentum back into the league. Alan Murphy’s side produced an emphatic 8-0 victory over Kerry in the second round of the Club Orange Women’s FAI Cup last weekend, booking their place in the quarter-finals in style.
It was an afternoon full of positives at Dalymount Park. Bohs made several changes to the starting XI, handed out a number of debuts and saw several players enjoy memorable milestones. Sarah McKevitt opened the scoring before Eimear Lafferty marked her first start with a goal. Hannah O’Brien, Lisa Murphy, Alannah McEvoy and Jane Smyth were also on the scoresheet, while Lauryn McCabe struck twice, bagging her first senior goals for the club.
The comprehensive victory continued an encouraging run of performances, but Murphy knows turning those displays into league victories is now the next objective.
“I thought it was really good. We obviously made a number of changes and a number of debuts, so very pleasing from that aspect to get girls onto the pitch who haven’t really been playing or have been injured and I thought they went about their business quite well. So happy enough and into the quarters now, so looking forward to that in a few weeks’ time.”
One of the standout aspects of the win over Kerry was the impact of the younger players. Several academy graduates were given opportunities, and they repaid their manager’s faith with confident performances. It reflected the pathway Bohemians have built between their academy and first team, something Murphy believes is central to the club’s long-term future.
“Yeah, it’s really good. Like Jane (Smyth) scored, and although it wasn’t her debut Lauryn (McCabe) scored her first senior goals as well. So that’s what we’re about as a club. We have to be able to give opportunities to girls coming in and we’re going to continue to do that. So very pleasing that we have that talent in the club, and again it’s just about trying to find the right time to give them opportunities and keep on progressing girls upwards from the academy into the first team.”
Murphy also praised the strength in depth now available within his squad. With more players returning from injury and academy players continuing to impress, competition for places has increased significantly ahead of the second half of the season.
“Some of the girls are quite young and they’ll have fantastic careers ahead of them. So it’s just about getting them in at the right time and the integration continues from a training point of view, and then it’s about making sure that they get enough game time, so continue playing for the 17s and the 23s and then having those right opportunities to get them into the first team and show how good they are. So it was a really good look on the academy and we know how good the girls are. So from my point of view as the manager of the first team, it’s just about finding the right time and making sure that the transition into the first team is seamless.”
Against Kerry, Bohs were aggressive from the first whistle, pressing high and preventing their opponents from playing out from the back. Murphy confirmed afterwards that this was very much part of the tactical plan.
“We had a game plan to make sure that they were under pressure and with all respects to them they are in their first year of the development league, so it’s a difficult ask for them to go and play against a Premier division side. So it was certainly the intent that we put them under pressure and not let them play the game they play at a different level. So definitely a focus of ours, and I thought we worked quite well. Even though there was changes and even though some younger girls came into the game, I thought the message was strong and it was carried out for 90 minutes.”
Attention now turns back to league action against DLR Waves. While Bohs have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, Murphy is eager to see that progress reflected in league results.
“Yeah, looking forward to getting back into league action. Ideally we’ll pick up three points, I think as I spoke about a couple of weeks ago although we’ve had a good run over the last number of weeks, barring the Shelbourne game we haven’t been able to pick up three points. So I think it’s important that we get that right this weekend. It’s a game we’ll have a plan for to pick up three points and hopefully the girls can execute that. It’s a tough week for DLR as well, it will be their third game in six days. So it’s important that we start to build momentum across all competitions and not just the cup ones. So it’ll be a tough game no doubt, but as I said we’re looking to pick up three points.”
The convincing cup win has also created healthy competition for places, with several fringe players making strong cases for inclusion.
“From a squad perspective now, everybody is fit and ready to go. So the younger girls coming through now adds to that number in the squad. So it’s getting difficult at this stage to sort of nail it down to 20 players in the squad, never mind picking an 11. So positive and good decisions to have when you’re trying to fit so much quality into an 11 or a 20 player team or squad. So it is getting difficult, but they’re good problems to have.”
Murphy also confirmed there could be movement during this transfer window with some players expected to leave in search of regular football, while the club’s focus remains on promoting talent from within.
“Yeah, there will be a couple of girls moving on that we just haven’t been able to afford them the game time that they probably need. So from that perspective, there’ll be a couple of outgoings. On the incoming front, probably quiet enough at the minute. We’re going to dip into the academy, that’s the type of club that we are. We really trust the girls and as I said we know how good the academy has been over the last couple of years for us. So that’s probably where we’ll do a lot of our stuff this summer. Like the start of the year, I think the key thing for us was trying to hold on to as many of our key players as possible, and that’s what the aim will be over the next few weeks.”
Since Murphy conducted the interview, three departures have been confirmed, with Robin Baird, Carlie Sinnot and Katie Lovely all joining Peamount United. Everyone at Bohemian FC would like to thank Robin, Carlie and Katie for their commitment and contribution to the club and wish them all every success in the next chapter of their careers.
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