Bohemians return to competitive action this afternoon (3pm) when they travel to the Markets Field to face Treaty United in the quarter-finals of the All-Island Cup, writes Gary O’Connor.
The mid-season break arrived at a good time for Alan Murphy’s side, who headed into the pause with renewed confidence after putting together an unbeaten run of three matches. Two scoreless draws against Shamrock Rovers and Waterford were followed by an emphatic 5-0 victory over Waterford in their final group game, a result that secured Bohs’ place in the knockout stages.
Bohemians knew they needed a convincing win to keep their qualification hopes alive and produced one of their best performances of the season at Dalymount Park. Goals from Savannah Kane, Aoibhe Brennan, Lisa Murphy and Sarah Power gave Bohs a commanding 4-0 lead by half-time, with Power also contributing two assists during an outstanding display from right-back. Aoife Fennell added a fifth after the break, scoring her first goal for the senior team as Bohs comfortably booked their place in the last eight.
Murphy was pleased with both the result and the manner of the performance.
“Yeah, I thought we were quite good, quite professional in terms of how we went about it. Obviously it was nice to get a few goals on the scoreboard. We knew that we were going to have to do that. So it was good to see something that we worked on and we needed to execute on the day. So I’m really happy with it.”
The victory ensured Bohs went into the break on a high and continued a run that has seen them keep three consecutive clean sheets. After a difficult start to the campaign, Murphy believes recent results have helped reinforce the belief within the squad.
“Yeah, they definitely have (helped build momentum). Three clean sheets and it’s just nice to see the performances being rewarded as I’ve kept on speaking about, because although in some of the games we were quite poor, there were some games where I felt we just didn’t get that little bit of luck. So to have three clean sheets and that little bit of reassurance within the group themselves that what they’re doing is the right thing it was nice to have. So hopefully we can continue that momentum going into this week.”
Standing in their way are a Treaty side who impressed during the group stages. Treaty finished top of Group C after recording two wins and a draw from their three matches, including an impressive 3-1 victory over Athlone Town at the Markets Field.
They also hold a recent psychological advantage over Bohs, having claimed a 1-0 win when the sides met in the league earlier this season at Dalymount Park. However, Murphy expects another closely contested encounter between two teams that have regularly produced tight games in recent years.
“I think we’re expecting a tight game. Looking at the last couple of years when we played Treaty, there hasn’t been that much in the games and the same when we played them a few weeks back, it’s been tight, it’s been the odd goal here and there or it’s been a draw. So they’re a good team. They’ve got some game changing players, but it’s a game we’re looking forward to and a quarter final where we’re all really excited for it and yeah we’re hoping that we can do the business on the day.”
While the defeat to Treaty earlier this season remains fresh in the memory, Murphy insists his squad’s motivation comes from their desire to compete for silverware rather than seeking revenge for previous results.
“I think our group just wants to win games and they want to win cups. So the motivation is to go and win something as a group, regardless of who we play against. As I said to you before, we know we’re capable of putting performances in like we have over the last couple of weeks and it just has to be more consistent. So the motivation is to win things, not to be looking at other groups.”
Bohemians will also draw confidence from their run to last season’s All-Island Cup Final. Although some faces have changed since then, the majority of players remain from the squad that reached the showpiece event and Murphy believes that experience can only help as they bid to make another deep run in the competition.
“When you have a taste of being in finals and knowing what it takes to get there and the feelings around those days, they are brilliant, really great days. So once you’ve had that feeling, it becomes something that you want to repeat. It becomes something that you want to get to all the time. So yeah, it’s another great chance for the girls to get back to a final again. So it’s something that we can’t be and won’t be turning our noses up at.”
If Bohemians progress on Saturday, a semi-final tie against the winners of Shelbourne vs Cliftonville awaits.
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