Alan Reynolds says Bohemians cannot afford to take their foot off the pedal when they travel to face his former club Waterford at the RSC tomorrow.
Bohs’ promising start to the season continued with a 3-2 win over Shamrock Rovers last Friday, making it three wins and a draw from their opening four games of 2026, and top of the table.
Connor Parsons opened the scoring midway through the first half after a brilliant team move, before Colly Whelan’s second-half penalty and Ross Tierney’s goal with just three minutes of regulation time remaining had Bohs 3-0 up and cruising.
It was no more than their performance deserved and the home crowd – seeing Bohs play in Dalymount for the first time this season – were lapping it up.
With 92 minutes on the clock, however, Rovers grabbed what looked to be a consolation goal. But, a minute later, they grabbed another, leading to a nervy final few moments.
Reynolds said: “We were brilliant last week, right through the team, for 90 minutes.
“It was our first game back in Dalymount this season, so it was really pleasing for us to deliver that level of performance in front of our home fans.
“The players fed off the atmosphere and the supporters fed off the players, and that’s what we want to see. It was a special start for our new players playing at Dalymount for the first time.
“Our lads have worked really hard throughout pre-season and every week in training, and they worked hard in the game itself to build up a 3-0 lead.
“They worked for one another, were brilliant with the ball and without it, and I felt we played some really exciting football at times. We were full value for the lead.
“But they are professionals, so naturally they were a bit annoyed with themselves at conceding two late goals, particularly as we were only a couple of minutes away from getting a fourth clean sheet in a row.
“You could see that when the final whistle went, it probably took them a minute to put that out of their minds and go and celebrate with our fans properly but it’s important that they did. You have to enjoy those moments, and we want to enjoy more of them.
“We’ve had a very good start to the season and were brilliant for 92 minutes last week, so I wouldn’t be too critical of a freak 90 seconds at the end. A win against your rivals is a win against your rivals, so it certainly didn’t take the gloss off it for me after such a great performance.
“But what I would say is that it should serve as a lesson to us that you can never take your foot off the pedal. We had games last year – Rovers in Tallaght, Pat’s at home, Galway away – where we won games right at the death but we also had the heartbreak against Shels in injury time towards the end of the season too.
“So the lesson is that you don’t give up until the last minute, whether you’re winning or losing. But if we can concede two goals in injury-time, still win a game, and learn that lesson for the future, then that will serve us well.”
Bohs’ form has earned them plaudits, including captain Dawson Devoy, Patrick Hickey and Colm Whelan all being nominated for the February SSE Airtricty/SWI Player of the Month Award.
But tomorrow’s opposition beat Bohs twice last season and three times the season before, so Reynolds says his players need to maintain their levels of intensity at the RSC.
Reynolds added: “We watched Waterford last week and they gave a good Derry City team a really big scare. They were very good. They showed they can cause damage, going into a 2-0 lead. They were 15 minutes away from winning and only lost the game in injury-time, so we are expecting a really tough game.
“Our players know it’s not going to be an easy game but we are going down there confident after the performances we’ve given over the past month and with a determination to keep that going.
“We know we have a massive crowd coming down behind us too. The players, particularly the new lads here for the first time, have got a taste of what it’s like to send our fans home happy. They want more of it, but know they have to work for that.”
Team news
Senan Mullen, Darragh Power and Douglas James-Taylor are rated as 50-50.
