2019 Season Preview: Bohemians

Manager: Keith Long

Stadium: Dalymount Park

Players in: James Talbot (Sunderland), Conor Levingston (Wolves), Niall Corbert (Waterford), James Finnerty (Rochdale), Michael Barker (St Patrick's Athletic), Daniel Mandriou (Brighton & Hove Albion), Luke Wader-Slater (Stevenage), Scott Allardice (Dundee), Sam Byrne (Dundalk).

Players out: JJ Lunney (Waterford), Dan Casey (Cork City), Ian Morris (retired), Shane Supple (retired), Dan Byrne (Shelbourne), Oscar Brennan (Shelbourne), Daniel Kelly (Dundalk).

Extratime.ie Key Man: Dinny Corcoran.

Dinny Corcoran scores goals and goals win games. Last season Corcoran was Bohs’ leading scorer with 11 league goals and, with a lack of experienced options up front, Corcoran could be a crucial component in Keith Long’s side this year. His influence on the other forwards involved with first team will be important with the other three strikers in the squad aged 19, 22, and 23 – the eldest of whom is a newcomer to the club.

Extratime.ie One to Watch: Daniel Mandriou.

Having arrived in Dublin from Brighton’s under 23 side during the off-season, 20-year-old Madroiu looks an exciting prospect. Mandriou played youth football with St. Kevin’s Boy from 2014 until 2017 when he signed for Brighton. He notched six goals and two assists in 18 appearances for Brighton’s under018 side, and three goals and three assists in 15 appearance in the Premier League 2. With promising stats like that, the Bohs faithful will be hoping he can add some spice to their midfield for the forthcoming season.

How they did last season:

League: 6^th, Premier Division.

Before the start of the season, extratime.ie predicted that Bohs would finish sixth, which is exactly where they ended up finishing. The season got off to a poor start for Keith Long’s side, and it took a while for significant improvements to be seen. After 25 games, Bohs sat in eighth place with only 25 points. However, Bohs’ form in the latter stage was electrifying, going on a ten-game unbeaten run before losing successive games to Waterford and Cork. Seven wins and two draws in the last 11 league games placed Bohs third in the late-season form table. Supporters will hope that this momentum can be continued into the new season.

FAI Cup: Semi-final.

Bohs reached the semi-final of the FAI Cup after beating Wexford, Galway United and Derry City. In the semi-final they faced the prospect of Cork City. In the first playing off the game at Dalymount Park, Dinny Corcoran bagged the opening goal and Bohs supporters may have been already been looking forward to a cup final as they counted down the minutes while holding to a 1-0 lead. Their celebrations were put on hold, however, as a rather contentious penalty was converted by penalty-merchant Kieran Sadlier to force a replay. Two goals in five minutes in the replay put Cork into a dominant position in the replay at Turner’s cross. Ian Morris’ stunning goal on the 59^th minute brought his side back into contention, but it wasn’t to be for Bohs.

EA Sports Cup: Quarter-final.

Bohs made it to the quarter final of the EA Sports Cup after dispatching Cabinteely 5-1, and edging past UCD 5-3 on penalties. However, an early brace by Dylan Connolly, coupled with a late goal from Jamie McGrath, saw Dundalk ease past Bohs relatively comfortably.

What to expect this season:

It’s somewhat difficult to predict what we will see from Bohs this season. They finished last season in red hot form, however, a lot of key players have departed in the off-season and there is a lot of inexperience. With unknown quantities like this it could go either way, however a number of Bohs star players last season were also unknown heading into last season.

With that in mind, a mid-table battle with Derry and Waterford seems likely and they will probably finish between fifth and seventh with another decent cup run.

Title Odds: 50/1.

First game: vs Finn Harps (H), Friday, February 15^th.