League Preview: Bray Wanderers -v- Bohemians

BRAY WANDERERS

Bray Wanderers will be looking to get back to winning ways on Saturday evening when they welcome Keith Long’s Bohemians to the Carlisle Grounds.

The Seagulls picked up their first league victory at the end of March when they dismantled basement club Sligo Rovers 4-0 following a superb second half display against the Bit O‘Red.

However, they failed to carry this momentum into their game last week as they went down 2-0 to Wexford Youths, handing the new boys their first ever League of Ireland Premier Division win.

A win on Saturday would push Mick Cooke’s men level with the Gypsies on points and would certainly be ideal as their remaining April fixtures will prove testing with trips to Finn Harps and Shamrock Rovers separated by a home game with St. Patrick’s Athletic. 

Mick Daly, Conor Earley and Mark Salmon remain injury concerns for Mick Cooke but otherwise he will be able to select from the same squad which played Wexford.

BOHEMIANS

Bohemians have been in fine form at home in recent games, going five unbeaten in all competitions so far this season, a run which includes a fine 2-0 win over Longford Town in last week’s Premier Division fixture.

In contrast, the Dublin side’s  away form has left a lot to be desired and are yet to pick up a point or a goal away from Dalymount Park in the league this season as they have gone down 1-0 to Galway United, 3-0 to St. Pat’s and 2-0 to Cork City.

Speaking to bohemianfc.com, manager Keith Long spoke of how he hoped that his side can begin to carry their excellent home form into their away ties going into Saturday’s game with Wanderers.

‘‘It's still early days. We've had two good wins but Bray will be tough opponents. They'll be disappointed at being beaten by Wexford Youths on the back of a fantastic result against Sligo Rovers. It's not going to be easy and we've got to show we want it more.’’

Reflecting on last week’s victory over Longford, Long felt he could take a lot of positives from that performance.

‘‘It wasn't perfect. But we showed more of what we're capable of. We were delighted to keep a clean sheet but we got away with some errors that might have been punished against other teams.

“But with that two-goal cushion, you could see that the players were really playing with confidence in the second half.’’

The Gypsies have notched six goals in their last two games, and competition up front for the Phibsborough side is quickly beginning to heat up especially with Kurtis Byrne scoring a hat-trick midweek in a 4-3 Leinster Senior Cup win against his former side Dundalk.

‘‘We still need to tighten up defensively and that has to start from the front. But between Kurtis Byrne, Mark Quigley, Izzy Akinade, Jake Kelly and Adam Evans, we have really good attacking options.

‘‘Obviously the Leinster Senior Cup is down our list of priorities but it meant that, bar the injured players, we were able to give everyone in the squad a game over the two matches.

“Kurtis was disappointed not to start against Longford but he really showed his quality against Dundalk."

Mark Quigley is again considered a doubt with a quad injury while Jason Caffrey remains out with a hamstring injury.

Referee: Derek Tomney

MATCH STATS

These two sides met a total of four times last season. In the league, Bohemians won the first fixture one nil at the Carlisle Grounds thanks to an Adam Evans strike. This was followed up by a stalemate at Dalymount before Bray came out on top 3-1 in the final game between the sides, again at Dalymount.

The Seagulls also eliminated Bohemians in the third round of the FAI Cup last year as they reached the semi-final stage, being knocked out eventually by a tight one nil defeat against Cork.

In all competitions, these sides have met a total of 55 times with Bohemians coming out with 34 wins to Bray’s 9.

Robbie Creevy, now of Bray, scored Bohemians’ 100th ever goal against Bray in last season’s 3-1 defeat.

BETTING

Bray Wanderers 15/8; Draw 9/4; Bohemians 7/5.

PREDICTION

Bray Wanderers 1-2 Bohemians

Bray Wanderers

Injured: Mick Daly, Conor Earley, Mark Salmon.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.

Bohemians

Injured: Jason Caffrey.

Doubtful: Mark Quigley.

Suspended: None.