Eye on Bohs
Pól O’Hare
After beating Shamrock Rovers 1-0 in Celtic Park last week, Derry City face a double header away to Bohemians and at home to Galway United over the bank holiday weekend. I’ve had a look at how our opponents fair coming into both games, first up with tonight’s opponents.
Alan Reynolds’ Bohemians side were the early pacesetters in the Premier Division this year, winning five of their first six games to race to the top of the table. That five game winning streak, which included four clean sheets, came to an end in
mid March. Since then, Bohs have failed to win – drawing four and losing three of the next seven.
Despite the recent dip in form, the Phibsborough side find themselves well within the European race while keeping pace with table topping rivals Shamrock Rovers. Their 3-2 win over Rovers in February inflicted the Hoops’ first defeat of the season. Topping the away form table with eleven points gained on the road, Bohemians’ home form doesn’t make for such promising reading, placing them seventh in thedivision. Reynolds’ side have also lost in six of the last nine times they’ve hostedDerry City in Dalymount.
The standout signings for Bohs in 2026 have been Patrick Hickey and Sam Todd, who arrived from Galway United and Derry City respectively. Both have slotted seamlessly into the side’s starting eleven. Former City midfielder Sadou Diallo, who
left Derry for Dublin in the offseason, has recently gone viral for a defence splitting assist against Sligo Rovers. That pass gave fellow Englishman Zane Myers his firstgoal for the club.
Another ex-Candystripe, Colm Whelan, tops Bohemians’ scoring charts with six league goals this year. Three of those came in a 4-0 away win over Sligo Rovers, while a league-high four have been penalties.
Dawson Devoy has been one of the standout players in the league after returning to Bohs from MK Dons in 2024. His free kick in the Brandywell earlier this season wasthe difference in a 1-0 win for the Dublin side.
Latvian midfielder Markuss Strods is having something of a breakout season in Dalymount, featuring in eight games. He bagged within seconds of kick-off to open the scoring in a 3-1 defeat against St Pat’s last Friday. Strods also started for his
country’s U21 side in a 3-1 defeat against Northern Ireland U21s and in a 1-1 draw with Georgia U21s in the March international break, scoring the only goal for the Latvians in the latter.
The last few years have dealt a mixed bag in terms of results between City and Bohs. Of the last ten meetings in all competitions, City have won five, Bohs three with the other two being 1-1 draws.
Derry’s 4-3 win in Dalymount Park last year was one of the most entertaining gamesof the season. Adding to that, it has been almost three years since the last goalless draw in this meeting. Will we see another goal-fest on Friday?