Bohs and Candystripes hunt final high
After running away with the title, Bohs are now on the brink of the ultimate double, but Derry are chasing a double of their own, having already secured the League Cup for the fourth year in a row. While the Liffeysiders outstripped the third-placed Foylesides by a whopping 17 points in the final league table, Derry have actually enjoyed the better of the head-to-head contests with Bohs over the course the season, sharing two scoreless draws and inflicting one of the Dalymount side’s only two defeats in the league, as well trouncing them en route to winning the League Cup.
In short, these are two well-matched sides, boasting match-winning talent and, in rival bosses Pat Fenlon and Stephen Kenny — both of whom have managed both clubs — helmed by two of the most impressive and successful gaffers in the country.
But, of course, what no-one can really predict is how the unique occasion of a cup final — and, for that matter, the weather at the often wind-blown Dublin 4 venue — will impact on the action tomorrow.
“As always, cup finals are one-off games,” says Stephen Kenny. “Bohemians are league champions and rightly so but we have the opportunity to become double cup champions in one season and it would be terrific.
“The players have worked extremely hard this season and this is the showcase match for them. We’re looking for our players to play with confidence and enjoy the match. I’ve been involved with them in no fewer than four national cup finals and they’ve delivered every time. But Bohs also have that experience so Sunday has the makings of a really great game.”
Roddy Collins led Bohemians to their last double seven years ago and Fenlon appreciates the rarity of the achievement within reach of his side.
“It’s doesn’t happen very often in Irish football,” he observes. “But we have to overcome a huge obstacle. Derry City have performed very well all season and, in my opinion, this match will see the two best football teams in this country square up against one another. This is a very important competition and a great opportunity for this club and this group of players to win another trophy”.
And Felon insists that, even with the season’s biggest honour already in the bag, there is no hint of complacency about his side’s approach tomorrow.
“The players have performed superbly throughout the season,” he says. “That is a credit to them and to their professional attitude. What really sums them up is their desire to win. It would have been easy for them to take their minds off the league for the last few matches but they continued to perform to the same high standards. I know from having worked with them all season and for several seasons before in the cases of some, that they have a tremendous will to win and that will stand to them in the final.”
Bohs go into tomorrow’s game without suspended Jason McGuinness and cup-tied Anto Murphy, which means Ken Oman will partner Liam Burns in the heart of the defence, while Jason Byrne could edge John Paul Kelly and Lithuanian international Mindaugas Kalonas as a replacement for Murphy.
Derry City should be at full strength, meaning Kenny can look to the experience of veteran skipper Peter Hutton, the goal-scoring prowess of Mark Farren and the exciting creativity of Niall McGinn — new Northern Ireland cap, the PFAI’s Young Player Of The Year and the young man who has helped compensate for the loss to Celtic of the incomparable Pat McCourt — as he seeks to extend the Foylesiders’ uncanny unbeaten record against the champions this season.
Derry have been something of a jinx club for Bohs in recent years — in Kenny’s two spells as manager at the Brandywell, they have never lost to the Dublin side. But, with every new cup final, history is there to be made. And Bohs, so dominant in the league, are rightly favourites to tilt the game, and the club rivalry, back in their favour.
One other important note: Pat Fenlon is backing a charity collection for Headway — an organisation which supports people affected by acquired brain injury — at the RDS tomorrow. Says the Bohs boss: “Acquired Brain Injury could strike anyone of us, at any time. Headway is very deserving of your help as they provide excellent services and information to clients and families of those affected.” For information or support, phone 1890 200 278 or see tomorrow’s match programme for further details.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
