After an action-less Matchday 3 for both sides, Drogheda and Bohs return to league action as the two square off in a Weavers Park battle.
Both sides were out of action on Friday night due to failed pitch inspections in Tallaght and Phibsboro as a result of heavy snowfall in Dublin.
Drogheda come into this fixture off the back of a heavy 4-1 home defeat to newly promoted Waterford, and are yet to pick up any points in the early stages of the season, the only side with a 0% record in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier division.
Last time out for Bohemians, Jordan Flores’ spot kick was enough to see The Gypsies run out 1-0 winners over Dublin rivals St. Patrick’s Athletic in Inchicore last Friday week. They come into this fixture with a win and a draw, opening the season with a 2-2 draw vs Sligo Rovers at Dalymount Park.
Unfortunately for Bohs, the actions of a minority of supporters in the away end in Richmond Park, namely throwing flares onto the pitch hitting Bohs centre-back Cian Byrne, has resulted in an away fans’ ban for Monday night’s fixture.
Drogs currently have no injury concerns as of yet, meanwhile Bohs are without centre-back Rob Cornwall with an ACL tear, which happened half an hour into their draw with Sligo Rovers. Neither side has any suspension concerns.
Drogs’ only source of goals this season have come in the form of full-back Evan Weir and midfielder Steve Bawa, who was signed from Swedish side Boden in the recent winter transfer window, however expect striker Franz Pierrot to cause Bohs problems. The Haitian was signed from Athlone Town in the off season and scored 20 goals for ‘De Town’ in the First Division last season last season.
Bohs will be relying on the leadership of interim captain and Player of the Month nominee Jordan Flores in the absence of club captain Keith Buckley. The Englishman had a superb match in Inchicore, filling in at centre-back and winning and scoring the ultimately decisive penalty in the 85th minute. However, expect midfielder Brian McManus, recently signed from Shelbourne, former Drogs man James Clarke, right-back Michael Lilander, and his Estonian international teammate, striker Sten Reinkort, to be a cause for concern from a Drogs point-of-view.
With a stadium that will be full of Drogheda fans, and Bohs often struggling in County Louth, I reckon this will be a really tight game that will come down to the wire. My prediction is a 2-1 win for Bohs, purely as I think we are not only stronger but we have momentum from the huge win in D8 last week.