Bohemians Derry clash hits enough needle to fill a haystack

BOHEMIANS will have been looking forward to this one ever since their long, bitter journey home from the Brandywell on December 23rd. Derry City come calling to Dalymount Park next Sunday for a Premier Division summit meeting and there's no point pretending that there won't be some bad blood from the last meeting. Nor, let's face it, that it won't make for a spicier occasion.

There'll be enough needle in this encounter to fill a haystack. Bohemians still feel aggrieved over the half time fight between James Coll and the City manager which even Felix Healy admitted changed the nature of that contest. In fact, Bohemians had been pretty comfortable in that scoreless first half and much the more dangerous side.

That Derry have since extended their unbeaten league and Cup run to 24 games, thus pulling eight points clear of Bohemians at the top, adds further importance to the encounter. For Bohemians, it's win or bust.

Michael Dempsey's extended stay in hospital with concussion compounds Bohemians' unrivalled (and unenvied) casualty list. Dave Henderson's dodgy knee will have to be risked. The health of their other injured seven will also be crucial.

For Derry, too, this could constitute the most severe examination of their slimmer resources. In addition to Sean Hargan's suspension, midfield dynamo Peter Hutton (along with Liam Coyle, Derry's most important player) could be sidelined for several weeks.

Furthermore, Friday's FAI Cups semi final draw might even pit the two against each other again, reviving memories of their three match saga at the same stage two seasons ago.

Alas Sunday's meeting may have been undermined on a couple of fronts. RTE, whose improved coverage of late has deservedly won support from a previously critical domestic game, cannot be blamed for requesting that the contest be switched to Sunday. What's more, Bohemians will receive due financial compensation.

Yet, recalling the similarly refixed Bohemians Shelbourne game of December 1st, one can't help but feel that this game will also be the poorer for the switch. What atmosphere Dalymount still generates tends to be more noticeable on a Friday night.

In this regard, Bohemians could be the bigger losers. Given the recent Dublin tradition of Friday night football and the fact that it's a holiday weekend, a fall off in Bohemians' support seems inevitable. By contrast, Derry are likely to bring more support on a Sunday afternoon.

Then there is the proximity of the FAI/National League XI v Republic of Ireland B match 24 hours later. Some players, most ridiculously of all the Shelbourne quintet engaged in Cork next Sunday, could be asked to play two games in two days - or four in eight days and, overall, something like ten games in 31 days.

If the FAI/NL authorities are serious about Monday's game then one or more of Sunday's three matches should have been postponed or at least brought forward 24 or 48 hours. Wholesale withdrawals from Pat Devlin's squad as well as Mick McCarthy's seem inevitable.

Meantime, with the league's leading trio emulating last season's trend in reaching the Cup semi finals, a backlog of three or two matches is already ensured. This, despite none of the three being involved in any replays this season. The Cup has already been diminished by the addition of extra time to first games and the limit of one replay - which also hits clubs where it hurts most, in their pockets.

Could the FAI's decision be in any way related to the sudden, intrusive arrival of three representative games during the climax of the season - thereby ruling out three midweeks for Cup replays and re arranged league games? I think not.

But here the clubs, as well as the administrators at the top, are to blame. The obvious solution to a problem of their own making would be to extend the season by a week or two. But whereas some clubs are beginning to embrace the concept of spreading players' wages over 52 weeks, the vast majority cling to the amateurish old ways of payments over 40 weeks.