Drogheda United v Bohemians, Head in the Games Park, Friday, 7.45pm
The bohemian comes and goes, especially in this league and at this club, from Keith Buckley going Down Under to Andy Lyons striding on to the European stage with Shamrock Rovers, it happens all the time.
Dawson Devoy always felt a little different to what has been and done. The 20-year-old joins MK Dons – where Conor Coventry and Troy Parrott just had impressive League One campaigns – with a grand total of 90 appearances for Bohs, 10 goals and eight assists. But the numbers fail to reveal that head-swivelling ability to pick a sumptuous pass.
Such rare gifts made Devoy the darling of Dalymount Park. Bohs will soldier on, but no team is ever the same after losing their midfield general mid-season, and months after a 20-plus goalscorer in Georgie Kelly joined Rotherham in the English second tier. Not to mention the departures of Ross Tierney, Lyons and Buckley.
Keith Long’s staff, which includes former Dublin footballer Philly McMahon, have a monumental challenge to maintain mid-table status, with a late run for European football almost certainly beyond them as they lie 11 points adrift of third place Derry City.
Drogheda United at home, fresh from the 1-0 derby defeat of Dundalk, will disrupt any idea of a smooth transition. Nevertheless, Bohs remain a serious attacking entity with 21-year-old Promise Omochere unplayable at times this year, while Devoy’s departure may indirectly offer 17-year-old Jamie Mullins an opportunity, much like Danny Mandroiu leaving Shamrock Rovers opened the door for Justin Ferizaj.
Whatever happens next the Bohs supporter will never forget Devoy’s cool distribution during last season’s Europa League run, and despite the matches being shielded from a television audience, the few thousand claiming to be inside the Aviva Stadium on those famous nights might swell over time as the Ashbourne native evolves at Milton Keynes, via St Kevin’s Boys and Bohemian FC naturally.
“I enjoyed my time at Bohs but if I want to take my career to the next level, this is the right move for me,” said Devoy. “Everyone I spoke to about here said how it’s a really good, family club and I have seen that myself already. I can’t wait to get going here in England.”
St Patrick’s Athletic v Dundalk, Richmond Park, 7.45pm
Something Irish has caught the mood down Buckinghamshire way with last season’s loan signings, Ireland under-21 captain Conor Coventry and Troy Parrott, effectively replaced by Darragh Burns and Dawson Devoy.
Burns is already settled at MK Dons, after an impactful half-season for St Patrick’s Athletic, so the teenager will presumably cushion Devoy’s landing this week.
The League of Ireland is poorer for the pair’s inevitable departures, St Pat’s as much as Bohs, as Burns scored 11 goals in 61 games, and it heaps pressure on Tim Clancy’s squad to keep pace with the top three. Second placed Dundalk are six points clear of St Pat’s with a game in hand and tonight can only be seen as a must-win game if Stephen O’Donnell’s side are to keep Rovers honest in the title race.
