Keith Long pleased with point after poor first half display

Bohemians “lacked energy” and were lucky to come away with a point from their 2-2 draw with St Patrick’s Athletic on Friday, according to boss Keith Long.

The Gypsies snatched two second half goals to rescue a draw from the jaws of defeat after being outplayed by the Saints for 50 minutes.

But the dismissal of Ryan Brennan in the 52^nd minute changed the game, admits Long, who lamented that the first-half performance from his side simply wasn’t up to scratch.

“We’re pleased to get something out of the game because, in all honesty, we don’t think we deserved much from it,” Long said.

“Credit to the players, they kept going to the end, but certainly the sending off was key, and it allowed us to get back into the game. The referee sees a dive in the box, - I don’t know, there’s lots of bodies there.

“He’s got two yellow cards in quick succession, Ryan, he probably feels a little bit aggrieved to be sent off, but it enables us to get back into the game.

“We pressed and got the two goals but first half was unacceptable.

“It was lethargic, we lacked energy, there was no tempo to our play, our passing was loose, it was the perfect storm in terms of a poor first half performance.

“We spoke to the players strongly at half time, we wanted a response and then we concede from a set-piece. You go 2-0 down and then you’re really up against it.”

It’s the second time in succession Bohs have rescued results from going behind in Derby games, having done so against Shamrock Rovers three weeks ago – coming from 1-0 down to win 2-1.

But Long feels his side are making strides forward, but are being hurt by the lack of a clinical goalscorer.

“Our club is about hard work and graft,” he said.

“That’s the DNA in our team, that’s always been our identity.

“We’re trying to evolve a little bit, combine that structure defensively, honesty, and effort but add an attacking element to our play, a little bit more fluidity – but the fundamentals of the game don’t change. You have to win your individual battle.

“We haven’t been clinical enough in front of goal. We haven’t scored enough. We’ve created chances but haven’t found that finishing touch and that is a worry for us.

“But we got two goals tonight and did create some chances and, albeit that they’re down to ten men, they were organised, they got bodies behind the ball, in the box, on the line blocking. That’s difficult to break down, ten men can sometimes be harder to play against.

“We do have people that can score goals, Dinny [Corcoran] has come in tonight, played the full 90 minutes, he’s got a goal. He’s a natural goalscorer for us, he was our talisman last year.

“[Eoghan] Stokes is a young boy, learning and finding his feet in this league, and we do have scorers from other areas of the pitch, but it’s an area we have to improve upon.”

That hard-working DNA will be tested to the maximum over their current spell of fixtures, with Bohs facing 10 games in 49 days.

Long admits it could be a concern, considering their high-tempo, front-foot approach in games, but insists it’s no worse for him than any other manager at the minute.

“The Friday-Monday and midweek games are a problem for everybody,” Long said.

“It’s an issue, doesn’t matter what way you play.

“In terms of intensity, yes we like to play fast, attacking, aggressive football when we can.

“Tonight we couldn’t because the opposition were better than us in the first half.

“But it’s a challenge for us for sure, the next couple of weeks are tough for us but the load becomes a little bit lighter for us then so we can manage it a bit better.

“We haven’t been able to do a lot of preparation, effectively we’ve been doing recovery into games.”

Bohemians return home tonight to take on third-placed Waterford at Dalymount Park.