Paul Fennessy reports from Dalymount Park

ALAN REYNOLDS’ FIRST game in charge of Bohemians was a 3-1 loss against Shamrock Rovers on 29 March.

The visitors were well beaten that day at Tallaght Stadium and their form has not been stellar since — they sit eighth in the Premier Division table and had just one win from 11 matches before Friday’s Dublin Derby.

Yet there are signs Reynolds’ team is finally starting to take shape, as Bohs earned a deserved 1-0 win over their arch-rivals, showing greater energy and dominating much of the second-half territory amid a game where chances were at a premium.

Only four players from the Gypsies’ starting XI featured in that 3-1 defeat four months ago.

And Bohs coped well against their arch-rivals considering how many recent signings they integrated into the team.

Dawson Devoy made his second debut after returning from a spell in England at MK Dons and completed the full game despite not having played since his last appearance in a loan stint with Swindon last April.

“Of course, that comes into your thinking,” Bohs assistant boss Stephen O’Donnell said after the game. “We just felt he’s a player you play, simple as, and see how much we could get out of him and it happened to be we got 98 odd minutes out of him. I think you saw enough to know that he’s a high-quality player and we made the decision to go with him and see how much he could give us.”

Ross Tierney, Alex Greive and Archie Meekison only made their Dalymount debuts last week, with the former two starting against the Hoops and the latter on the bench.

21-year-old Cian Byrne is still a relatively inexperienced defender while Martin Miller, Kacper Chorążka, Dayle Rooney and Filip Piszczek only joined the club ahead of the new season, so it was striking the lack of experience in the Bohs XI compared to a much more familiar-looking Rovers team.

Perhaps most impressive of all was Leigh Kavanagh. The 20-year-old centre-back made his first appearance off the bench last week versus Sligo, having recently returned to Ireland after a couple of years at Brighton.

The Bray Wanderers graduate shone in a Bohs backline who rarely looked like conceding against a Rovers side that appeared tired following the drama of their midweek European exploits.

“He came on a half-time last week and that’s his first senior start, playing Rovers in a derby and I thought he showed brilliant composure,” said O’Donnell. “The challenge for him, and everyone, is to be consistent with it now. We’ve seen somewhat of a ceiling of what you can do on an isolated night. The whole place here needs to be consistent with it and keep backing it up. There are signs of real talent within the group.”

Bohs have not had the best of luck with defenders as two other 2024 signings, Jake Carroll and Rob Cornwall, are out injured, with the latter having done his cruciate at the start of the season.

Carroll’s issue, suffered against Galway earlier this month, is less severe but frustrating for a player in good form.

“You’re probably looking at another couple of weeks but not as bad as maybe we thought,” said O’Donnell. “It’s disappointing for Jake as I thought he came in and gave us a real calming influence but it’s a little setback comparable to the setbacks he’s had.”

Bohs will hope the win over Rovers can kickstart what has been a frustrating season.

A cup run and potential third final appearance in four years would be a welcome distraction from their inept league form, as they look to land the trophy they last secured in 2008.

With several exciting new additions to the squad, they appear to be moving in the right direction. And so could there be further new faces acquired before the window closes?

“I’m not privy, that’s above my pay grade,” O’Donnell added. “When there are good players about, you would automatically be interested but we’re delighted with the business we’ve done and happy with where the squad is comparable to a month ago. We’ll take it from there.”