Bohemian Football Club Crest

Whether it is challenging for the title, targeting European qualification or simply aiming to survive against relegation, every team in the Premier Division has something to fight for.

While the debate over whether having a ten-team top flight is the best structure to stick with, it has ensured that the Premier Division remains highly competitive.

As the season enters into Week 27, the title race is wide open with up to six teams still in the reckoning, the mid-table teams all have plenty to scrap for and the bottom two won’t be giving up anytime soon.

In fact, the relegation battle has become one of the most intriguing stories in the league. Most casual observers had written Bray Wanderers off in the opening weeks of the season, but they are not down and out yet.

As Bohemians found out on Tuesday night, the Seagulls have a lot of good players who are eager to lift the club off the foot of the table and prove that they can defy the odds by staying up.

The recent victory over St Patrick’s Athletic injected new hope into that survival bid. But the next few weeks will ultimately dictate if they can keep the fight going or if they will slip away as they need to keep picking up positive results.

Bray need to close the gap on Drogheda United, who are just above them in ninth place, and that is not unachieveable. They were previously lagging a way behind the Boynesiders until they beat them at United Park and then stunned St Pat’s at the Carlisle Grounds.

However, Bray’s task was made all the more difficult when manager Eddie Gormley opted to step down from his role. Luck rarely fell for the County Wicklow club during his reign, but he will be sorely missed as he made a big impact over his four years of service.

It is now up to the Bray players to show that they can jump ahead of Drogheda. If they do, it would be a remarkable story. But there are plenty of other interesting plots ongoing in the league.

From Sligo Rovers’ sudden jump up the table to join the title race to a three-way battle between Dundalk, UCD and Galway United to clinch a top-five finish, there are so many themes to this year’s top flight that it is a shame it has to come to an end.

Top of the list though for most spectators is the title race. And Bohemians have work to do to stay in the hunt for a third league triumph in a row, but their 12th win of the season on Tuesday keeps them in contention.

If Pat Fenlon’s side can claim maximum points from their away trips to Dundalk and Drogheda, then they will be right back in the race along with Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick’s Athletic, Sligo Rovers and Sporting Fingal.