THE WEEKENDER: MAY 3
May 3, 2013
BETTING COLUMN BY SEAMUS O’CONCHUR
After this weekend’s games, everyone will have played everybody else once, and we can begin to scrutinise the league table with some kind of seriousness.
The big game tonight is in Tallaght, where a home defeat for the home team by Sligo Rovers would be catastrophic.
Sligo have looked shaky in recent weeks after their flying start to the season, with St Pat’s and Drogs beating them in the league and Setanta Cup respectively. A home draw against Drogheda then failed to get the show back on the road, but they have the class to avoid defeat in Tallaght.
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Shamrock have scored in each of their home games this season, and will obviously hope that some of the many chances they are creating start going in. A 2-0 defeat at UCD is fairly stark though, if you are looking for indications that this isn’t just a team short on luck and small margins away from turning draws into wins. That doesn’t really explain why they are ten points behind the league leaders, and if they lose and find themselves 13 behind, patience will be severely tested. The bet that appeals is the draw, something that neither team would be too disappointed at. Despite the home team’s need being greater, Sligo are capable of avoiding defeat.
The above bet on the draw will be seen by many as a safe bet, but there could well be another share of the spoils that is somewhat less expected by neutrals, and it is our trip to Drogheda. The home side may well have one eye on their Setanta Cup final date next weekend, and may be without Alan Byrne, Derek Prendergast, and Ryan Brennan. Declan O’Brien is always a threat against us but even in the absence of Stephen Paisley, we have a team capable of building on the confidence injected by the Inchicore result, and sneak a point here.
It is difficult to pick much else to bet on in this series of fixtures, and there may well be some more draws, considering that teams are going into an intense period of fixtures with little recovery time. What you may see in such circumstances is teams reluctant to really commit towards the end of games, and this is good news for draw backers. St Pat’s wouldn’t be too upset at a draw at Cork, who will be in good spirits following their late comeback against Bray. Bray themselves host Dundalk, who despite their fine start to the season might be slightly over-rated at 4/5 away from home.
Derry and Limerick is another one that looks hard to call, with Derry perhaps more stylish as a road team when they don’t have to patiently break through the sort of defensive masses that visitors to the Brandywell often present them with.
Finally, consider a squeak on UCD to beat Shelbourne. After almost a full series of fixtures, we can probably deduce that Shels have serious problems indeed, even apart from their disciplinary record. UCD will be delighted at last Friday’s home win and won’t have any fear of going to Tolka in search of all 3 points.
Recommended:
Shamrock – Sligo draw, 1pt 9/4 (Coral)
Drogheda – Bohs draw, 1pt 11/4 (BetVictor)
UCD, 1pt 21/10 (Coral)
