BETTING COLUMN BY SEAMUS O’CONCHUR
Aaron Callaghan’s Bohemias may not have impressed too many neutrals last week, making hard work of seeing off a 10-man UCD team.
The goals were well-taken though, and UCD were only allowed back into the game by the type of error that we will hopefully see very few of as the season goes on and we develop the impressive organisation we showed last season. That level of organisation is a positive reflection on the manager considering the inexperienced profile of the squad.
Cork City are guaranteed to play hard this season under Tommy Dunne and it will be interesting to see if they can turn Turner’s Cross into a fortress and challenge at the very top level. It’s a credit to our team that the game doesn’t look intimidating on paper like away games in Cork used to.
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The prices look about right though and we wouldn’t be rushing to back Bohs at Pinnacle’s 4.99 (just short of 4/1) in a fixture where, as last season, the draw is always going to be a runner. If betting, the draw is the one to be on at 3.52 (Pinnacle).
It may be a while before St Pat’s Athletic have as good a chance as to win the league as they did last season, and although they have added quality players such as Killian Brennan to their squad, they still lack firepower up front and will not be scoring goals for fun. Shamrock can be backed at 2.17 with Pinnacle and that’s a price worth taking. Some may wish to take 9/20 draw no bet on Rovers, but if they get their noses in front they should be able to shut out the Saints.
Elsewhere, Shelbourne will be looking to bounce back from last week’s opening day shocker in Bray where a red card and a one-nil defeat gave little signs of promise. Dundalk, on the other hand, managed a clean sheet against the title favourites and will be gaining in confidence under Stephen Kenny. Back the away win at Tolka (2.88, Coral).
UCD-Derry and Drogheda-Limerick are not easy games to call and involve teams that it’s difficult to form much of an opinion on this early in the season. Drogheda flattered in the Setanta Cup against weak though Danske Bank Irish League opposition, but then looked moderate enough when losing in Inchicore last week. There is no guarantee that they will find Limerick a soft touch when they visit Hunky Dorys Park.
To complete this weekend’s bets, we instead look to Sligo Rovers and Bray Wanderers on Saturday night. There is no reason to believe that Bray’s win over Shelbourne suggests they are in for a season dramatically different from last year. Given that they can be expected to finish down near the bottom of the table, and given Sligo’s ability on the ball and knack for scoring goals, we can back over 2.5 goals here at around 1.8 (4/5) on betfair. We can repeat ourselves as many times as is necessary in pointing out that there is no such thing as a banker but this the short price worth taking this week.
Recommended:
Shamrock, 1pt 2.17 (Pinnacle)
Dundalk, 1pt 2.88 (Coral)
Sligo Rvs – Bray Wanderers over 2.5 goals, 2pts 1.8 (betfair)
