St.Patrick’s Athletic v Dundalk (Premier Division)
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Friday 15th July – 7:45PM KO
Due to European ties involving other Irish sides, St.Pat’s didn’t play last weekend which will have been a frustration given the Saints gained a much-needed 3-0 win the week prior against Drogheda. Tim Clancy’s players would have been eager to carry that momentum into another game quickly but instead, they’ve had to sit by and watch the action unfold around them.
Pat’s boss Clancy was able to take advantage of the night off last Friday and attend his old club Drogheda’s 1-0 win against Dundalk. Creating chances has been an issue for the Lilywhites in recent weeks and that was very evident in the defeat to their local rivals.
Rumours had suggested Dundalk’s top man Pat Hoban was set for a long spell on the sidelines through injury but he appeared off the bench in Drogheda last week and the sooner the Dundalk medical team can get Hoban fully tuned up the better. His deputy, David McMillan simply isn’t the force of old which leaves Dundalk looking light up top when Hoban isn’t present.
The manner of Dundalk’s performance against Drogheda will have been a far bigger concern to manager Stephen O’Donnell than the result itself and a trip to his former club is now a real test of the rookie boss’s credentials.
A lapse in concentration at the back allowed Daniel Kelly to nip in and score the only goal of the season between these two sides so far when they last met. However, that game was at home for Dundalk with the Lilywhites home v away form a real contrast this season. So far in 2022, Dundalk have won 9/11 at home but have won just 2/11 on the road!
While Pats home form is the third best in the Premier Division, they have at times struggled against the top side in the division when they’ve visited Richmond Park. A scoreless draw was the result when Dundalk last visited the Dublin venue and this is likely to be a low-scoring affair too.
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Prediction: Under 2.5 Goals, 1.73 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Drogheda v Bohemians (Premier Division)
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Friday 15th July – 7:45PM KO
Drogheda United continue to be one of the toughest teams to play against in the Premier Division this season with the County Louth side losing just once in their last seven matches. A second derby win of the year against Dundalk arrived on Friday night and with Kevin Doherty’s men unbeaten from two meetings against Bohemians this season, they’ll fancy their chances of continuing this impressive run of form when the sides meet again at Head In The Game Park this weekend.
A 3-0 defeat away to St.Pat’s is the only time in the last 8 matches that Drogheda have conceded more than one goal in a game with the Boynesiders an extremely well-organised outfit.
Bohemians were on their travels last weekend with the Gypsies heading to Germany to face Union Berlin in a glamour friendly. An encouraging display in a 2-1 defeat acts as a reminder that there is genuine quality in this Bohs side but we just haven’t seen enough of that this season.
Despite winning 3-1 away to UCD on the Thursday prior to their Berlin trip, Bohemians were very unconvincing with a late UCD sending-off and an even later Bohemians penalty helping to put the game to bed. The fact that UCD managed to create so many promising opportunities in the game has to be a worry for Bohs boss Keith Long.
The man who put the game beyond doubt was Bohemians midfielder Dawson Devoy who tucked away a 90th minute spot-kick. However, Devoy has today signed for MK Dons as the talent drain continues at Dalymount Park.
Devoy’s creative spark would have been very welcome against a Drogheda side who are so difficult to break down. On the basis of recent performances combined with the two H2H games this season, it’s hard to make a genuine case for a Bohemians win.
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Prediction: Drogheda Double Chance, Evens on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Cobh Ramblers v Waterford (First Division)
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Friday 15th July – 7:45PM KO
From being the division’s most in-form side with 8 consecutive wins to suffering back-to-back defeats against Galway and Wexford, life at Waterford FC is always a roller-coaster. With rumours continuing to circulate regarding the future of the clubs owners, Waterford look to have blown their title chances on the pitch with an 11-point gap now opening up between the Blues in third and league leaders Cork City.
Cobh Ramblers meanwhile have yet to enjoy a “new manager bounce” with Shane Keegan suffering 2-0 and 3-0 defeats in his first two matches in charge. Despite Waterford being out of form, this is another tough ask for struggling Ramblers who have conceded a joint-worst tally of 53 goals in 21 games this season. Waterford have scored a second-best 42 goals this term so we’re expecting a high-scoring encounter here.
Despite Cobh’s struggles this season, they have managed to score on average a goal a game and have been involved in some real crackers so fingers crossed for more of the same on Friday night.
Take a look at these scorelines from H2H encounters gone by: 4-2, 0-4, 0-5, 3-2.
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Prediction: Over 2.5 Goals, 1.60 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Cork City v Galway United (Division 1)
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Friday 15th July – 7:45PM KO
The top two go head to head in the First Division on Friday night at Turners Cross with Cork City hoping to maintain their slender lead over their title rivals. Galway gave their promotion hopes a major shot in the arm last week by following up their win over in-form Waterford with a convincing 3-0 win at home to Cobh Ramblers. New signing Rob Manley was on the scoresheet for John Caulfield’s side and the addition of the former Longford Town striker is a serious piece of business by the Westerners.
Manley’s goals fired Longford to promotion in 2020 but sadly he was starved of quality service at Bray this season but he should be far more involved at a better-resourced Galway. Cork City meanwhile have done some good dealings of their own recently with striker Louis Britton arriving at the club following the end of his successful loan spell at Waterford while Barry Coffey has signed a contract with the club despite interest from Galway.
Cork’s only defeat this season came against Galway (0-1) while Longford Town are the only side excluding Cork City that have lowered the colours of Galway this season. With 1-0 being the score in both meetings this season we can expect another tight encounter here with so much on the line for both sides.
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Prediction: Under 2.5 Goals, 1.80 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
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