UCD v St.Patrick’s Athletic  (Premier Division)

St.Pat’s suffered the cruelest of European heartbreaks last Thursday as a totally inept performance from the Romanian referee in charge of their game against CSKA Sofia played a huge part in the Saints 2-1 aggregate defeat. Leading 1-0 from the first leg after a brilliant and disciplined display in Bulgaria, Pats switched off at an early set-piece on Thursday before a total “non-penalty” was awarded late on. The game was also marred by an ugly post-match brawl involving players and staff from both sides while two St.Patrick’s Athletic players reported having been racially abused on the night as well. 

All in all, it was a horrible and totally unjust way for Tim Clancy’s team to exit the European stage which is why Sunday’s scrappy 1-0 win at home to Sligo Rovers could yet prove so important. Mentally, it must have been a huge boost for those players to get back to the bread and butter of the league with such an important win, a win that takes Pats closer to securing another shot at Europe next season. 

As for UCD, their come-from-behind win with ten men at home to Finn Harps on Friday has given the Students a real chance of avoiding automatic relegation and they’ll welcome another home game coming around so quickly. In saying that, the win over Harps was UCD’s first home win of the season and even at that they still hold the worst home record in the division with 7 defeats in 13 home matches. 

St.Pat’s away form in the league could be better (6th overall) but they have managed to win both H2H’s this season against UCD and the fact they played so poorly on Sunday and still managed to find a way to win bodes well for the coming weeks as the disappointment of Europe goes further and further to the back of their minds. 

Despite losing goalkeeper Joseph Anang before Sunday’s game, after parent club West Ham recalled him to send him on loan to Derby County, Clancy looks to have quickly found a ready-made replacement in Danny Rogers, a 28-year-old who has vast volumes of experience in the lower leagues in England and Scotland. Rogers looked very assured during his debut against Sligo and appeals as someone who shouldn’t take long to settle into life at this level. 

Serge Atakyi is a player worth reading up on for his remarkable life story alone. Born in Congo, Atakyi claimed asylum in Finland after traveling to the country to play in an underage tournament and eventually went on to represent Finland at underage level.  Featuring under Steven Gerrard at Rangers, Atakyi has now been brought to St.Pat’s and scored the winner in Bulgaria recently as well as the only goal against Sligo on Sunday. The twenty-two-year-old’s pace, trickery, and confidence on the ball make him a joy to watch and he will represent a new threat UCD will not have faced before. 

The ongoing exclusion or at least bit-part nature of Tubde Owolabi’s role in this Pats team continues to be a talking point among fans and pundits, as it’s clear Pats lack pace in the forward areas with Eoin Doyle toeing the line as a lone striker, but with Mark Doyle seeing red in the win against Sligo Rovers perhaps Owolabi can be more involved this weekend. 

The fact Tim Clancy can keep such players in reserve goes to show the gulf in terms of squad depth between these two sides so while UCD desperately need more points if they are to survive, I don’t think this will be a game that aids their cause. 

Galway United v Bray Wanderers  (Division 1)

It’s been a crazy few days in the League of Ireland First Division with neither Cork City or Galway asserting themselves in the title race when faced with what looked very good opportunities for both sides. It all started on Friday night with league leaders Cork suffering just a second defeat of the season, a shock 2-0 loss at home to a Treaty United side they’d beaten 12-0 across three meetings this season. 

However, Galway United couldn’t capatilise as they lost 2-1 away to Waterford meaning Cork City could still take another giant leap towards the title with a game in hand on Monday night at home to none other than Waterford. Despite going down to ten men after just eight minutes, the Blues managed to dig in and leave Turners Cross with a point. That leaves Cork City just four points clear of Galway with seven games left to play this season, it’s still all to play for in the First Division! 

Given the disappointment of not capatilising on Cork’s slip up on Friday night, if Galway boss John Caulfield could have hand-picked his team’s next opponent it undoubtedly would have been Bray Wanderers. The Seagulls suffered their twelfth defeat of the season at home to Longford Town on Friday with Longford supporters describing the 3-0 win as the easiest game they’ve had against anyone this year. 

Bray offered next to nothing in terms of attacking threat, barely registering a shot on target while they were totally outplayed, outworked, and simply outclassed all over the park last Friday. With Galway United possessing two of the division’s hottest strikers at the moment in Rob Manley and Stephen Walsh there has got to be a fear in what might happen to Bray in the West of Ireland this weekend. 

Including cup games, United have scored 13 goals in their last 4 matches while Bray have only scored 22 times all season and have shipped 45 goals at the other end of the park. Galway beat Bray 5-1 the last time these two sides met and given how lifeless Bray have looked in recent weeks, a similar scoreline may not be out of the equation here. 

Finn Harps v Sligo Rovers  (Premier Division)

Finn Harps survival hopes suffered a hammer blow last Friday when they allowed ten-man UCD to come from behind and win 2-1 in a relegation six-pointer in Dublin. Having been awarded a somewhat fortuitous penalty early on, Finn Harps failed to put the game to bed after taking the lead and were duly punished by a determined UCD side. That leaves the Donegal men rock bottom and staring straight down the barrel of relegation. 

Sligo Rovers had a typical bipolar week meanwhile with the Bit O’Red defeating Norweigian side Viking 1-0 at the Showgrounds in their UEFA Europa Conference second-leg tie and while they bowed out 5-2 on aggregate, it was still a great individual result against a much higher level of opposition. On Sunday, attention turned to trying to qualify for Europe again for 2023 but John Russell’s men may as well have gone to Sunday mass instead as they delivered a dreadful performance in defeat to European rivals St.Patrick’s Athletic. 

That 1-0 defeat sees Sligo Rovers finding themselves four points behind Pat’s who are fourth in the table. A fourth-place finish has traditionally been enough to guarantee European football as the FAI Cup winners nearly always seem to be one of the country’s top three teams who have already secured European football via their league position. With Sligo out of the FAI Cup, they have no other way into Europe next season other than stealing fourth spot from Pats and hoping cup results go their way. 

To be brutally honest, from what I’ve seen this season, Sligo aren’t good enough to finish in the top four but a derby against Finn Harps should soon give John Russell’s side a jolt to the system with Harps likely to be scrapping for their lives. 

In saying that, many pundits have picked up not only on the demeanor of some Harps players this season but also some interesting post-match interviews by manager Ollie Horgan which appear to suggest this is a Harps team lacking in any real desire, fight or passion. 

Sligo Rovers totally outclassed Finn Harps the last time the two sides met with John Russell claiming a 3-0 win in one of his first games in charge after the departure of Liam Buckley while Bucko himself guided Sligo to a less glamourous 1-0 win over Finn Harps a few months earlier. 

Recently awarded Player Of The Month, Aidan Keena missed the defeat in Richmond Park on Sunday and it was very evident how big of a void the center-forward left in the team through his absence. Keena scored twice in the 3-0 win over Harps and he should be fit enough to feature here. If he is, the former Falkirk striker could make all the difference against a Harps side who just can’t find a way to stop leaking soft goals this season. Keena showed in the European wins against Bala Town and Motherwell that he only needs a sniff of goal and he’s likely to get plenty of opportunities against a demoralised Finn Harps on Friday. 

£30

Free Bets

Get £30 in bet credits when you sign & bet £10.

Claim Offer

T&C’s apply

Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required.

Claim Offer

Longford Town v Wexford FC  (Division 1)

Having taken huge swathes of criticism after their Midlands derby defeat at home to Athlone Town last month, Longford Town have reacted brilliantly in the league with three straight wins, including a thoroughly resounding 3-0 win away to Bray Wanderers last time out. Bray and their former incarnation of sorts, Cabinteely, have often been a bogey side for Town down the years so for Gary Cronin’s men to go to Wicklow and win so convincingly last weekend perhaps shows there is a growing mental strength within the ranks. 

The mid-season additions of players like Mark Hanratty and Jordan Adeyemo have had something to do with that as both men have hit the ground running at their new club and are offering Longford something they have badly missed at times this season, pace and power in behind. Cronin’s men started the season with Sam Verdon as their centre forward and while he performed admirably in the role, he is far more effective in a number ten role and the arrival of Adeyemo from Galway has allowed Verdon to drop deeper and get more involved in the build-up play with Adeyemo running the channels tirelessly up top. 

Not only has Adeyemo netted four goals in just six appearances, including a brace against Bray, but his desire to press the opposition back four and goalkeeper when Longford are out of possession has really transformed the team and brought up performance levels across the park. 

Following three wins on the spin, Longford are almost in a position where they can be fairly assured of a place in the play-offs. However, Saturday’s visitors Wexford are in a very different position with real pressure now coming on Ian Ryan’s team not to get cut adrift from the likes of Longford and Treaty United in the hunt for a play-off place. Wexford go into Saturday’s game ten points behind the hosts but more importantly, they are now four points away from the final play-off slot currently occupied by Treaty United. 

This is despite the fact Wexford have performed incredibly well since the mid-season break with the South-East club losing just one in nine, that defeat a narrow 1-0 loss to Cork City. However, Treaty United have also found form at the right time with four wins in their last five which means even the smallest of slip-ups is being punished. 

This fixture has been very turbulent this season with last-gasp goals settling two of the meetings (one win apiece) while earlier in the season Longford hammered Wexford 3-0. Wexford have come on massively since then but their inability to keep clean sheets is what may yet cost Ian Ryan’s men the play-offs. Wexford have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last eight matches and with the likes of Adeyemo in-form for Longford at present, I expect them to outscore their opponents in what should be a really good watch. 

Both teams to score represents good value at 1.62 but given we are yet to see a draw in this fixture this season I’m going to side with a home win for the in-form Longford who are seeking a fourth straight win on the night. 

18+ please gamble responsibly.

Back the Four & Five Star Selections as an Accumulator on Betfair ⬇️

*Bet link only appears when accessing from mobile.

Haven’t got a Betfair account? You’re in luck…

Sign up to Betfair and get a full refund if your first bet loses. Grab an account through the offer below and place £20 on the 9/1 Irish Football Best Bets Accumulator. Here are the two possible outcomes: