It pays to score first

Scoring the first goal in a game is so important. It partly explains the slow start Sligo Rovers have made to the 2014 Airtricity League Premier Division campaign.

 

The 2012 champions, who play Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium tonight in the televised game on RTE Two (7.05pm), have yet to score the opening goal in a league match this season.

 

Significantly, they are alone in that respect. All the other 11 Premier Division teams have managed to get off the mark first – even bottom-of-the-table Athlone Town, who opened the scoring in their 2-1 defeat to Sligo at the Showgrounds on Saturday 8 March.

 

Scoring first is strongly correlated to winning in the Airtricity League Premier Division – or any league, for that matter.

 

The first goal really sets the tone. Take for example the 2012 season, when Sligo were crowned champions for the first time in 35 years.

 



Teams that scored the first goal that season won 70 per cent of the time. Teams that didn’t, won on just nine per cent of occasions.

 

When they won the title in 2012, Sligo scored the opening goal more times than any other team. They didn’t lose any of those 19 matches in which they did (16 wins and three draws).

 

It pays to score first.

 



Playing catch up can be detrimental to a side’s league position, as Sligo are discovering to their cost right now.

 

Our exclusive chart below shows how teams who have been quickest off the mark this season have fared so far.

 

 

P

W

D

L

Cork City

3

2

1

0

Shamrock Rovers

2

2

0

0

Bohemians

2

1

1

0

Drogheda United

2

1

1

0

St Patrick's Ath

2

1

1

0

Bray Wanderers

1

1

0

0

Dundalk

1

1

0

0

UCD

1

1

0

0

Derry City

1

0

1

0

Athlone Town

1

0

0

1

Limerick FC

1

0

0

1

 

    About Robert Reid

    Robert Reid is a sports sub-editor at The Irish Sun. Robert trades the football markets, both here and in the UK. He has the prestigious MSTA designation from the Society of Technical Analysts (STA) in … View Full Profile