Stephen Walsh's Betting Column (May 5 2017)

Welcome to the start of the second round of SSE Airtricity League fixtures.

The first set of fixtures didn’t go to plan with regards winning bets as we managed just one win – the same number as Galway United and one more than Wexford.

Since the start of the season, extratime.ie has raised over €2,700 for both the Blood Bikes South and the ISPCC. Keep an eye out on the social media pages over the next few days for the video of the Croke Park abseil.

This week, we continue in the hope of raising some much needed funds for the Sophia Housing Agency.

Last week, we had another two out of three with the bets as Cabinteely failed to put away Wexford, so this week we hope to go one better and get all three.

Thanks to Paddy Power, our treble has been enhanced to 8/1 and the bet has also been kindly sponsored as well.

First up in the treble will be the First Division where we will be backing Cobh Ramblers to claim the three points up in Athlone.

This is Cobh’s second time at the summit of the league and they were annoyed at losing the spot the last time when losing to Cabinteely.

The Rams beat Athlone 5-1 earlier in the season and they have enough to get three points.

The Midlanders don’t have much in the way of momentum coming into this game so all signs point towards an away victory, however the First Division has been a minefield so far this year so anything can happen.

Next up in the treble will be Dundalk at 10/11 to beat Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium. Yours truly tipped Rovers to win the opening day clash between the two sides but since then neither team has really hit top form for a variety of reasons.

Dundalk are 12 points behind Cork City and already it is looking a big gap to close. After last week’s setback, losing to Galway, they know they will have to get a win tonight to keep the pressure on the Leesiders.

At some stage this season, Dundalk are going to go on a winning run and I think that tonight could be the time to commence the run.

Shamrock Rovers have been very inconsistent this season, going from good to awful during games. The defence doesn’t inspire confidence and they appear to have a lack of leadership on the pitch especially when it comes to closing out games.

They have a ‘keeper who doesn’t inspire confidence and this shows throughout the team as a result I can see Dundalk scoring on him helping Dundalk secure three points.

Last in the treble is Derry City. The Foylesiders are still reeling from the tragic loss of Ryan McBride a few weeks ago and they suffered a few losses.

Now they have got three draws in a row and I think that tonight will be the night where they will get their first win since the passing of their captain.

Looking at highlights from previous games, creating chances doesn’t appear to be a problem for them but save for exceptional goalkeeping from Conor O’Malley they would have defeated St. Patrick’s Athletic.

Their opponents, Bohemians, had a good win over Finn Harps last week in Dalymount.

However the Gypsies have an injury problem up front with Izzy Akinade and Dinny Corcoran out injured and until the Harps game they had gone a few weeks without a win despite playing good football.

Keith Long will have his side well up for the game tonight but I think a full Buncrana will help Derry over the line and to claim their first three points since March.

Bets:

Cobh Ramblers 4/5

Dundalk 10/11

Derry City 4/6

Bet enhanced from from 5.73/1 to 8/1 thanks to Paddy Power (click here to avail of the special enhanced odds).