Eircom Leagues
2009-04-25 - Shamrock Rovers vs St Patricks Athletic
A Sports Betting Pick by Stephen
Football: Republic of Ireland, Premier League
Saturday, 25th April 2009 - Kickoff 19:00
SHAMROCK ROVERS (Home Form W1 D1 L1 )
It wasnt the best of starts to the season for Rovers but their form has been much better in recent weeks with 2 wins and 2 draws in their last 4 games. This is their first Dublin Derby in their new stadium and there is sure to be a great atmosphere. The fact the stadium is not fully built yet means there will only be a very small amount of travelling support allowed and this is sure to be some advantage to Rovers
Rovers only 2 defeats this season have come against the top 2 sides in Bohs and Derry. Indeed they were very unlucky not to beat Derry and led for most of the match. They missed a penalty when they were 1-0 up and lost 2-1 with 2 late goals. This remains their only defeat at home and have 1 win and 1 draw in their other home games.
The form of Striker Gary Twigg is sure to be very pleasing for boss Michael O'Neill and he has formed an excellent partnership with Dessie Baker who spent a few years over with Man Utd in his early career. Twigg netted a hat trick last week in the 3-1 win over Galway and has 6 goals in the 8 games so far.
Rovers have injury concerns in Stephen Bradley, Pat Flynn and Iain Bermingham while Corey Treacey is expected to miss out.
ST PATRICKS ATHLETIC ( Away Form W2 D0 L2 )
St Pats Manager Jeff Kenna will have been relieved that his side ended a run of 3 defeats with their 2-1 win over Drogheda last week. St Pats have 2 very good wins on their travels so far this term in Cork and Sligo but their home form has let them down with 2 thumpings against Derry and Galway.
However Kenna will be worried how his side hung on to their slender 2-1 lead last week as Drogheda could easily have got a point in the end after dominating the second half. Drogheda are bottom of the table and without a win. In the 3 previous weeks they were well beaten 3-0 by both Bohs and Derry and lost 2-1 at Bray.
St Pats were runners up last season but they lost some key players in the pre season and their cause is not helped with injuries to some of their current squad.
Mark Leech and Gary Dempsey are both long term absentees while Glenn Fitzpatrick will be out of action for another 5 weeks after suffering a seizure before their clash with Bohs 2 weeks ago. Bobby Ryan also misses out with a knee injury.
HEAD TO HEAD
2008 Season
Shamrock Rovers 0-1 St Patricks
St Patricks 1-1 Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers 1-3 St Patricks
