LOI Betting Column – 19/20 Sep 2025
After a dark few days for Irish football on the international stage, the domestic game returned with a bang to brighten spirits last week with some thrilling FAI Cup, Premier Division and First Division matches.
The big story of the week was Kerry FC’s comeback from 3-0 down to defeat Sligo Rovers 4-3 after extra-time in the cup quarter-final, while cup holders Drogheda United narrowly lost out in a dramatic penalty shootout against league leaders Shamrock Rovers.
In the league itself, Derry City squeezed out Bohemians in a seven-goal thriller at Dalymount Park. In the First Division, Dundalk took another step towards the title with victory at home to Bray but Cobh’s comfortable win versus Treaty United means we still have a title race.
That was last week’s big headlines, now attention turns to trying to bag some winning bets in this weekend’s matches. LOI TV Commentator Kieran Burke is running a level stakes profit of +€8.71 and the Between the Stripes LOI podcast host is back again after a break to try and build on that with a number of selections for the latest round of league matches.
Bohemians v Waterford FC, Fri, 19:45, LOI TV
Bohemians players and staff will still be scratching their heads as to how they could score three goals at home last week and still come away empty-handed. While that defeat to Derry City will have been a difficult one to take, especially given the Candystripes are direct European rivals, Bohs should be able to take the positives from that showing and get back on track against a floundering Waterford side.
The Blues haven’t played since defeat in the Munster derby away to bottom-side Cork City on August 29th, that was Waterford’s third straight defeat in all competitions, that losing sequence is part of a five-game winless streak.
Former Stevenage boss John Coleman was appointed as Waterford manager in early May but the Englishman hasn’t been able to deliver much of a bounce with just five wins from 17 matches in charge. Perhaps more worrying is the fact he hasn’t been able to sort out the rocky defence which has hamstrung Waterford all season. The Blues have conceded 30 goals during his 17 matches on the sideline and they currently have a -17 goal difference for the season.
Waterford have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven games and they’ve conceded two or more times in five of those matches. Bohs have scored three times in two of their last three and also put three past Waterford at the RSC in the early part of the season. While Waterford have since responded with back-to-back wins in this fixture, there appears to be a serious lack of momentum about them at the moment with Sligo Rovers and Galway United breathing down their necks in the race to escape the relegation play-off place.
BEST BET: Bohemians @ 7/20 +2pts
Cork City v Shamrock Rovers, Fri, 19:45, LOI TV
Cork City booked their place in the last four of the FAI Cup last week with a professional 0-3 win away to Finn Harps but while their supporters are starting to dream of a trip to the Aviva Stadium in November for the final, the realisation that City’s time in the Premier Division is fast approaching an end is now beginning to sink in.
The Rebel Army are eight points adrift of Sligo Rovers with just seven games remaining and must now prepare to take on the league leaders Shamrock Rovers, who could also be Aviva bound after dumping the cup holders out in Drogheda last week.
Another UEFA Conference League campaign is also on the horizon meaning the Hoops squad will be stretched during the run-in but they have the squad to cope. Rovers could move ten points clear this weekend depending on results elsewhere with Drogheda United manager Kevin Doherty declaring the Tallaght club are head and shoulders clear of everyone else in the league right now following the cup quarter-final.
Expect Rovers to stamp their class here.
BEST BET: Shamrock Rovers @ 11/20 +3pts
Derry City v Shelbourne, Fri, 19:45, LOI TV
A huge game in the race for Europe as second-place Derry City hosts fourth-place Shelbourne. The Reds have enjoyed a well-earned twelve-day break ahead of this fixture with Joey O’Brien’s men having endured a busy time of things in recent months by successfully navigating their way through the European qualifying rounds to reach the Conference League main phase for the first time in the club’s history.
Shelbourne couldn’t have been more impressive in how they dispatched Northern Irish Champions Linfield in the play-off round and they’ve since come through a tricky rearranged league fixture against Galway United. With two games in hand, Shelbourne still have a real shot at qualifying for Europe again next season and should be high on confidence following their European exploits.
Derry City will also go into this fixture high on confidence following Friday’s thrilling 3-4 win at Bohemians, however, their recent home form is concerning with no wins from their last four at the Brandywell in all competitions.
Tiernan Lynch’s team often struggle when teams come to Derry and sit in deep so the visit of Shelbourne could be a bit of a nightmare in that regard. Shels have already won in Derry this season and could be a bit of value to collect another positive result this Friday.
BEST BET: Shelbourne Draw No Bet @ 33/20 +1pt
Treaty United v Athlone Town, Fri, 19:45, LOI TV
Athlone Town continue to lurch between crises with the Midlands club glued to the foot of the Men’s First Division, while controversy has now engulfed their Women’s team following the shock and seemingly acrimonious departure of manager Colin Fortune.
Only appointed as the Men’s manager in early June, Ian Ryan has failed to win ANY of his 14 games in charge with the remainder of this season seemingly being a write-off. Athlone’s problems long precede Ryan’s arrival with the Westmeath club losing 19 of their 30 league games, winning just three times. As a result, they are 13 points adrift at the bottom having not won a game since the start of May.
Treaty United aren’t exactly adverse to a crisis themselves but even after meeting some choppy seas this season, Tommy Barrett’s men are still firmly in the mix for a play-off place. The Limerick men currently occupy the final play-off place but are only three points clear of Finn Harps, who do have a game in hand. That makes a fixture like this absolutely essential for Treaty United, they simply have to get the job done. It’s very difficult to make a case against anything other than a home win here, even if Treaty did drop points away to Athlone in July.
A hard-fought 1-0 win at home to UCD a fortnight ago shows a grit and determination that Treaty hold, something that is sadly lacking at Athlone.
BEST BET: Treaty United @ 4/5 +2pts
Longford Town v Dundalk FC, Sat, 19:45, LOI TV
It’s second-from-bottom versus league leaders at Bishopsgate on Saturday night with Longford Town’s play-off hopes appearing dead and buried following last week’s defeat to UCD, while Dundalk can take another giant step towards the title with a fourth win from four against Longford this season.
The Lilywhites appear to have clicked into another gear in recent weeks with Dundalk unbeaten in eight matches and scoring goals for fun. Across their last six games Dundalk have scored a whopping 23 goals, contained in that run of form is a 4-1 win at home to Longford.
Dundalk also squashed Longford 3-0 in Longford back in April, that was off the back of a hard-fought 2-1 win against the same opponents in March. While Longford’s best form has been at home (they’ve claimed 23 of their 30 points at Bishopsgate), they do appear to have taken a few backwards steps of late.
Winless in five (losing three) and with just one win in their last eight matches, Longford’s season is once again fizzling out. One thing to note before Saturday’s game is that Dundalk will be without three first-team regulars in Daryl Horgan and Aodh Dervin, who are the two team captains, and defender Conor O’Keefe, another vastly experienced player. That could result in a fairly youthful Lilywhites XI so this may not be the kind of rout that we’ve seen in recent editions of this game.
BEST BET: Dundalk @ 21/50 +2pts
ACCA
A €10 stake on Kieran’s five selections could return €141.73. Don’t forget, the new-look Bar One Racing website now also offers Bet Builders on all League of Ireland matches, as well as match Specials and Price Boosts.
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