Sligo at home the Sigerson bet

February 17th, 2011 by Kevin Egan

In the past, the Sigerson Cup has been a very happy hunting ground for this column. The third level competition was often forgotten about by the national media, as a result many bookmakers offered bets on the competition while somewhat blinded by the lack of information.

The same couldn’t be said to be the case in 2011 with plenty of coverage for college games, so as a result there aren’t too many games standing out as ridiculously good value – nonetheless there are one or two eye catchers among what should be an excellent card of matches all across the country.

The meeting of Cork IT and UUJ is expected to go the way of the Northern University, but the Cork college have a decent midfield and half forward sector and can dominate possession here. UUJ didn’t get their usual solitary win in the McKenna Cup and while they looked good against Tyrone, they really should have sneaked a result against either Fermanagh or Donegal if they were good enough.They might do enough to win here but we wouldn’t back them at 4/7.

Athlone IT’s trip to Carlow IT won’t be making any headlines since neither of these colleges will be expected to achieve anything, however for the purposes of betting, one could only side with the Westmeath college. They were appalling against Louth in the O’Byrne Cup but they did put in a very solid league campaign and have a few very nice footballers dotted around the park. Carlow IT have struggled to make an impression in recent years and while they will look on this as a winnable fixture, Ladbrokes’ 4/6 about the visitors looks very decent.

DIT host UL in what should be the most one-sided fixture of the round. DIT possess a very strong group of footballers while UL’s preparations appear to have been somewhat less than ideal. A couple of seasons ago UL were capable of going places but they passed up a glorious opportunity to knock over UCD when Ciarán Lyng single handed carried the Donnybrook college over the line and since then things have gone backwards. With or without Paul Galvin, there is only one possible winner of this tie.

The meeting between NUI Maynooth and Queens University is undoubtedly the toughest game to call of the seven taking place today. Maynooth didn’t take part in the O’Byrne Cup and only made a half hearted attempt at the league – yet they have a few nice footballers and made a good run at this competition last year. Queens have been very solid and if they play well, they could win this with plenty to spare. Nonetheless it is a journey into the unknown to a certain degree and no matter what the winning margin in the end, 2/5 is too short a price, unless you’re on the inside and you can confirm that Maynooth aren’t putting any effort in – in which case feel free to share the wisdom!!

St Mary’s looked like a very promising group this year under Paddy Tally, but they failed to deliver on that promise in the McKenna Cup and they look to be hugely outgunned against DCU today. DCU don’t deserve to be as short as they are in the outright betting, but they are a cut above the Ulster teaching college and will win at home.

UCC’s footballers meet GMIT two days after their hurlers beat GMIT in the Fitzgibbon cup by eight points and a similar result is likely here. GMIT have a couple of nice players from all along the Western Seaboard but UCC have too much power around the middle with Johnny Buckley at midfield and Daithí Casey at centre forward likely to cause havoc. 1/4 is probably more than short enough, however a repeat of two years ago when GMIT beat UCC in Galway in the first round of this competition looks unlikely. GMIT have replaced most of their team since then and this group looks much weaker than the class containing Niall Darby, Tom Cunniffe, Donie Shine and Paul Conroy.

Finally NUIG travel to Sligo IT in what will be a repeat fixture from earlier this year. NUIG won the FBD league game between the two colleges by a single point and having been in attendance that day, this writer is unsure of why NUIG are entitled to be 8/13 favourites. Certainly this isn’t a great IT Sligo team, but they have a few strong performers around the middle of the field and enough forwards to generate a winning total. NUIG are a little craftier but very physically light in the forward line and away from home they might just find it tough going. IT Sligo plus one point at 6/5 on Ladbrokes handicap betting is probably the bet of the day.

GAA could do with studying Sky

January 29th, 2010 by Kevin Egan

The world of soccer since the advent of Sky Sports is a very different environment to that which existed back in the seventies and eighties, and though some of the changes, such as the obsession with club finances and the lack of physical contact, may not appeal to everyone, no-one can argue that the games suffer from a lack of exposure or promotion. Indeed such has been the complete absorption of the media into the sport (or the sport into the media?) that it can be difficult to escape the constant barrage of team news and indeed player scandal, even when one has no interest in any of their affairs.

Though the GAA has evolved in the last few decades as well, most would say that the changes brought about have been largely for the better and introduced gradually, causing no real shock to the system. However one aspect where the administrators really need to take a look at themselves is in the area of marketing.

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