Drogheda United v Bray Wanderers
Football: Republic of Ireland, Premier League
Friday 17th July 2009 - Kickoff 7.45pm

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DROGHEDA ( Home Rec : W2 D4 L3 )

Drogheda will be looking to continue their impressive form in this game at the wrong end of the table. Drogheda were champions 2 seasons ago for the first time but like many other teams on the League Of Ireland at the moment, they fell into big financial trouble and now find themselves fighting to survive in the top flight of Irish Football.

The Drogs had a disastrous start to the season. It took them till the 10th game of the season to get a win and were rock bottom. However their form has greatly improved of late and they have gone 6 league games unbeaten, winning 3 and drawing 3.

Two of those wins came against top sides, a 2-1 home win over Cork City and last week they went to title chasing Derry City and got a 1-0 win. This will give them even more confidence and they are sure to fancy themselves against bottom side Bray.

Boss Alan Matthews made 2 excellent signings before that Derry match in Brendan Mcgill and Guy Bates. Mcgill is a defender who has good experience playing in England and Scotland while Striker Bates returns to his former club and was a fans favourite as he scored the goal that clinched them the title in 2007.

These signings will definitely strengthen Drogheda at both ends of the pitch as they aim to get clear of the relegation zone.

Drogheda last 5 league games
Drogheda 2-1 Cork
Galway 1-1 Drogheda
Drogheda 1-0 St Patricks
Sligo 2-2 Drogheda
Derry 0-1 Drogheda

BRAY WANDERERS ( Away Rec : W1 D2 L6 )

Bray are currently bottom of the table on 15 points from 19 played and sit 4 points behind opponents Drogheda who are third from bottom. They are currently on a terrible run of form. However the season didnt start so badly for them. In the first 5 games they had a record of 1 win, 3 draws and only 1 defeat, not bad for a side who would be happy to just stay in the division.

However Eddie Gormley's side have hit a bad run of results which has them bottom of the table and facing a relegation battle. Their last win came on the 2nd of May at Shamrock Rovers when they won 1-0. That result had as much to do with Rovers playing probably their worst game of the season but was still an impressive result. But since then Bray have won only once in nine games, losing 7 of the other 8.

Wanderers have also managed only 4 goals on the road this season and travelling to face an in-form Drogheda side is probably not what they wanted. They got a 0-0 draw here earlier in the season but lost 1-0 at home to Drogheda the second time around. This is the sides third meeting and I feel Bray may have their work cut out in this one.

Bray last 5 league games
Bray 3-1 Sligo
Dundalk 3-0 Bray
Derry 2-0 Bray
Bray 1-3 Bohemians
Bray 1-2 Shamrock Rovers

THe BETTING VERDICT

Drogheda are on great form at the moment and take them to win at EVENS. Also consider the UNDER 2.5 GOALS option at 8/13.

Drogheda tend to win low scoring games and as mentioned above, Bray have only manged 4 away goals all season.

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take DROGHEDA to win.