Who will be the first team to beat Dundalk in this LOI First Division campaign? Tonight, Cobh Ramblers travel to Oriel Park with the ambition to end the dominance of the undisputed league leader.
Bray Wanderers vs Treaty United
The Wanderers have only scored seven and already conceded eleven goals in the course of this season. Still, they won their last three games and find themselves in second place in the table. On the other side, Treaty recently got back on track and defeated Kerry 3-0. With another W, the Shannonsiders would shorten the deficit to Bray to one point.
Prediction: Bray Wanderers 1 Treaty United 1
Dundalk vs Cobh Ramblers
It was destined to be the top clash of the night. But surprisingly, the Ramblers lost two in a row and fell back to third place in the table. The Railwaymen are the favourites, but they shouldn’t underestimate the visitors, who have at least occasionally shown their potential during this year.
Prediction: Dundalk 2 Cobh Ramblers 1
Kerry FC vs Athlone Town
The Kingdom is currently going through some tough times. Kerry’s 2-0 win from the opening day against Finn Harps has been declared null and void for fielding midfielder Steven Stanic-Floody, who was, according to the Football Association of Ireland, ineligible to play on that day. Clearly, the Tralee side isn’t happy with this decision.
“Rather than admitting to a system error and correcting the issue, the FAI has instead attempted to shift blame onto Kerry FC while silencing any dissent. […] We will not accept being bullied into silence. Kerry FC calls on the FAI to immediately investigate this and take appropriate action,” the club officials explained in a statement via kerryfc.ie (Link: Kerry FC Statement – 03/04/25 ). Against Athlone, the hosts will try to disregard the last couple of days in order to find their way back to winning ways.
Prediction: Kerry FC 1 Athlone Town 0
Wexford vs Finn Harps
After two 3-1 victories against Cobh and Longford, Wexford appear to be on a roll. However, frustration dominates around the club as the FAI nullified the 3-0 win on opening day at UCD because of the fielding of an ineligible player. The situation is comparable with the one at Kerry FC. “It has been demonstrated that the system used for player registration (FAI Comet System) for the League of Ireland is not failsafe and has no default mechanism when the information is wrong in the system itself. […]
We now have a situation where other clubs are in the same or similar situation to Wexford FC which must demonstrate clearly what the common denominator is, the system database that is the engine for driving the registration process that is being used by the FAI across all football tiers of the game. […] Wexford FC will now seek professional advice on the next steps to protect the club’s stakeholders and in the belief of fair play,” the club explained via wexfordfc.ie (Link: Club Statement on alleged playing of an ineligible player in our opening game of the 2025 season v. UCD | Wexford FC ). Notwithstanding the above, Stephen Elliott’s side targets three points tonight against the visitors from Donegal.
Prediction: Wexford 2 Finn Harps 0
Longford Town vs UCD
The Students certainly won’t be satisfied with their last two games (1-0 defeats against Dundalk and Bray). At Bishopsgate, they hope to improve their record. Longford suffered a 3-1 loss at Wexford on Tuesday and aim to build on their last home performances, which ended in victories against Treaty (2-0) and Kerry (3-2).
Prediction: Longford Town 1 UCD 1