Two games in and only Sligo have 100pc record — this is wide open

ONLY two Fridays into the season and the SSE Airtricity League table has a curious look to it. Of the six teams who have played two games, none have maximum points.

Not Shamrock Rovers, champions for the past two years, nor St Pat’s, who chased the Hoops home and also won the Extra.ie FAI Cup.

In fact, only Sligo Rovers, played one, won one, can make that wee 100% boast.

Stephen O’Donnell, who witnessed a second 2-2 draw for Dundalk away to Bohemians on Friday night, reckons a tight campaign is on the cards.

‘I think the league will be tight. It was like that apart from Shamrock Rovers last season, who got a lot of late goals,’ he said.

‘There is more depth in the league now. Particularly in the final third, there are teams that are loaded, and if you’re not at it, teams will punish you.’

‘Bohs are obviously one of them, with the attacking threat they carry. They’re good, they’re direct, they’ve got good athletes in the final third. At Dalymount, they’re definitely going to take points off teams.’

The challenge for all ten managers is the first of the Friday-Monday double-headers which kick in tomorrow. For O’Donnell, it’s too soon in the season to be putting such a workload on players.

‘It’s only in the second week and we’re going to play three games in seven days.

‘Seven, eight, nine games into a season they’d [the players] be more robust and better able for a quick turnover.’

Dundalk are at home to Finn Harps tomorrow and O’Donnell will be eager to chalk up his first win as manager.

With eight goals shared in his two games in charge, he’d rather avoid the tag of ‘entertainers.’

‘It’s about making sure if we do score two goals in a game that we win, not draw.’

Dundalk’s second equaliser was a fine header by Steven Bradley but O’Donnell revealed he had stern words for the 19-year-old Scottish winger at half-time.

‘I had a little bit of a pop off him. He got a few plaudits last week and he had to back it up. He was much better in the second half, as a wide man coming in at the back post and scoring with a brilliant header.’