- Baldoyle United are a club from the Leinster Senior League.
- Longford Town are 4th in the SSE Airtricity First Division with 31 points from 23 matches.
- This is the first-ever senior competitive fixture between the two clubs.
Favourites only need to beat Baldoyle
Longford Town are odds-on favorites at 19/100 for Saturday's FAI Cup 2026 second round clash at Baldoyle United and we're having a little flutter on the hosts at 167/20 to secure passage to the third round.
In a game that pits club against club, the professional outfit are certainly expected to have too much quality and depth for a lower-league side. However, there is some value in the draw at 11/2 and Baldoyle have a shot to make it interesting in this one-off game.
The visitors will be a cut above Baldoyle and there is a real clash of styles to be played out here, with the hosts' blueprint set on frustrating and punching on the counter and Longford's playing with more tempo and a more-coached transition game that should see them push the hosts back.
Baldoyle can be a threat on counter-attack
Baldoyle United are led by a coaching group of local lads and their blueprint will likely be to keep it compact. The quality difference is likely to be a big factor in this game, but Baldoyle's home performances in this division have been spirited and organised of late, particularly in cup competitions.
Baldoyle come into this contest in mixed form, but a 2-0 win over Leicester Celtic in the first round of the FAI Cup was a positive sign and they were 4-0 winners in the cup in early July. Alex Mooney is a livewire and his goal over Leicester Celtic showed Baldoyle some bite up top.
Cian Leeson is another danger man for the home side and his 86th-minute winner shows that Baldoyle can nick a goal late in the day if they are holding their own. Longford are a bit more professional and play with a system, which is usually a 4-2-3-1 that Wayne Groves' men use to create overloads in half-space and get the ball wide.
Longford have better tools to progress
They have a tidy double pivot and a lone striker to lead the press. Longford Town are on a run of WLLWW in their last five competitive fixtures and although they are in the promotion-playoff hunt in the second-tier, their form shows they can score and are prone to conceding, which was evident in their 4-3 win at Cork City.
However, Longford have the tools to hurt Baldoyle United here with Andy Paraschiv and Aaron Doran their main outlets, each with four league goals this term, while Dean Williams, with three, has a striker's nose in the box.
We're expecting a Longford win here but it will probably be more of a comfortable win than a smash-and-grab. Longford to win to nil or Longford to advance with under 3.5 goals seems a good fit for the favorite's profile here.
