Weekend Reaction: Top bets close to delivering five-star salvo

Another top weekend of sporting action has delivered more high drama with our news team correctly calling the results of some of the biggest action.

Chisora on points. Tick. Wigan to beat Cardiff. The shock came in. And Wolfsburg to do the business in Berlin? Dieter Hecking’s boys didn’t let us down.

Unfortunately, Hull FC’s 36-34 victory over the Catalan Dragons wasn’t enough to cover the eight-point head-start we’d given the Super League outfit. And AP McCoy’s mount Merry King was badly hampered in the Grand National Trial meaning we were two selections shy of sweeping the board.

Here’s a re-cap of how we got on:

Chisora to beat Johnson by decision or technical decision – Was 8/15

British heavyweights Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury both moved one step closer to a potential re-match by beating Kevin Johnson and Joey Abell respectively.

Johnson followed the script and slugged it out for the full 12 rounds with Del Boy, despite the best efforts of the European Champion to become the first man to stop the former world title challenger.

Chisora put his opponent on the canvas in the fifth round with an overhand right but the American toughed it out and the bet was successfully landed.

Wigan to beat Cardiff – Was 11/4

Few tipsters were giving Uwe Rosler’s Wigan side much of a chance away to Cardiff and this selection was allowed to creep in under the radar.

The FA Cup holders were never likely to give up their trophy without a fight despite their Championship play-off ambitions.

And against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s misfiring Bluebirds there was always the chance of an upset as the visitors stretched their unbeaten run against their Welsh hosts to 11 games thanks to goals from Chris McCann and Ben Watson in their 2-1 victory.

Wolfsburg to beat Hertha Berlin and over 2.5 goals – Was 18/5

Hertha Berlin’s poor run on home soil continues but that came as no surprise to one of our canny experts.

In their previous seven encounters there had been 27 goals scored with Wolfsburg bidding to claim a fourth away win in a row against their Bundesliga rivals.

Goals from Robin Knoche and a Daniel Caligiuri winner 12 minutes from time ensured Die Wolfe came from behind to claim all three points and net a tidy profit for our followers.

And the ones that got away…

Hull FC to beat Catalan Dragons (-8) – Was Evens

Hull FC trailed by four points at half-time against the Catalan Dragons but six second-half tries guided Lee Radford’s side to an opening victory in this year’s Super League.

Sadly, it wasn’t enough to ensure they overcame the eight-point handicap, going against a sequence that had seen the Black and Whites win four of their previous five against the Dragons by an average of over 15 points.

These two sides finished sixth and seventh respectively last season and on this evidence they could prove difficult to split once again when the new campaign reaches its conclusion.

Merry King to win the Grand National Trial – Was 9/1

When AP McCoy jumped aboard Merry King at Haydock the 9/1 outsider had become the 9/2 favourite in some places.

But despite the champion jockey’s best efforts he couldn’t recover his mount’s composure having been badly hampered by a faller at the eighth obstacle and the Rathbarry Stud-owned charge was eventually pulled up.

Instead, trainer Venetia Williams enjoyed the spoils with Rigadin De Beauchene and Emperor’s Choice sealing a satisfying one-two for their handler.

Looking for more action? Check-out our preview of the FA Cup Fifth Round tie between Brighton and Hull, with the Seagulls’ Leonardo Ulloa available at 5/1 to open the scoring having notched eight goals in 16 starts so far this season.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.