Sligo Rovers face Waterford FC in the second game of the SSE Airtricity League on Friday night at the Regional Sport Centre, live on RTÉ Two and WATCHLOI.

The Bit O’Red earned a point in their opening game of the season last week, drawing 1-1 with Dundalk.

In a game which featured six debuants, Rovers competed very well in a game which ebbed and flowed throughout.

As well as good performances from the starting team, the Rovers bench also faired well as David Cawley and Mark Byrne impressed and contributed greatly.

Last season had two closes games between the sides. Rovers won 2-1 in The Showgrounds through a last-minute goal, while in the RSC the home side edged a 1-0 game.

Liam Buckley has no injury or suspension concerns for the game.

The Rovers manager said: “It was nice to get a reasonable performance to begin with last week. We had good parts of our game and also areas to work on.

“It was an intense game as you would expect from the first one of the season. Dundalk will be looking to compete at the top of the table so overall we did well.

“This week provided time for some players to get shaper. We had a few lads who had a shortened pre-season due to quarantining or little niggles they picked up meaning they missed out on parts. They are getting stronger now. We’ve got everybody fit for Friday so we’ll pick the team we feel is right.”

While there was a positive outlook following the opening weekend, Buckley has stressed that it has to be built upon.

“Everyone is looking to win matches. Waterford conceded an own goal in the closing stages against Drogheda, which was quite unfortunate, so we know that even after one game they are a difficult prospect.  

“Every match we play is going to a hard one. We’ve spent some time working on our fitness and tactics and trying to improve on last week. We go to Waterford looking for the result.”