This weekend sees four Sligo Rovers Academy teams in action between Saturday and Monday.

Our Under 17 Womens team host Longford Town at 1pm at The Sean Fallon Centre on Saturday. The sides met recently in Longford with Rovers winning 5-0.

Sunday sees our Under 19 Men’s team host Athlone Town at Midday at The Sean Fallon Centre. Last week’s defeat to Derry City was the first since April and Declan Boyle’s side will look to get back to winning ways in this Under 19 Cup game.

Our Under 19 Womens team host Cork City at 3pm at Ballisodare All Weather in the Women’s Under 19 League. Rovers have won their last three games and are coming into the game in good form.

Monday evening at The Showgrounds will see our Under 15 team host Galway United at 7.30pm. Admission is free.

Sligo Rovers shot-stopper Luke McNicholas spoke to Conall Collier for an article in the match programme for the Premier game against Cork City on Saturday night

NUMBER ONE IS A FAMILY TRADITION

Luke McNicholas hails from the Mayo village of Belcarra and is following in the footsteps of his father, Christy, who was also a talented goalkeeper and a well-respected number one for the Balla GAA club for many years.

Luke is the youngest of three children he has a sister Laura and a brother Stephen and proud mum is Martina. Primary school and secondary school was in nearby Balla where he also played Gaelic football and soccer and dabbled, but not seriously, with hurling.

“I played Gaelic football until I was 15, I was in the **TED WEBB Mayo team and it was fine playing both for a while, but when the chance came to sign for Sligo Rovers, I had to make a choice, it was as simple as that,” said Luke.

“I played with Manulla FC until I was 15 and at that stage, I signed for the Sligo Rovers under-17 team after I went for trials and was selected as a goalkeeper with potential, I suppose. 

“I had been in with the regional team in Milebush and I had played in the Kennedy Cup for the Mayo League in 2014, Liam Kerrigan and Niall Morahan were on the Sligo / Leitrim team that year as far as I can remember.

“I signed for the Sligo Rovers under-17s in 2015 and continued until 2019 which was my last year with the under-19s,” he added before the conversation expanded to include a discussion about a Mayo team joining the League of Ireland.

“It will be good to get another team from the west of Ireland into the League of Ireland whenever the team from Mayo affiliates over the next few years,” he suggested.

“There might be some competition with Sligo Rovers and Galway Utd, but it’s also possible that it will provide an extra opportunity for some players who mightn’t just make the top grade initially, they will have a chance to go with Mayo where the focus will probably be more on developing local talent initially as distinct from challenging for titles.

“You see Kerry FC in the First Division this year, that’s good for the League overall and a team from Mayo would be similar I presume, although I don’t know much about the plans for the future,” he added.

Luke missed out on the tail end of last season with Sligo Rovers when he was sidelined with an ankle injury. The experienced Richard Brush deputised.

“Last year was my final stint with the Republic of Ireland under-21s and I picked up that ankle injury that kept me out of the Sligo Rovers team towards the end of last season,” he explained.

“All I can do now is continue to produce consistent performances for the club and you never know what’s around the corner in football, I might get another chance at international level, you have to be positive about things like that.

“My debut for the Sligo Rovers first team was in the EA Sports Cup in 2019 against Finn Harps, it was actually 1st April and we lost at Finn Park, Dante Leverock scored our goal, but it was brilliant to get my debut so soon after signing from the 19s.

“I had signed for the club as a 15-year-old hoping that some day I’d get to play for the first team, it was a pity about the result but it was still memorable from a personal perspective.

“I worked hard to get the opportunity and the club had faith in me, I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but it’s a game I’ll never forget.

“Then, I went on loan to Finn Harps in 2021, I didn’t get to play so it wasn’t much of a benefit from a playing perspective, but I learned a lot mentally, how to deal with setbacks, that sort of thing.

“That experience with Finn Harps has stood to me on various occasions since.

“I was able to return to Sligo Rovers in July of 2021 once the window opened and I was thrown into the Europa Conference League action after an ankle injury sidelined Ed (McGinty).

“I featured in both legs of the Europa Conference League tie with Hafnarfjardar and continued then for a few League games and there was the FAI Cup game against Cork City.

“Then I was on loan again, this time with Cliftonville, but that was tough initially as I got Covid two days before their season started in August.

“I had to wait for my chance, I got to play in a Cup competition, but it was about 13 games into the League before I got my chance.

“I played all the games then and we won the League Cup, but missed out on the League title to Linfield by a point.

“The pitch in Solitude is an artificial surface, but it’s a high-quality pitch, I would rate it much better than either Derry City or Dundalk,” he added.

Last year Luke signed a new deal which will keep him at The Showgrounds until the end of the 2024 season and he is determined to make the most of the opportunity.

“When I came back to the Showgrounds, I was number two to Ed (McGinty), it’s a difficult position to be in – a reserve goalkeeper, but you just have to work at your game.

“I started 2022 on loan with Cliftonville, winning the League Cup before returning to Sligo Rovers and I was straight into first team action when Ed (McGinty) transferred to Oxford Utd.

“It worked out well for me, I knew I was good enough, I got the number one jersey and kept a cleansheet in the two games against Motherwell and in the home leg against Viking.

“The away game against Viking was the worst first 20 minutes we could have had, losing Garry (Buckley) and Adam (McDonnell), any team would struggle to cope with that, but we really put it up to them in the second leg and we got the win, that was very important,” he stated.

Looking at the current season, Luke is pragmatic with his opinion about performances.

I asked him about the bizarre goal that was conceded in last season’s FAI Cup tie against Wexford at the Showgrounds.

“When a goalkeeper makes a mistake, everyone notices it, that just goes with the territory,” he said.

The worst reaction to something like that is to feel sorry for yourself, you just have to get on with it quickly and get through the rest of the game.

“I’ll probably catch 100 crosses without any problems and no one will remember them, but the one I drop is what’s remembered.

“One moment in one individual game, you can’t dwell on it, you have to move on from it, there are highs and lows for a goalkeeper that outfield players don’t experience.

“Richard (Brush) is a hugely experienced goalkeeper, he stood in for me last season and he is a great help with advice when its needed.

“Hopefully, we can push on now for the remainder of the season and give the supporters something to cheer about over the next few months,” he concluded.

** TED WEBB died tragically in a car accident in 1975 and at the time of his death the 21-year-old was a key member of the Mayo GAA senior football team.

Sligo Rovers can confirm that Bogdan Vastsuk has left the club today after his contract was mutually terminated.

Sligo Rovers Academy teams were in action at the weekend with all teams bar our Under 19 Women in action.

First up on Saturday at The Sean Fallon Centre, our Under 17 Men’s side came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Finn Harps.

Corey McKay Lavery scored on his home debut after signing recently and Keelin Mullin netted his fifth of the season to ensure the points were shared.

Our Under 17 Womens team had a good win at home to Finn Harps at Ballisodare All-Weather pitch.

Goals from Amy Murphy, McKenzie Reynolds and Casey Ruane gave Darren Kelly’s side all three points in terrible conditions.

Our Under 14 side took part in the League of Ireland’s Festival of Football on Saturday which saw every Under 14 side in the country attend this day-long event at Abbotstown in Dublin.

The lads had three games against Shelbourne, Cork City and Waterford, losing all three but overall had a good experience in some extremely testing weather conditions. Ryan Cunningham scored against Shelbourne for Rovers in a 3-1 defeat with the other games ending 2-0 and 1-0 respectively.

Sunday saw two games taking place away from home.

Our Under 19 Men’s unbeaten record came to an end thanks to a 2-0 defeat away to Derry City at The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.

Our Under 15 side lost 5-2 to UCD at Marlay Park in Dublin on Sunday afternoon, with goals from Liam McLaughlin and Shay McMorrow proving only to be consolation.

It was a proud moment on Saturday night for the Academy as another one of our players made his first-team debut.

Manager John Russell gave Conor Reynolds the nod with five minutes left to play in our win over Cork City. Well done Conor.

Next up for our Men’s First Team is a trip to Drogheda United this Friday night at Weaver’s Park in the Sports Direct FAI Cup First Round.

The game takes place at 7.45pm and with a large crowd expected, Rovers supporters making the journey East must buy tickets in advance online via the link below:

https://eventlist.store/droghedaunitedfc/dufcawaytickets?ftredirect=1

The game will finish on the night, with extra time and penalties a possibility, should the game finish in a draw after 90 minutes.

Sligo Rovers Women’s Premier Division manager Steve Feeney assessed the impact of senior football in the League of Ireland 18 months after the historic first senior game for the club in an interview with Conall Collier for the Sligo Rovers v Cork City match programme.

SUCCESS ACHIEVED ON A NUMBER OF FRONTS

All the focus next week will be on the opening game of the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup with the Republic of Ireland set to tackle hosts Australia on Thursday, 20th July.

The fact that Ireland will be represented at the tournament for the first time reflects positively on the progress over the last few years at international level – following a well-publicised stand-off between the players and the FAI in 2017.

The development of what is now the Women’s Premier Division (WPD) has also gained momentum with the affiliation of Sligo Rovers last season taking the number of teams to 10 and another increase this season with the return of Shamrock Rovers.

That brought the number to 11 and also facilitated a two-round (one home and one away) series of games to determine the destination of the title.

An extra bonus this year, arising out of a planned World Cup mid-season break, was the introduction of the Avenir Sports All-Island Cup with five teams from Northern Ireland joining the 11 League of Ireland teams to play four qualifying groups over the last few weeks.

Two weeks ago, Sligo Rovers travelled to Belfast and earned a 1-1 draw against Cliftonville who this weekend will play Galway Utd in the decider.

Hopefully, the competition will continue again next season.

Former Bit O’Red player Steve Feeney was the man tasked with guiding the fledgling Sligo Rovers women on a journey into the unknown that began in March 2022 on a cold and wet afternoon in West Dublin against Peamount Utd.

Sligo Rovers lost (6-0) and after that game I spoke to Steve Feeney to get his reaction and also his views about what the future might hold for the newest Sligo Rovers team.

“It’s my first senior job as a manager so that alone is exciting, but the fact it is Sligo Rovers and the first senior women’s team, it was and is a privilege,” he commented in March 2022.

“I can’t speak highly enough about the players, the attitude is great, they have the desire to play for Rovers.

“Playing in the Women’s National League is the highest club standard they can achieve in this country and I have no doubt that they will make the grade,” he added.

Some 18 months later, Steve Feeney still has loads of enthusiasm for the role as manager and despite the results so far this season, he remains positive about the long-term objective of the club in providing a pathway to senior football for young players locally.

“We were under no illusions about the challenge we would face this season, we had a good campaign in 2022 and managed some notable victories,” he said.

“Obviously, our target was to get more points this season than last season, but it just hasn’t worked out for us up to now.

“There are a number of factors, the obvious one is that this year there are seven games less as the League is on a two-round basis whereas last year it was a three-round schedule.

“The more important point is that this season we have a younger team, a less experienced team and also, the overall standard has improved and continues to improve.

“That’s a positive development, improvement in standards, but it also makes it more difficult for the less experienced teams.

“Nevertheless, I can say that we have been competitive in most of our games so far and one difference is that last season we got the ‘bounce of the ball’ on a few occasions where we won games, but not so much this season.

“I’d highlight our opening game here at the Showgrounds against Shams where we certainly were competitive and worth a draw, but we conceded the winner in the 92nd minute.

“That was tough and if you just look at the way the season has gone since for each team, it shows the tight margins between winning and not winning

“We had Wexford and Peamount after that and it was difficult to try to build some momentum,” he added.

Sligo Rovers recruited a number of new faces for the 2023 season including sisters Jodie Loughrey and Keri Loughrey along with goalkeeper Bonnie McKiernan and Casey Howe, but the loss of players like Gemma McGuinness and Paula McCrory was a setback.

That had an impact on results and also meant that a period of adjustment was required to enable players to settle into the new season.

“The loss of Gemma (McGuinness) and Paula (McCrory) meant there was a lot of experience gone from the team,” remarked Steve.

“As a team, we are competitive in our games, we’re not playing badly, a lot of the goals we have conceded have been down to our own deficiencies as distinct from great play by the opposition.

“While that’s regrettable, to concede the goals, it is something that we can resolve and it’s something that will happen less frequently as the players gain more experience and composure.

“Putting it simply, if we can reduce the number of basic errors that we are making, then we will have a chance in every game for the remainder of the season.

“The girls are well aware of what we need to do and they are quite prepared to put in the effort that’s required, once you have that level of commitment, you can address the problems.

“There are lots of positives that we can take out of the first part of the season and we can now focus on those and hopefully push on when the action resumes in mid-August with a game against Athlone Town and then the FAI Cup the following weekend against Bonagee Utd.

“It’s not all that different this season to last season, the bottom three – ourselves, Cork and Treaty, then there is a mid-table group and a top four group. Our immediate target now has to be to finish above Cork and Treaty,” he suggested.

Fielding a senior team in the League of Ireland is a big commitment for the club and that’s something that Steve is well aware of.

“One of the main objectives of the club fielding a senior team is to have a pathway for the girls coming through from the 17s and 19s, that’s something that wasn’t there previously,” commented Steve.

“Over the past 18 months, last season and this season so far, we can certainly see that young players have got opportunities and that’s important for the overall development of the concept of a senior team, but it’s not going to be instantly successful.

“The u-19 players can see what is going on and there are girls who are just waiting for an opportunity to play for the senior team, we will try to facilitate as many as we can in the eight league games that are remaining.

“Playing against the top teams in our league, and even the Avenir Sports Cup games against Sion Swifts and Cliftonville, that’s going to improve our players regardless of the results.

“The players won’t learn much playing friendlies or against weaker opposition, but when they are playing quality teams each week, that has a knock-on long-term benefit that you won’t get no matter how many training sessions you do.

“The All-Island Cup competition was a great experience and it demonstrated that there isn’t a big gap in standards between our teams and the top five in Northern Ireland, but there is a similar divide in standards in each League.

“I suppose, ideally, it would be beneficial if the two Leagues could combine with a top tier and a second tier, that would benefit the stronger and the weaker teams, maybe it’s something that the legislators are looking at already?

“The bottom line is that there are no easy games, but I have great belief in what we are trying to do to develop local talent.

“Last year, we probably over-achieved a little, but to counter what might be described as poor results this year, we have seen a good number of young players stepping up to the mark and in the long-term that can only be good for everyone.

“There is also a women’s league starting locally in October and it’s likely to have 12 teams, that’s a very positive development.

“There will also be huge interest in the Irish women at the World Cup this month and that will get more girls interested in joining local clubs, that’s all very encouraging for women’s football at all levels.

“Sligo Rovers will continue to strengthen the foundations of the game locally and nationally and with many of our players recognised at under-age international level, we can see the success that has already been achieved, the results on the pitch will follow,” he concluded.

Sligo Rovers got an important win over Cork City on Saturday night at The Showgrounds in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division.

The game was an important one for both sides and the inclement weather didn’t effect the quality on the pitch as both sides looked to create chances early on.

Rovers started the better of the sides in the opening twenty minutes, with Kailin Barlow’s effort on two minutes testing Jimmy Corcoran after good build up play by Will Fitzgerald and Niall Morahan to set him up on his return to the side following suspension.

There was a half-chance for Max Mata after Barlow’s cross but the New Zealander’s header didn’t get the power it needed and it was gathered by Corcoran.

It was Cork’s turn next and striker Tunde Owalabi went close after picking up possession on the left and working an effort on goal but it went just wide.

Soon after though, Rovers took the lead. Johan Brannefalk’s throw-in found Barlow on the right who did well to work a cross into the box and Mata was there to power a header home.

The Bit O’ Red went close again before the half as efforts from John Mahon and Stefan Radosavljevic went close to doubling the lead but the sides went in at the break with Rovers leading.

The second half was all Rovers.

Radosavljevic, who was tormenting the visiting defence all night went close on 52 minutes but his effort was saved by Corcoran and behind for a corner.

The resulting set-piece gave Rovers a second goal as Brannefalk’s delivery was too good to handle and it flew into the top corner, much to the delight of The Showgrounds crowd.

John Russell brought on Lukas Browning and Frank Liivak for Barlow and Greg Bolger for the last twenty minutes and it didn’t take long for Rovers to grab a third goal to seal the points.

Goalkeeper Corcoran looked to gather the ball with comfort in the area but somehow it fell to Radosavljevic who had the simple task of dragging the ball back to set himself up for a tap-in to get his third goal of the season and his second home goal in succession.

Pedro Martelo was brought on for the final ten minutes in place of the tireless Mata up front and he showed glimpses of why Rovers Manager John Russell signed the Portuguese striker this week, almost capping a good debut with a goal late on.

A debut was given to youngster Conor Reynolds for the closing stages, who replaced Brannefalk. The Westport teenage impressed in Tuesday’s Friendly win over Celtic B at The Showgrounds and John Russell awarded him with minutes this evening.

Next up for Rovers is a trip to take on Drogheda United on Friday night in the FAI Cup First Round.

We wish to thank all supporters who came out this evening to support the team in such testing weather conditions.

Sligo Rovers Academy is back in action this weekend with four competitive fixtures taking place on Saturday and Sunday as well as our Under 14 squad travelling to FAI HQ to take part in the Festival of Football competition on Saturday.

The lads will face four fixtures throughout the day which starts at 11.50am against Cork City. At 1.30pm, Waterford FC is the opposition before quickly facing Shelbourne straight after, at 2.20pm.

The day will end with a game against North-West neighbours Finn Harps at 4pm.

Our Men’s Under 17 side are looking to continue their good form recently with a home game against Finn Harps at The Sean Fallon Centre at 1pm, the same time as our Under 17 Women host the same opposition at Ballisodare United’s All-Weather pitch.

On Sunday, our Men’s Under 19’s travel North to Derry City at The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium at 2pm. The side remain unbeaten since April and drew 1-1 with the Candystripes at the same venue back in March.

Our Under 15 side travel to Marlay Park in Dublin at 3pm in a game against UCD.

The sides last met at The Showgrounds in June with Rovers winning 3-0 on the day.

Saturday’s Match Programme will be available to supporters inside the turnstiles from 6.30pm for our clash with Cork City at The Showgrounds.

You can also buy your programme online now and we’ll email you your copy before the game.

There is a huge 64-pages available with all the following content👇

Match Sponsor: Fureys Coaches, Sligo

Ball Sponsors: Brendan Gormley Windows

• Notes From Our Chairman Tommy Higgins

• Notes From Our Manager John Russell

• Academy Review

• Cool Hands Luke By Conall Collier

• 20 Questions with Conor Walsh

• Quiz

• Sligo Rovers Pen Pics

• Interview With Luke McNicholas by Conall Collier

• Celebrate Your Birthday With Sligo Rovers

• Johan Brannefalk Poster

• Cork City Player Profiles

• Interview With Steve Feeney by Conall Collier

• Sligo Rovers v Cork City by Stephen McLaughlin

• Match Programme Memory Check

• World Cup Soccer by Richard Fitzpatrick

• A Cinderella thing by Gerry Desmond

• Sligo Rovers V Celtic B

• SING for Sligo Cancer Support Centre

• Benny The Bull storms to victory

• You Reds Photo Gallery

• Results and Fixtures

• Teams

BUY PROGRAMME:

https://srfcdirect.com/cork-city-match-programme-july-15th-2023/

The Bit O’ Red host Cork City on Saturday night at The Showgrounds in the next SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division fixture for both sides.

Last time at The Showgrounds, a 2-2 draw was played out following Eanna Clancy and Max Mata’s second half goals back in March.

Rovers come into the game on the back of a narrow defeat in Derry last week after a 95^th minute penalty from gave the hosts all three points but confident in the knowledge that performances are improving after victory over Bohemians at The Showgrounds last time out and a strong showing at The Brandywell.

Cork City come here having drew with St. Patrick’s Athletic last Friday away from home with a stoppage time goal of their own from former Rovers Academy graduate Ruairi Keating.

Manager John Russell knows of the importance of the game:

‘’All our games are big games and tomorrow night against Cork City is no different. We have yet to beat them this season, so we know it’ll be a tough game.

‘’It’s important we continue to build on the last two performances. We know the quality we have in our group. The players have trained really well again this week and they know the levels we need to reach on Saturday’’.

Pedro Martelo joined the club on Thursday is the club are awaiting International Clearance for the Portuguese striker ahead of the game.

The Showgrounds has had some big nights in recent weeks, most recently having defeated Bohemians 3-1 in the League a fortnight ago in front of over 2,000 supporters who created a brilliant atmosphere.

Russell wants to make The Showgrounds a fortress for the remainder of the season:

‘’Our support has been brilliant this season. The atmosphere for our last home game against Bohemians was electric. We will need that again on Saturday night.

‘’We want to make the showgrounds a fortress for the remainder of the season’’.

In team news, Garry Buckley is getting ever closer to a return to the matchday squad following his ACL injury, which happened 11 months ago now.

Karl O’ Sullivan and James Finnerty are also closer to returns of their own from ankle and achilles injuries respectively.

Reece Hutchinson will remain out for around 3-4 weeks but his recovery is progressing.

Conor Walsh is fit again having played against Celtic B on Tuesday night.

Mark Byrne continues his rehabilitation from his ACL injury and could return in August while Gary Boylan remains out long-term.Tickets for the game are available at the turnstiles on the night or online at www.srfcdirect.com