Casey Howe’s brace of first-half goals boosted Sligo Rovers to a 2-0 victory against hosts Cork City in the Women’s Premier Division at Turner’s Cross this evening, writes Conall Collier.

This encounter opened at a cracking pace with chances at each end as both teams went in search of a first win of the season.

The Bit O’Red delivered a dynamic opening 45 minutes and then battened down the hatches in the second-half to seal a merited first win of the season that moved them off the bottom of the table.

An action-packed first-half saw Emma Doherty’s sixth minute shot scrambled away by Cork and then Casey Howe went close for Sligo Rovers.

At the other end Cork City had an Alex Mendez cross saved by Bonnie McKiernan before Ellie O’Brien looked certain to score, but her effort shaved the outside of the far post.

Thirteen minutes in an Emma Doherty header thundered against the Cork crossbar, but the Bit O’Red made the breakthrough soon after when Casey Howe finished to the net for a deserved lead.

It wasn’t all one-way traffic and Cork City created a good chance, but the offside flag rescued the visitors.

The hectic pace continued and Emma Hansberry skimmed the top of the Cork crossbar with a fine effort from about 30 metres.

Casey Howe’s 39^th minute free from 20 metres was saved by Hannah Walsh at the expense of a corner, but Howe made no mistake in the 42^ndminute when she raced into the Cork City penalty area and finished to the net for a merited 2-0 interval advantage.   

The Bit O’Red resumed smartly after the break and Casey Howe had a good early chance before the Loughrey sisters, Jodie and Kerri, combined, but were narrowly off target. 

Cork City custodian Hannah Walsh produced a smart save to deny Emma Doherty on the hour and the Sligo Rovers striker went close again soon after.

Cork City continued to probe for an opening and Christina Dring was denied as Bonnie McKiernan produced a fine finger-tip save and at the other end Howe was denied a hat-trick as Walsh saved well again.

Keela Scanlon made a crucial clearance in added time to deny the hosts a goal chance as Sligo Rovers took the points from Turner’s Cross.

Cork City – Hannah Walsh; Laura Walsh, Danielle Burke, Heidi Mackin, Eva Mangan, Alex Mendez, Jessie Mendez, Aoibhinn Donnelly, Laura Shine, Christina Dring.

 Subs – Chloe Atkinson for A Mendez 58 mins, Fina Bradley for O’Brien 60m, Nadine Seward for Dring and Niamh Cotter for Burke both 75m

Sligo Rovers – Bonnie McKiernan; Alice Lillie, Sarah Kiernan, Keela Scanlon, Amy Roddy, Emma Hansberry, Lauren Boles, Emma Doherty, Kerri Loughrey, Casey Howe, Jodie Loughrey. 

Subs – Leah Kelly for K Loughrey and Aoife Brennan for J Loughrey both 72 mins.

Sligo Rovers host Shelbourne on Saturday night at The Showgrounds in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division.

The game will be Rovers’ second at home in the space of seven days following last weekend’s narrow 1-0 defeat against Dundalk at the same venue following former player Keith Ward’s late header which sealed the points.

The Bit O’ Red had two or three good chances in front of goal on the night and will feel hard done by to come away with nothing from a game which was fairly evenly contested throughout.

Manager John Russell is glad to be back at The Showgrounds once again this weekend:

‘’We were all disappointed not to take something from the game last weekend.

‘’We created some good chances in both halves but, unfortunately we couldn’t convert one of those and then we conceded a poor goal late on.

‘’Tonight gives us the perfect opportunity to try and bounce back. We all know we’re down a few bodies through injury at the moment, but I always look at the positives.

‘’For me, it’s an opportunity for others to grab the jersey and do well. We’ve shown that our squad is strong so it’s important we embrace the challenge ahead’’.

Supporters will be able to welcome back members of the 1997/98 League Cup winning side to The Showgrounds for the first time, 25 years on from their great win over Shelbourne over two legs.

The squad will be in attendance at the game on Saturday as they have a reunion weekend in Sligo.

Russell is keen for another large attendance to get to The Showgrounds and get behind the lads:

‘’The crowds have been building all season and we’re hoping for another big turnout tonight.

‘’We need everybody getting behind the team and hopefully the players can deliver a top performance’’.

In team news, Rovers continue to be without their long-term absentees and will now face fresh concerns over John Mahon, Fabrice Hartmann, Max Mata, Eanna Clancy, Niall Morahan and James Finnerty.

Greg Bolger could return, and Bogdan Vastsuk came through last week’s game over Dundalk with no concerns following a recent injury and is fit to start if required this weekend.

Turnstiles open at 6.30pm and with this being a Category B fixture, tickets are priced at €15 for Adults, €10 for Senior Citizens or Students/Over 12’s and €5 for Under 12’s.

Tickets can be purchased online at https://srfcdirect.com/match-tickets/ or on the night at the turnstiles.

This weekend is a quiet one for the Academy with just two games taking place, both on Sunday at The Sean Fallon Centre.

Our Under 19 Men’s team host Klub Kildare at 1pm while our Under 19 Women’s team take on DLR Waves from 4.30pm.

Admission to both games is free of charge.

We want to extend our congratulations to Keeva Flynn who was part of the Republic of Ireland Under 16 Women’s team who played Germany on Thursday in a friendly. Keeva has played four times for her country in the last few weeks and we are extremely proud.

Sligo Rovers will continue their quest for a first Women’s Premier Division (WPD) victory of the season when they make the long trip to Turner’s Cross on Saturday to tackle a Cork City side that is also on the scent of a first win, writes Conall Collier.

This is the battle of the bottom two teams in the WPD with Cork City ahead of the Bit O’Red following the point they picked up against a Treaty Utd side that defeated Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds.

Looking for a positive for Sligo Rovers going into this game is fairly straightforward, while they have a goal difference of minus 15, it’s superior to the Munster women who have a tally of minus 20.

And there is the key to this encounter, the defence that performs best will take the points.

Scoring could also pose a challenge with the Bit O’Red slightly better in that department also with five goals scored compared to Cork City’s three.

Last weekend Cork City conceded five against a Shamrock Rovers side that struggled to get the better of Sligo Rovers on the opening day of the season, but this contest will come down to consistency over 90 minutes.

Speaking after last Saturday’s game against Bohemian FC, Emma Hansberry outlined the mood amongst the Sligo Rovers players.

“We were very disappointed not to  get a point, or even three points, on the board,” she stated after the narrow defeat at Dalymount Park.

“Overall, we were happy enough with our performance regardless of the score, we created some chances, but conceding from the set piece, the corner, that’s something we will to look at for the next game.

“We’re a good few games into the season now and we have no points on the board, that’s very disappointing considering that we have some very good players.

“We will keep working hard at training and hopefully we will get something from the next game.

“There are no easy games in this league and we will assess Cork, hopefully we will show up on the day and give a performance and get some points on the board,” she concluded.

Kick-off at Turner’s Cross is at 5pm and the game can be viewed on LOITV.

You can’t avoid the dulcet tones of Gerry Ryan anytime you visit the Showgrounds for a League of Ireland Premier Division game or indeed a Women’s Premier Division outing, but not too many supporters would be aware that his preferred option when asked to take over the duties of the PA was to take on the role of Benny the Bull.

However, the persuasive skill of one Robert Fitzpatrick convinced the Tipperary native to ‘give it a go for a week or two just to help out’ and, like most things that are Sligo Rovers-related, the ‘week or two’ has, so far, turned into about six years.

Not only is Gerry on announcement duty, but his son Donal could be on LOITV duty or commentating for the local radio station, OCEAN FM.

And like many supporters of Sligo Rovers, Gerry can well recall the first time he had the opportunity to see the Bit O’Red in action, and on that occasion he most definitely wasn’t cheering for the League of Ireland champions back in 1977 in the birthplace of the GAA.

Gerry takes up the story, with a certain amount of delight.

“My first Sligo Rovers encounter was actually at the Greyhound Stadium in Thurles for the opening game of the 1977 /1978 season, I went along there with a few of my friends and we were all supporting Thurles Town,” he stated emphatically as he recalled the ‘glory days’ of a team that graced the League of Ireland from that memorable first day until 1982.

“I’m from Tipperary and I can remember that game, there was great excitement locally at the time, especially with the visit of the League of Ireland champions, the mighty Sligo Rovers, it was a big game.

“It didn’t go well for Thurles that day, Sligo Rovers won 5-1, Tony Fagan and Paul McGee were amongst the goalscorers, we finished bottom of the 16 teams that season.

“We did a good bit of travelling while Thurles Town were in the League of Ireland, we’d be going to games in Dublin, Galway, Cork, Athlone, all the usual venues from that era.

“The first game Thurles won was a 1-0 victory against Bohemians at the Greyhound Stadium, we got great value out of that as Bohs had drawn a pre-season friendly with Man Utd a few weeks before they played us.

“When we analysed our win in the pub after the game, well you can imagine where the conversation went, great memories,” he added.

And Gerry ventured to Sligo occasionally as well, but it wasn’t all football-related. 

“I had never been to Sligo, never mind to the Showgrounds, but a few of us went to the Boys of Ballisodare Festival in 1980 or 1981, we were all going on the beer as well as for the music,” suggested Gerry. 

“I eventually got a bit of a liking for Sligo and used to travel there on a regular basis, I was working in Naas with the P&T (Department of Posts & Telegraphs), and it was reasonably straightforward to get there.

“The games against Cobh Ramblers in the FAI Cup in 1983, they were memorable, but with the extra-time and all that it used to put a bit of pressure on the timetable for getting the bus or train back to Naas,” he recalled.

And just explain how you were coaxed into taking on the role of stadium announcer.

“Robert Fitzpatrick used to do the public address and we do a lot of stuff together in the theatre, the Hawks Well,” explained Gerry.

“He asked if I would take over and do the announcements for the games, my first reaction was that I told him I’d prefer to do something like Benny the Bull because no one would actually know who it was.

“I eventually agreed to try it out for some of the pre-season friendlies, that would be maybe six or seven years ago.

“When I started doing it, I found that I actually enjoyed it and it sort of developed from there.

“I think the first game I did was for the Liverpool under-21s, that was in 2016 and I was an instant hit, or maybe it was because that there was no else,” he said.

All joking aside, the role of the stadium announcer is an important part of match night and the supporters need to be kept informed before, during and after the game, so with a responsibility like that, what are the main duties?

“There are a few things that have to be on the list for a match night, the first is to get there before kick-off,” said Gerry.

“I’d arrive in good time to get ready and the first item on the list that needs to be mentioned would be the match sponsor and the ball sponsor, that would be very important.

“The team sheet for the game, announcing the starting teams, substitutes, added time at the end of the first-half, second-half, that’s all relevant to the match night and it’s important to keep the spectators informed, that’s what they expect.

“The winner of the half-time raffle has to be announced and the prizemoney has to be handed over.

“Quite often supporters would come up to the press box asking for birthday announcements, that type of thing, and then the mascots and things like that have to be on the list.

“I also have to watch out for some of the ‘smart guys’ as I’ll call them, handing in a note with something that wouldn’t actually be either true or appropriate to announce,” he cautioned.

Gerry is multi-talented, not his own words, but nevertheless, credit where it’s due.

“I’m into the theatre in a big way, I have an international award for acting,” he explained.

“I won an award for best actor at an international festival in the Isle of Man, the role was Captain Boyle in Juno and the Paycock.

“I would have been doing a lot of stage work back in the day with Everyman Productions in the Hawks Well, I probably would have to rebrand that to Everyperson Productions now, just to be PC.

“I still do a lot of lighting for the stage and that type of thing, but my son Donal is also involved most match nights at the Showgrounds.

“Donal did media studies through Irish in Galway and then he did a masters in sports journalism.

“He is really into the sport and he’s with Ocean FM now, he got to go to the Viking game in Norway for Ocean FM last year, that was a great opportunity for him.

“He’s doing well with the commentating, but he does a lot of preparatory work beforehand, that’s very important, to have the facts and figures ready before the game starts.

“I have one other son, Dermot, he lives in Collinstown in Westmeath and one daughter, Sinead,” added Gerry.

There are some games that the Ryan family attended as supporters of the club that remain memorable to this day.

“We used to go to the games together and we have great memories, the usual ones like the FAI Cup final wins at the Aviva Stadium and the League success in 2012,” stated Gerry.

“However, the FAI Cup semi-final win against Bohs in 2010, that was some performance from the team, that was a very good team.

“We also had a great seat for that memorable Joey Ndo flick here in the Showgrounds, it was against UCD, you never knew what Joey might do, but it was always entertaining.

“We have a What’s App group for the Sligo Rovers games, there’s about a dozen of us in it and it’s always hopping when there is a game on.

“Looking at Sligo Rovers, I suppose the most noticeable thing is the number of managers that go through the club, I suppose that’s just football.

“One thing I was very disappointed with was the way Johnny Kenney went to Celtic, I felt he should have stayed here for another season or two, but that’s football and I sincerely hope that it all works out well for him,” said Gerry.

Getting out the old crystal ball, and Gerry has a number of items that he would like to see completed over the next three or four years.

“Looking into the future, I hope that the plans for the stadium development are completed in time for the centenary of the club, it will be a marvellous stadium and a marvellous venue for football,” he suggested.

“Less ambitious, but equally important, is the fact that we managed to get an upgrade for the PA.

“Myself and a friend, Barry McKinney, we did the best we could with some new equipment, but we also had to recognise that all this stuff will likely be changed and upgraded anyway with then new stadium.

Sometimes it’s a bit hit and miss in the away stand; we are trying to find where the problem is and once we find it we can fix it.

“Then there is the music, Donal (son) did a playlist for me and it’s on a CD, so that’s fairly simple for match nights.

“We have the Johnny Chadda / 2001 A Space Odyssey for the entrance of the teams, that’s real dramatic and it will sound so much better in the new stadium on the new PA.

“I knew Johnny well, he had a great way of selling the tickets, you’d ask on the way in “How much are the tickets Johnny” and you could be taking out a fiver and quick as a flash would come the answer – “Oh, that’ll cover it” and the fiver would disappear.

“Men like Johnny Chadda and Packie McGowan, they kept the club going when it wasn’t easy.

“I’d have to say that the Sligo Rovers supporters are the best supporters in the League, whenever there is a crisis, usually finance, they always come up with the goods.

“Look at the funds that were raised during the Covid 19 season, €85,000, and most of that would have been people handing over fivers and tenners.

“I’m very impressed with our team this year and I’d be looking at a top three finish, top four at worst, I like what I see at the moment and I think they will improve as a team as the season goes on.

“There might be a speed wobble or two, but we’ll get there, Europe is where the money is.

“A group of us went to Motherwell for the first leg of the European game, we went by car and ferry, it was the best outing ever with Sligo Rovers, it was probably bettered by the second leg, but memorable. “Donal gave me a montage of photographs for Christmas and one of the photos is the scoreboard from that first leg – MOTHERWELL 0, SLIGO ROVERS 1 – that’s a great memory, but there are more to come and plenty to look forward to,” he concluded.

Our Academy teams had a good weekend over Saturday and Sunday with all five teams picking up maximum points in their League fixtures.

Saturday afternoon saw Darren Kelly’s Under 17 Womens team defeat Longford Town 4-2 at The Sean Fallon Centre thanks to goals from Orlaith Doherty, McKenzie Reynolds, Amy Murphy and Casey Ruane in an entertaining encounter in front of the home supporters.

Anthony Elding’s Under 17 Mens team won 3-1 away to Galway United on Saturday thanks to a Niall Kenny brace as well as Callum Lynch’s first goal of the season.

Sunday afternoon saw three games take place, with two at home at The Sean Fallon Centre.

First up, at 1pm, Darryl Keaney’s Under 15 side won 4-2 at home to Athlone Town with Matteo Seccondino, Jamie O’ Malley and Darragh McKeon, who scored twice, making the difference. The side showed great fighting spirit having trailed 2-0 at one point.

Darragh Healy’s Under 19 Womens team defeated Galway United 3-0 at the same venue thanks to goals from Jessica Casey, Katie McGuire and Eimear McIntyre. The result now means the side have won five out of their last six games.

Declan Boyle took his Under 19 Mens side to Bishopsgate in Longford to take on Longford Town on Sunday morning and the lads ran out 2-0 winners with goals from Owen Elding and Rasheed Yeboah sealing the three points.

Sligo Rovers suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Dundalk in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division at The Showgrounds on Saturday.

Keith Ward headed home from inside the six yard box after 85 minutes to seal a late win for the Lillywhites.

The game had been fairly even up until that point, with Rovers having the more clear cut chances throughout the opening 85 minutes.

Max Mata headed toward goal on 21 minutes but his header was saved by Nathan Shepperd.

Mata was close again a few minutes later as Hartmann’s pass almost found the striker but he couldn’t reach it on the slide.

Rayhaan Tulloch tested Luke McNicholas soon after with a long range effort which the Mayo native had to tip around the post.

The biggest chance came when Mata headed Will Fitzgerald’s cross into the ground and over the bar before half-time when it looked like he might score the opener.

The second half was a tight affair with not many clear cut chances for either side.

Mata was again threatening when Johan Brannefalk found him in behind but Shepperd again saved and Stefan Radosavljevic’s rebound was blocked down.

The opening goal of the night came when Rovers had a corner which was cleared away by the visitors.

Archie Davies long cross found its way to the back post where Darragh Leahy played a one-two before delivering for Ward to nod home the winner.

It was a dissapointing end to the game for Rovers who face Shelbourne at home next Saturday night at The Showgrounds.

The club’s 50KM Challenge ‘Walk With Rovers’ will come to and end tomorrow, Sunday.

Over 220 participants signed up for the Walk since the start of April and have now raised a brilliant €60,000 for the club.

Donations can be made up until the end of May online via the following link:

https://www.idonate.ie/event/marchwithrovers

Supporters young and old got behind the Challenge and took part with family, friends and colleagues throughout the world.

It really brought people together over the last number of weeks and the club kept participants updated with a series of emails and social media posts.

The club will discuss the merits of running this Challenge again in 2024.

We thank everyone for their continued support and ask those who haven’t had a chance to donate to do so if you can by the end of May.

Hosts Bohemian FC fielded an unchanged side from the previous week’s victory in Cork while the Bit O’Red made a number of changes with Leah Kelly, Fiona Doherty and Kate Nugent all missing out.

Into the starting 11 came Alice Lillie, Sarah Kiernan and Keri Loughrey as Sligo Rovers went in search of a first point of the season.

The first-half was played at a hectic pace with the hosts on the front foot.

Sligo Rovers goalkeeper Bonnie McKiernan produced a brave save in the third minute at the feet of Kira Bates-Crosbie and soon after the hosts had a good effort over the bar from Rachel Doyle.

McKiernan was in action again in the 22nd minute when she saved smartly to deny Erika Burke after possession was lost as the Bit O’Red tried to play out from the back.

Two minutes later Sligo Rovers conceded a corner and when the ball was sent in by Rachel Doyle, the end product was a powerful header to the net for the lead goal from Lisa Murphy.

Sligo Rovers upped the tempo and exerted a lot of pressure in the run up to the interval with Jodie and Keri Loughrey and Casey Howe all pushing forward without any return on the scoreboard as the hosts held on to lead at the interval.

Both sides had chances in an evenly-contested second-half with McKiernan saving well on the hour for Sligo Rovers while at the other end Emma Doherty had a couple of half chances.

However, the Bohemian FC defence held out and took another three points.

Bohemian FC – Rachael Kelly; Lynn Craven, Katie Burdie, Lisa Murphy, Ciara Maher, Fiona Donnelly, Kira Bates-Crosbie, Rachel Doyle, Erica Burke, Mia Dodd, Sarah Rowe.

Subs – Katie Lovely for Burdis 25 mins, Niamh Prior for Doyle 65m, Aoife Robinson for Rowe 89m.

Sligo Rovers – Bonnie McKiernan; Alice Lillie, Sarah Kiernan, Amy Roddy, Keela Scanlon, Lauren Boles, Emma Hansberry, Casey Howe, Keri Loughrey, Emma Doherty, Jodie Loughrey.
Subs – Leah Kelly for J Loughrey 64 mins, Kate Nugent for Roddy 65m, Ciara Henry for K Loughrey 79m.

Referee – David Dunn.

We host Dundalk tonight (Saturday) at 7.45pm at The Showgrounds in The SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division.

We outline all our Match Night information below:

Turnstiles:

Turnstiles open from 6.30pm.

Buy tickets in advance: https://srfcdirect.com/match-tickets/

Or pay on the turnstiles. Card payments accepted at certain turnstiles.

Seating:

Seating is first come, first served in all areas of the ground. Seats with names on them must be respected as these are Gold Season Ticket members who have paid for their seat to be reserved all season. Anyone found sitting in a seat that is not theirs will be asked to move.

Security:

Members of our security team will carry out on the spot checks on bags and persons entering the ground. Alcohol and Pyrotechnics are not allowed and will be confiscated on entry. We ask supporters to please help the club in this regard and refrain from attempting to get in with any prohibited items.

CCTV:

CCTV is again in operation throughout the evening using our Brand New state of the art CCTV system. Security personnel and An Garda Siochaina will be monitoring the system and anyone found to be behaving in a way which contravenes our ground rules will be removed and potentially banned from attending future games.

Car Parking:

There are limited spaces available at The Showgrounds astro turf car park. This will be closed once full, which is expected to be early in the evening. Supporters should note the club have come to an agreement with Nazareth House for official Match Night use of their grounds which has over 200 parking spaces. There is a charge of €2, with proceeds towards the upkeep of their grounds.

Flares:

Leave your flares at home. These are not wanted and anyone found with flares will be banned from attending future matches. These cause needless fines for the club, money which is raised by our volunteers and fellow supporters.

Pitch:

It is an offence to enter the field of play at any stage. This includes children. It is parent/guardian’s responsibility to ensure children do not encroach on the pitch at any time.

We wish to thank all supporters for their support in recent weeks and for the atmosphere created both at home and away.

We thank you for your co-operation