There is another big weekend of action at The Showgrounds with the start of the 2023 new-look Women’s Premier Division (WPD), writes Conall Collier.

A new kick-off time of 5pm and a new team visiting from Dublin in the form of a Shamrock Rovers side that has returned to the League after withdrawing at the end of the 2013 / 2014 campaign.

Last season featured a 10-team League that was played on a three-round format, but this year with 11 teams now affiliated it’s more straightforward and more like the old format of the League of Ireland – a two-round series of 20 games to determine the destination of the title.

There will also be an extra competition with a new-style League Cup that will provide five games, between qualifying groups and knock-out phase, to be played from mid-June to mid-July.

Add in the first round of the FAI Cup at the end of August and that will produce a minimum 26-game season.

There is also the 2023 World Cup to factor-in as the Republic of Ireland and manager Vera Pauw head for Australia and New Zealand and the opening game on Thursday 20^th July. There are no WPD fixtures scheduled from 17^th July to 19^th August.

The 2023 season officially kicked-off last Saturday with the inaugural President’s Cup and that tie attracted a crowd of 1,423 as hosts Athlone Town secured the first piece of silverware following a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Shelbourne after the sides shared four goals.

Next up is the opening game at the Showgrounds and that is certain to bring a big crowd at the new 5pm kick-off time as Sligo Rovers manager Steve Feeney looks to find some improvement on a satisfactory first season last year.

The Bit O’Red manager has recruited a number of new faces including sisters Jodie Loughrey and Keri Loughrey along with goalkeeper Bonnie McKiernan (Athlone Town), Seren Ward (Wexford Youths) and Casey Howe from Fermanagh

It will be a big weekend for Jodie and Kerri Loughrey as they will be heading to Gortakeegan in Monaghan on Monday as part of the Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana team for an All-Ireland FAI Schools Senior Girls National Cup final (Under 20, Large Schools).

The opposition will be provided by St Attracta’s Community School, Tubbercurry who will feature Sligo Rovers players Leah Walsh, Jessica Casey and Kerri O’Hara in the starting line-up.

Kerri O’Hara scored a vital goal for St Attracta’s in the semi-final win against St Mary’s, Midleton and she will be looking to build on a hugely impressive first season in the League of Ireland when she features for the Bit O’Red this year.

Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana negotiated Coláiste Phobal, Ros Cré with a 1-0 victory in the other semi-final with Jodie Loughrey on the mark.

That suggests that there is a major goal threat in the Sligo Rovers camp, especially when Emma Doherty is factored into the equation – she scored 11 goals in 2022 and was selected on the team of the season at the annual awards ceremony last January.

Experienced players like Lauren Boles, Emma Hansberry, Aoife Brennan, Orna O’Dowd, Helen Monaghan and Katie Melly will also have key roles to play as the season unfolds.

For the visiting Dubliners, an array of talented players moved to Tallaght Stadium.

Republic of Ireland international Áine O’Gorman will wear the captain’s armband after she was recruited from Peamount by manager Collie O’Neill.

Others to make the move include Stephanie Roche (Peamount), Amanda Budden (Shelbourne), Savannah McCarthy (Galway WFC), Jessica Hennessy (Athlone Town) and Abbie Larkin (Shelbourne) to name a few.

MATCH DETAILS

Women’s Premier Division – Sligo Rovers v Shamrock Rovers.

Date – Saturday 4^th March

Kick-off – 5pm

Season Tickets have sold strongly, with access to every game for €50 for the season.

Under-12s will have free admission accompanied by a paying adult.

Over-12s will be charged €5.

It is week two of our 2023 Academy season with five teams in action across the weekend between Saturday and Sunday.

Our Under 14 team host Galway United at 1pm on Saturday at The Sean Fallon Centre and will be looking to continue their good start to the new season after last week’s win over Longford Town away from home.

At 12.30pm, our Under 17 Women’s team start their season under Head Coach Darren Kelly with a trip to take on Treaty United. The team have plenty of new faces and many of last season’s squad also re-signed so the side will be looking to start off the season with a positive result on the road.

Our Under 17 Men’s team are away from home for the second week running and face a journey to take on UCD at Colaiste Eoin at 6pm tomorrow evening. The side were narrowly defeated last weekend in Longford and will be hoping to get some points on the board here.

There are two home games on Sunday with our Under 15 team hosting Galway United at The Sean Fallon Centre at 1pm and our Under 19 Women’s team beginning their season at home to Athlone Town at 4.30pm.

Our Under 15’s defeated Derry City on match day one and our Under 19 Women under the guidance of Head Coach Darragh Healy will be keen to start their season well against a good Athlone side.

Admission to all home Academy games is free of charge and all support is welcome

Sligo Rovers travel to take on Drogheda United on Friday night in the third game of this season’s SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division.

Rovers started the season with a 1-1 draw at home to Shamrock Rovers and got the first win of the season six days later against UCD thanks in part to Max Mata’s hattrick.

Drogheda United remain unbeaten after two draws away to Shelbourne and at home to Shamrock Rovers last weekend.

Manager John Russell knows it will be another tough test for his side:

‘’Drogheda Utd have started the season well. They were unlucky not to take all 3 points last weekend.

‘’They have a nice blend of youth and experience in their squad. They’re always a tough opponent at home so we will need to be at our best to get a result.

‘’We have shown good signs in our opening two games. The players have reacted well to going behind but, our aim is to start keeping clean sheets while still having that attacking threat’’.

It is the start of a busy period for Rovers with four games in fourteen days with a double header at home to St. Patrick’s Athletic and Cork City coming up next week before a trip to Derry City on St. Patrick’s Day.

Russell says the importance of the full squad will be shown in the coming games:

‘’All the clubs are now facing into a busy schedule of games. I feel we have built a strong squad this year and we will need everyone ready to compete over the next two weeks.

We know it will take a bit of time for our new players to settle and get used to the demands of this league but, it’s vital we continue to pick up points as we improve our play’’.

Tickets for our home fixtures against St. Patrick’s Athletic and Cork City are now on sale online. Supporters who do not have a season ticket can still grab one before Monday in order to gain access to every game this season.

Season Tickets can be bought via the link below:

https://srfcdirect.com/season-tickets-2023/

In team news, Rovers continue to be without injured trio Garry Buckley, Gary Boylan and Mark Byrne (All knee injuries) but new signing Bogdan Vastsuk is expected to be back among the squad after a recent hamstring issue.

Goalkeeper Conor Walsh will be assessed closer to kick-off following his ankle injury picked up in training last week.

The game will be shown live on LOI TV with a 7.45pm kick off.

Sligo Rovers Football Club is delighted to announce that it has now received final grant of Planning Permission from Sligo County Council for the development of the Showgrounds. This is a hugely significant step in the implementation process of the Masterplan for The Showgrounds.

While the Club’s immediate focus is obviously on the current season work continues in the background on the exciting plans for the redevelopment and enhancement of the Showgrounds.

Thanking Rhatigan Architects for their assistance to date Sligo Rovers Chairman Tommy Higgins said that the next step is to have the detailed designs and tender completed at the earliest possible date. This is a considerable piece of work and will take us up to the end of 2023.  Once these are completed the Club will be in a position to pursue funding streams to enable the main construction works to commence. In the meantime, it is expected that work will commence this season on upgrading of floodlights to UEFA standards.

“Our target is to have a new state of the art stadium and related facilities completed in advance of the Club’s Centenary in 2028 and the granting of planning permission represents a major step forward. Funding is a huge challenge but we believe the project represents a very worthy investment from many perspectives for the Club, the community and the region ”.   

On behalf of the Club, I would like to express my particular thanks to the FAI for their ongoing support in helping us move the project forward and the shared understanding that once completed the project will be a fantastic boost to football in the Region.    

Sligo Rovers today present our brand-new 2023 Away jersey from our partners Joma Sport and in association with our Main Sponsors Avant Money.

The new White kit with black trim will be worn by our Men’s and Women’s senior teams across the Men’s and Women’s Premier Divisions this season.

The fresh new kit will be worn for the very first time in Friday’s trip to Drogheda United for our Senior Men’s team.

The shirt is available now online at www.srfcdirect.com

It is priced at €65 for Adults and €55 for children.

One of the new faces at the Showgrounds for 2023 is James Finnerty from Skryne in Co Meath. James had a chat with Conall Collier as he looked forward to the season ahead.

Hailing from Skryne, close to the historic Hill of Tara, defender James Finnerty is a new face at the Showgrounds for 2023.

The Meath man celebrated his 24th birthday at the beginning of February and arrived at the Showgrounds after spending the latter part of the 2022 season on loan at Galway Utd.

A defender with a solid reputation, he  returned to the League of Ireland when he was recruited by Bohemian FC manager Keith Long in 2019 after a stint in the UK. There followed  three full seasons with the Phibsboro’ club, but the first part of 2022, season number four, turned out to be a frustrating period.

James was a talented under-age Gaelic player with Skryne GAA club and he also played with Skryne/Tara FC and then with Ratoath Harps before joining top Dublin club Belvedere FC. He was subsequently invited for trials at Aston Villa and was offered a contract in 2015.

James takes up the story:

“In the Gaelic my favourite position was centre-forward, but it was difficult to play both the Gaelic football and the soccer and it was something I had to make a decision about,” he said.

“With Belvedere I was also playing in the Dublin & District Schoolboys’ League Kennedy Cup side and I knew I just couldn’t do that and the GAA successfully,” he added.

As a transition-year student at St Patrick’s CS, Navan, James signed a three-year deal with Aston Villa and made the move to the UK.

“I went over to Aston Villa in 2015 and I have no regrets about the way things turned out, I enjoyed my three years there,” he said.

“I was training every day with top players like John Terry and Jack Grealish, the facilities were second to none and it was a brilliant opportunity for me.

“However, I got my fair share of injuries and that hampered my progress a bit, an eight-month lay-off in my first year when I got a stress fracture in my back was a setback,” he added.

James moved to Rochdale in 2018 in search of first team opportunities as, at the time, he was keen on staying in England.

There were a few clubs interested and he considered going to Brentford, but he felt he would get more first team opportunities at Rochdale, but it turned out to be a frustrating time.

“I wasn’t enjoying it, I was training all week and then on match days I was either on the bench or not in the squad, I never really settled and by the end I was fed up,” he recalled.

“I just wanted to play football and at that stage I had my mind made up, more or less, to come home,” he explained.

The Meath man made the most of the opportunity that a move to Dublin provided and he made the cut for the opening game of the 2019 season for Bohemian FC at home to Finn Harps.

“When I got the offer from Bohs manager Keith Long it was a chance and I decided to take it,” he continued.

“A lot of people thought that coming back home was a real step down in quality, but I didn’t feel that way at all.

“I knew it would be tough, but I saw how well Dundalk had done in European competitions so I knew it would be a good standard of football.

“I hadn’t played senior football in England, just youth and u-23, so playing for Bohs was my first time to experience senior football,” he added.

Looking back at some of the highlights in the League of Ireland so far, James cites a runner-up position with Bohemian FC in 2020 and also playing in Europe.

“We were delighted finishing ahead of Dundalk for second place in 2020 and playing in Europe was a fantastic experience as well, especially the games home (at the Aviva) and away against PAOK of Greece,” he recalled.

“I started last season well and was playing regularly, but then was sidelined for about three months with a knee injury, I got back around the mid-season break, but I wasn’t getting regular games.

“I wanted to play and I got the chance to go on loan to Galway who were chasing promotion, it was unfortunate that we lost against Waterford in the play-off.

“From my perspective, from the time at Galway, I played every week when I was there and that was my main objective.

“The move to Sligo came about when John (Russell) contacted me and we had a good chat.

“It developed from there, I was delighted to get the chance to play in the Premier Division and signed for the club.

“There is a good group of players at the club and we are all looking forward to the challenge of the new season,” he concluded.

Our 2023 Academy season got underway on Saturday afternoon with both our Under 17 Men’s and Under 14 teams in action away from home against Longford Town.

Anthony Elding’s Under 17 side were defeated 2-1 in a tight game at Bishopstown with Niall Kenny on target for Rovers.

There were plenty of new faces in the squad and the side performed well throughout the game creating plenty of chances.

Colm Jinks, new Head Coach of the Under 14 team took his side to the same venue and got off to a winning start with a good performance ending in a 4-0 victory.

Kevin Rafter, Senan Kelly, Sonny Malone and Ryan Cunningham were the scorers on the day.

Sunday was the beginning of our Under 15 season with Darryl Keaney’s side travelling to take on Derry City.

An impressive performance saw Rovers win 3-1 with the goals coming from an Oran Murphy brace and one from Jamie O’ Malley.

Our Senior Women’s team partners Oh Hello Clothing are back on board at the Bit O’ Red for the 2023 season.

Graham and Kimberley Lee came on board at the club as sponsors a couple of seasons ago with our Under 19 Women’s team and last season’s took the back of shirt sponsorship for our first ever Women’s Premier Division season.

The company, based in Collooney are a strong local employer specialising in Women’s clothing for the online market.

The extension will see the company’s official logo placed on the back of all Senior Team match shirts for the year ahead.

We wish to thank Graham and Kimberley for their support of the club once more this season

Visit their website: www.ohelloclothing.com

Our 2023 Women’s Premier Division season is just 5 days away as we welcome Shamrock Rovers to The Showgrounds on Saturday at 5pm.

5pm is now our new official kick-off time this season after the club felt a slightly later time might help supporters get to as many games as possible.

Our new Women’s Season Tickets have sold strongly, with access to every game for just €50 for the season.

Under 12’s will have free admission this season however they must be accompanied by a paying Adult.

Over 12’s will be charged €5.

Women’s team player sponsorships have been filling up all week and we thank all our new sponsors for their support of the players for the season ahead.

There is still availability for the following players:

Ruth Monaghan, Helen Monaghan, Aoife Brennan, Jessica Casey, Anais Coyne and Kate Nugent.

To sponsor a player email colinfeehily@sligorovers.com or send us a private message on social media.

Sponsors receive a photo with your chosen player, their match-worn jersey at the end of the season and promotion on our social media channels and website.

Manager Steve Feeney has made a number of new signings ahead of the new season.

Sisters Keri and Jodie Loughrey who are from Buncrana in Donegal have joined as well as Casey Howe from Fermanagh.

Wexford native Seren Ward joined up with the squad official in Saturday’s friendly with DLR Waves after her signing was announced earlier in the day.

Goalkeeper Bonnie McKiernan joined after a spell with Athlone Town and there have been many Academy players who continue to make the step up to senior level with Ciara Henry, Sarah Kiernan, Kerri O’ Hara, Jessica Casey, Helen Monaghan all re-signing after last season and Kate Nugent who has made her first senior appearances in recent pre-season friendlies.

Want to follow the team this season? Buy a Women’s Premier Division season ticket

Tickets for our next Senior Men’s home game against St. Patrick’s Athletic on Monday March 6^th are on sale now online at https://srfcdirect.com/match-tickets/

Supporters wishing to attend the game should buy their tickets in advance either online via the link above or through The Showgrounds offices.

Last week’s game against Shamrock Rovers was a complete sell-out and no money was taken on the gate.

There is already huge demand for tickets for this game and we urge all those wanting to attend the game to pre-purchase their tickets now.

Season Tickets are still available with 17 home games remaining as well as other perks such as priority sale on cup tickets and being part of this Community owned, fan run club.