Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce the appointment of Darren Kelly as our new Under 17 Women’s team Head Coach for the 2023 season.

Darren is from Sligo and has coached at underage level in the Sligo/Leitrim Youth League as well as with their representative sides.

Head of Sligo Rovers Academy Conor O’ Grady is delighted with the new appointment:

‘’Darren is a great football person.

‘’He has played the game and he knows what it takes and knows local football inside out.

‘’We all look forward to working with Darren and the rest of his coaching staff this season’’.The side take on St. Patrick’s Athletic today in a friendly in Dublin before their season kicks off next weekend.

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce the signing of 19-year-old Seren Ward until the end of the 2023 SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division season.

Ward joins the club having spent time with Wexford Youths Women and now attends ATU Sligo and is part of their Senior Women’s Squad this year.

Ward will go straight into the squad for today’s friendly with DLR Waves and will wear the number 27 shirt this season for the Bit O’ Red.

Manager Steve Feeney is thrilled with the new addition:

‘’I am pleased to have signed Seren today.

‘’She has impressed with ATU Sligo and has some qualities that will really help us this season.

‘’Seren is a good addition and makes our squad even stronger as we head into the new season next weekend’’.

Rovers take on Shamrock Rovers on the opening day of the 2023 season next Saturday at The Showgrounds. Kick-off is at 5pm.

New signing Ward is happy to arrive at The Showgrounds:

‘’I am really excited to be signing with Sligo Rovers this season.

‘’I’ve been training with the squad for a few weeks and the positive atmosphere and high level they play at has made it a really enjoyable group to be a part of. 

‘’It’s a big step up for me into the Women’s Premier Division so I’m looking forward to improving as a player in a competitive and high-intensity league.

‘’Steve and the whole team have been more than welcoming and the professional set up of the club is something I’m delighted to be involved with, so I couldn’t be happier to be part of this team for the upcoming season.”

Today’s friendly kicks off at 3pm against DLR Waves at The Showgrounds.

The Bit O’ Red got a first win of the 2023 SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division season on Friday night after a hard fought 3-2 win over UCD at The UCD Bowl.

Max Mata was the hero for Rovers as he scored all three goals to seal the points for John Russell’s men.

Rovers got off to the worst possible start after just four minute when Eanna Clancy’s back pass was cut out by Dara Keane who’s cross was met first time by winger Alex Nolan to sweep the ball home.

Max Mata brought Rovers level after 22 minutes after good work down the right hand side from Frank Liivak who put the New Zealander in behind with a nice ball down the side of the home defence.

Mata cut in on his left foot and rolled the ball into the corner past Lorcan Healy.

The sides went in all square at the break.

The second half started with a Reece Hutchinson shot from distance that went just over the crossbar before UCD regained the lead a minute later.

Jack Keaney’s long ball out of defence wasn’t dealt with by Rovers and Nolan squeezed a through ball into the path of Danu Kinsella Bishop who made no mistake from close range.

Stefan Radosavljevic and Fabrice Hartmann were introduced by John Russell on 58 minutes and it didn’t take long for Hartmann to be involved.

His brilliant run took him into the penalty area and his shot was blocked down by the arm of Michael Barr on 69 minutes. Mata grabbed the ball and scored from 12 yards for his second of the night.

On 82 minutes, Rovers had the chance to go in front. Reece Hutchinson broke into the box and was taken down by Nolan and referee Ray Matthews pointed to the spot.

Mata completed his hattrick with another well taken spot kick to give Rovers all three points.

Next up is a trip to face Drogheda United next Friday night.

The 2023 League of Ireland Academy season gets underway this weekend across the country with The Bit O’ Red in action in three age categories.

Our Under 14 side travel to take on Longford Town at 3pm under the guidance of new Head Coach Colm Jinks.

There is a fully new Under 14 squad this season and there will be plenty of club debuts made over the course of the game.

Anthony Elding returns to competitive action as his Under 17 Men’s side also face Longford Town away from home at the earlier time of 12 Noon at Bishopsgate.

There are plenty of new faces in this season’s squad and the side will look to get off to a positive start in The Midlands.

On Sunday, our Under 15 side, under the stewardship of Darryl Keaney, face the trip to Derry City, with the game kicking off at 2pm in Ardmore FC.

Many of last season’s Under 14 squad have made the progression to our Under 15’s this year to add to some new players and those who remain in the squad from the 2022 season.

Best of luck to all our staff and players for the weekend ahead.

Our Senior Womens team wrap up pre-season action this Saturday at 3pm at The Showgrounds against Dubliners DLR Waves.

The 2023 Women’s Premier Division season begins one week later against Shamrock Rovers at The Showgrounds.

Admission on Saturday is €5 for all categories apart from Under 12’s who are free if accompanied by a paying Adult.

Women’s Season Tickets are now available for just €50 online via the link below:

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

The Bit O’ Red travel to Dublin for our first away game of the season tomorrow night (Friday) as we take on UCD at The UCD Bowl at 7.45pm.

Both sides earned a point on the opening day of the season with Rovers drawing 1-1 with Shamrock Rovers at The Showgrounds on Saturday evening while the Students earned their point in Oriel Park against Dundalk on the same scoreline.

Manager John Russell was pleased with his sides performance and knows there are still areas to work on:

‘’We were happy to come away with a positive result last weekend against Shamrock Rovers.

‘’I know we left it late but, I felt a draw was a fair result on the night.

‘’This is a new group and, we understand it will take time to gel everyone together.

‘’We’ve reviewed last-week’s game and there are definitely areas where we can improve.

The Bit O’ Red boss is wary of the threat UCD can cause his side tomorrow night and knows his side needs a strong performance against the Dubliners:

‘’This weekend’s game against UCD will be another tough test. They had an excellent result and performance against Dundalk in their opening game.

‘’We only managed to beat UCD once last season. I know some of their players have moved on but, they always seem to have another batch of talented young players coming through.

‘’We will have to be at our best to get something from the game’’.

The last times the sides met, Rovers ran out 2-0 winners at the same venue last October.

In team news, Niall Morahan continues to recover from an ankle injury picked up in pre-season and should return to the squad. Bogdan Vastsuk is nursing a minor hamstring problem and will be assessed tomorrow while goalkeeper Conor Walsh, who picked up an ankle injury in training last week, is a doubt.

Long term absentees Mark Byrne, Garry Buckley and Gary Boylan remain sidelined.

It is the first away game of the 2023 season and a large support is expected to travel to the game and it’s the first chance for our Dublin based supporters to see the Bit O’ Red in action this season.

The game is Live on LOI TV from 7.45pm and supporters can purchase season passes now on loitv.ie

The game is the start of back to back away games as we visit Drogheda United next Friday night before a double header at home against St. Patrick’s Athletic and Cork City.

Our Under 17 Women’s team visited the offices of our Main Sponsor Avenue Mould last week to check out their premises and learn more about the company.

The girls enjoyed a look around and the chance to meet with Ricardo Da Silva (General Manager) and Sonya Connolly (HR) and the rest of the team in Finnisklin.

Avenue became sponsors of the team in 2022 and have proven to be a great support to the club and recently awarded Under 17 POTY for 2022 Cara King with a Bursary award.

The partnership will go from strength to strength and we will work closely with the company with the chance of creating a pathway for our players to potential placements or employments with them in the future.

Thanks for supporting us guys.

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce the re-signing of winger Fiona Doherty until the end of the 2023 SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division.

Doherty has had spells with Ballyvary Blue Bombers and Conn Rangers as well as having played GAA in Mayo before signing for the Bit O’ Red before last season’s first ever Women’s Premier Division season.

Manager Steve Feeney is thrilled to sign Doherty today:

‘’This gives us another boost going into the start of the season next week.

‘’Fiona was a real positive for us last season once she signed.

‘’She put in some brilliant displays for us in a couple of different positions and she is a great asset for us for the season ahead’’.

Doherty will be part of the squad in our final pre-season friendly this Saturday at The Showground when we host DLR Waves at 3pm.

Admission is €5 for all categories bar Under 12’s who are free but must be accompanied by an Adult.

The Mayo Woman is happy to be back at The Showgrounds this season:

‘’I’m delighted to re-sign for Sligo Rovers for the 2023 season.

‘’I feel last year was a huge learning curve for me personally transitioning from Gaelic to Football but also as a team.

‘’Last year was a year full of new experiences for a lot of our squad with a lot of us never having played at that level before. 

‘’I’m excited for the year ahead as I feel our squad has got stronger as a unit with the addition of a few superb footballers. 

‘’I look forward to another year of learning from Steve and the backroom team, they were phenomenal last-year and I really hope we can get a few more results to show the work they put in off the pitch and hopefully get a few steps closer to the top of the table’’.

Season Tickets are selling fast and represent the best value and the best way of supporting our Women’s team this season.

You can buy a women’s season tickets for just €50 via the link below:

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

Supporters wishing to attend Friday night’s Men’s Premier Division game against UCD and The UCD Bowl can now purchase their tickets online through the University’s website.

The game kicks off at 7.45pm in what will be Rovers’ second game of the season following last weekend’s 1-1 draw at home to Shamrock Rovers.

To purchase tickets, visit the link below:

Sligo Rovers wish to acknowledge the behaviour of our supporters who turned out in such great numbers against Shamrock Rovers on Saturday night.

Tickets sold-out 24 hours before kick-off with many people left dissappointed at not buying a ticket in advance.

We have put St. Patrick’s Athletic tickets on sale online for our next home fixture on Monday March 6th at 7.45pm.

Supporters can buy tickets via the link below:

https://srfcdirect.com/match-tickets/

All four sides of The Showgrounds were with the team for 90 minutes and the atmosphere created was second to none.

There were no pyrotechnics set off from our Bit O’ Red supporters which we continue to ask for and that is appreciated by the club.

We hope all those in attendance had an enjoyable night and we hope to see you all again on March 6th when we are back in The Showgrounds once again.

Before that however, our Bit O’ Red Women’s team start their season two days prior against Shamrock Rovers.

The game kicks off at 7.45pm and tickets for this fixture can also be purchased on the above ticket link.