Rovers hosted St Patrick’s Athletic on Saturday night in front of 2,213 supporters at The Showgrounds.

The Bit O’ Red came into the game on the back of a disappointing weekend last week with two defeats to Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers. On the other hand, the visitors came into the game having picked up four points from a possible six after beating Drogheda United and drawing in Derry.

Liam Buckley made a host of changes to the starting team with eight in total. Nando Pijnaker, Max Mata and Jordan Hamilton all picked up knocks in Monday’s Tallaght defeat and were replaced by Shane Blaney, Aidan Keena and Will Fitzgerald. David Cawley also returned following injury and Niall Morahan, Ed McGinty and Paddy Kirk also came into the team having missed out on Monday night.

Both sides played some good football in the opening period with neither side being able to create any major chances. Rovers did go close through Keena early on and Lewis Banks tested the St Pat’s goalkeeper. Joe Redmond went closest for the visitors with his shot needing to be tipped over by McGinty in Rovers’ goal.

On 37 minutes, Rovers took the lead. McGinty’s long ball was headed on by Karl O’ Sullivan into the path of David Cawley who saw Aidan Keena run in behind him. Cawley’s flick was inch perfect and Keena came onto the ball and curled a beautiful strike around Anang and into the far corner.

Eoin Doyle went close soon after as his headed went just wide from Adam O’ Reilly’s cross.

The second half started quickly and it wasn’t long before St Pats were level. Eoin Doyle ran onto a long ball down the left and he composed himself before finding Darragh Burns in the box and the winger cooly converted from close range. Rovers were unhappy with the goal as they felt Burns was in an offside position, but the goal stood.

From then on both sides went in search of a winner. The game ebbed and flowed and Rovers threatened through the likes of Cawley, O’ Sullivan, Fitzgerald and Keena on the counter attack. Greg Bolger and Niall Morahan were steady behind the front four and stopped some encouraging St Pats counters of their own.

Ben McCormack found Burns again in the area but McGinty was out quickly to deny him a second goal and soon after Garry Buckley almost scored from a close range header.

Cillian Heaney replaced Keena in Rovers’ only change and he worked hard up front for the final twenty minutes or so but couldn’t create any chances of note and the game ended all square.

Next up for Rovers is a trip to Dalymount Park on Friday night to take on Bohemians at 7.45pm before hosting Derry City three days later at The Showgrounds on Monday May 23rd.

The second series of WNL action took Sligo Rovers to The UCD Bowl this evening where they faced DLR Waves and were edged out by the odd goal of five as substitute Kate Mooney claimed an 81st minute winner for the hosts writes Conall Collier.

This was an excellent display by the Sligo Rovers players who will feel disappointed not to have won the game as they had some excellent late chances.

The Dublin side had manager Graham Kelly seated in the stand serving the first of a three-game suspension, but that didn’t have any impact on the pitch as the game flowed from end-to-end during a frantic 90 minutes.

Gemma McGuinness had Sligo Rovers in the lead after only 10 minutes when she raced through the DLR defence and finished confidently past Eve Badana.

DLR countered, but it was a further 10 minutes before thay tested Amy Mahon who saved well from a firmly stuck Rachael Doyle shot.

The hosts continued to surge forward in the sweltering heat and Mahon was kept busy between the posts while the Bit O’Red threatened on the break.

DLR were rewarded for all the pressure in the 40th minute when Sophie Watters headed the equaliser at the far post.

The second-half was only five minutes old when DLR hit the front after substitute Avril Brierley capitalised on a loose ball in the penalty area.

Brierley was denied again soon after when Mahon saved smartly at the expense of a corner.

On the hour the Bit O’Red levelled when Emma Doherty rifled to the net as the palyers on each side maintained the high tempo.

The Rovers were denied by the crossbar after a surging run by Kerri O’Hara and DLR countered swiftly to create an opening, but the danger was averted.

Paula McGrory then had a chance for the Rovers, but her effort skimmed the bottom of the post with 20 minutes remaining.

Another DLR substitute, Kate Mooney, rocketed a header to the net in the 81st minute, but the visitors had one last chance in added time when Gemma McGuinness found space in the DLR penalty area, but her shot was saved.

Next up for Rovers is a home game against Cork City at 2pm next Saturday afternoon.

DLR Waves – Eve Badana; Lynn Craven, Jess Gleeson, Fiona Donnelly, Rachael Doyle, Kerri Letmon, Katie Malone, Aoife Brophy, Sophie Watters, Oleta Griffin, Sara McKevitt.

Subs – Avril Brierley for McKevitt 8 mins, Kate Mooney for Letmon and Orla Fitzpatrick for Doyle 72 mins, Nadine Clare for Donnelly 82 mins.

Sligo Rovers – Amy Mahon; Leah Kelly, Orna O’Dowd, Amy Hyndman, Gemma McGuinness, Lauren Boles, Emma Doherty, Amy Roddy, Kerri O’Hara, Fiona Doherty, Paula McGrory.

Subs – Helen Monaghan for O’Hara 75 mins, Aoife Brennan for F Doherty 81 mins, Katie Melly for Kelly and Sarah Kiernan for Hyndman 86 mins

Referee – Clare Purcell.

Tonight’s Official Match Programme is available for just €4 from our Programme team.

This week we have all our usual pieces from manager Liam Buckley and Chairman Tommy Higgins who look back on recent results and on tonight’s fixture.

Our Match Sponsors are Hegarty Armstrong Solicitors and they wish the Bit O’ Red the best of luck in tonight’s big game.

Calry Bohs Youths are our guests tonight and we will get a little insight into the club as well as a photo from one of their youth teams.

Conall Collier’s article ‘Treat It Seriously or Forget About It’ is a great read and Keith O’ Dwyer recently sat down with Bit O’ Red defender NandoPijnaker to talk all things Sligo Rovers and New Zealand.

We have the latest actions shots from our recent Academy games thanks to club photographer Michael Melly and we take a look at both the Bit O’ Red squad and our visitors St Patrick’s Athletic with an in depth look at both teams.

Stephen McLoughlin and Joe Molloy also have their usual pieces as well as our Rack Your Brains Quiz, upcoming fixtures and more.

Get your copy inside the turnstiles from 6.30pm #bitored

It’s the start of a quieter weekend than most for our Academy teams with just just two competitive games.

Our Under 19 side travel to Longford this evening to face Longford Town at 7.45pm in The Under 19 Cup.

The squad have qualified for the Elite Phase of the cup and now focus turns to cup action this evening.

Tomorrow, our Under 17 Women’s side travel to Dublin to face Shelbourne in Ballymun. This is in The Under 17 Women’s Cup.

The girls will be looking to repeat their last visit to Dublin a fortnight ago where they defeated Bohemians in the league.

You can as always follow our Sligo Rovers Academy pages on social media for updates on scores.

The Bit O’ Red are back in action tomorrow night as we take on St Patrick’s Athletic at The Showgrounds (7.45pm).

Rovers are currently in fifth place, four points behind St Pat’s who are in third.

Rovers come into the game on the back of two defeats in Dublin last weekend against Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers. The visitors are in better form recently with four points from their last two fixtures, winning in Drogheda and drawing 0-0 in Derry last Monday night.

The game will see the return of former Rovers’ striker Eoin Doyle for the first time since his departure at the end of the 2011 FAI Cup Winning season and another former player, Tim Clancy takes charge of them for the first time at The Showgrounds since taking over in the winter.

Manager Liam Buckley:

‘’We were bitterly disappointed not to pick up any results over the weekend last week. I thought we didn’t start well in Tolka Park against Shelbourne and some mistakes on our part cost us a couple of goals. The second half was better but, overall, we know we need to do better.

We started much better on Monday night. I thought we passed it well at times but just couldn’t create any clear-cut chances in the first half. Even in the second half we created more chances and could have had two or three goals ourselves.

They are probably the best team in the league and when they can bring on the four quality players they did at half-time that changed things.

The atmosphere at our last home game was brilliant. It really spurred the lads on and I’d ask all supporters to get behind us again and hopefully we can get a positive result on the night’’.

In team news, Bit O’ Red ‘keeper Edward McGinty should return from injury. Shane Blaney and David Cawley will return but Max Mata is expected to miss out having hobbled off on Monday. Jordan Hamilton and Nando Pijnaker are also doubts.

The game kicks off at 7.45pm and turnstiles open from 6.30pm.

The Bit O’ Red travel to Dublin tomorrow to take on DLR Waves at The UCD Bowl at 4pm.

The game sees the sides meet for the second time this season after DLR defeated Rovers back in March in our first ever WNL game at The Showgrounds.

Last weekend, Steve Feeney’s side put on yet another spirited display against Galway but fell just short, losing 2-1 after Emma Doherty’s third goal of the season had given us a 1-0 lead but two goals from the visitors, one on the stroke of half time and one with twenty minutes remaining gave them the points.

DLR will prove yet another tough test for Rovers and they are currently in fifth position in the league table with Rovers back in eight.

Manager Steve Feeney:

‘’This weekend we travel to DLR Waves in what will be another welcome test for us all. Manager Graham Kelly has done wonderful work over the last few seasons and as a result DLR have a very strong squad who have already shown this season they are ready to challenge the top sides in the league.

We have now played every team in the league once and while we have no doubt there’s a high standard of players and teams in the league, we are looking forward to the challenge each game brings knowing we have the potential to improve and push our own levels as a team and individuals.

Every loss is tough to take but last weeks was made a lot worse with the injury sustained by Kristen Sample, Kristen has brought so much to our group since her arrival both on and off the pitch and we are all right behind her as she starts her recovery and have no doubt, we will see her back in action when the time is right’’.

In team news, goalkeeper Kristen Sample faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines following an arm injury sustained in last weekend’s game with Galway. Emma Hansberry continues to recover from a muscle injury and this game may come too soon for her.

The game is live on LOI TV from 4pm.

The Bit O’ Red travelled to Dublin for the second time in three days to take on Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium on Monday night.

Liam Buckley made five changes to his team from Friday’s defeat to Shelbourne with Garry Buckley returning from suspension and Seamas Keogh, Max Mata, Jordan Hamilton and Colm Horgan all coming in for David Cawley who was injured, Aidan Keena, Paddy Kirk, Will Fitzgerald and Mark Byrne. Edward McGinty was due to start in goal however he didn’t complete the warm up due to a rib injury which didn’t heal in time from Friday.

It was a windy night in Tallaght and this meant that both sides looked to get the ball down and play in the first half. The Bit O’ Red had plenty of chances to catch the home side on the counter attack but more often than not, the final ball was lacking. There were half chances as Rovers got in down the left but crosses from McDonnell and McCourt were both cleared by the hosts defence.

Neither side had any serious chances in an even first half.

Stephen Bradley made four half time changes with Graham Burke, Andy Lyons, Chirs McCann and Rory Gaffney all coming on to replace Aaron Greene, Aidamo Emakhu, Gary O’ Neill and Neil Farrugia.

This gave the home side the edge and it wasn’t long until they took the lead. Graham Burke found space in the area and his shot went in past Brush after 54 minutes. Just a minute later it was two. Rory Gaffney got onto a loose ball before finding Burke who took his time and fired past Brush from 15 yards.

Max Mata, Jordan Hamilton and Seamas Keogh were replaced by Will Fitzgerald, Aidan Keena and Cillian Heaney but the home side added to their lead with Burke completing his hat-trick with a curling left footed effort from the angle of the area.

The Bit O’ Red pressed for a goal back and had half chances through Keena and Heaney which were cleared by the Shamrock Rovers defence but Keena did pull one back inside the last ten minutes with a fine strike into the top corner from a tight angle.

The game was seen out by the hosts from there on in and Rovers suffered a second defeat on the road in three days.

Next up we face St Patrick’s Athletic at The Showgrounds this Saturday evening at 7.45pm

Photo: Sportsfile

Our Academy had another busy weekend of action with five games taking place across Saturday and Sunday.

Our Under 14 side travelled to Navan on Saturday and defeated Drogheda United 4-2 thanks to two goals from Troy Kelly and a goal each from Aaron Heaney and Ethan Burns.

Our Under 17 Men’s side had an impressive 3-1 win over Derry City in Ballisodare. Ex Strand Celtic striker Luke Mavrak scored a hat-trick to bring his tally to five goals this season and give Rovers the points.

At The Sean Fallon Centre Aaron O’ Connor’s Under 17 Women hosted DLR Waves at 4.30pm. The girls fell to a 3-1 defeat in an entertaining game, with Keeva Flynn on the scoresheet.

Our Under 19’s were both in action on Sunday afternoon with our Men’s team defeated 3-1 at home to Shelbourne and our Under 19 Women’s team playing out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Donegal away from home.

Michael Lavin’s fine effort proved only a consolation for Rovers against Shelbourne but qualification was already confirmed for the Elite Phase before the game.

Goals from Ciara Henry, Rebecca Doddy and Lara Swan ensured the points were shared in Letterkenny.

The Bit O’ Red are back on the road again tomorrow, Monday as we face Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium at 8pm.

It’s just ten days since the last meeting between both sides as we played out a 1-1 draw at The Showgrounds with Jordan Hamilton’s equaliser earning a share of the spoils on the night.

Since then, Rovers fell to a 2-1 defeat against Shelbourne at Tolka Park on Friday night. Paddy Kirk scored in the second half for Rovers but two first half goals from the hosts gave The Bit O’ Red a mountain to climb.

Liam Buckley looks ahead to tomorrow’s game:

‘’We have played Shamrock Rovers twice now so far this season and this game comes quickly after the last game just over a week ago so we are both well aware of each other and we know both sides have been fairly evenly matched so far in the previous games.

Tallaght is always a difficult venue and the crowd will be right behind them tomorrow night so the lads will have to be at our best to take something from the game. We go there knowing we can match them and fingers crossed we can get a positive result.

It’s always a good atmosphere when the two sides meet, and I have no doubt tomorrow will be no different’’.

In team news, Shane Blaney remains a doubt after missing Friday’s game. Garry Buckley comes back in following his suspension and Liam Buckley expects to have everyone else available.

Last three:

Sligo Rovers: Drogheda United (Won 3-2), Shamrock Rovers (Drew 1-1), Shelbourne (Lost 2-1)

Shamrock Rovers: Bohemians (Won 3-1), Sligo Rovers (Drew 1-1), Finn Harps (Won 3-1)

Galway took the Women’s National League points at The Showgrounds on Saturday afternoon with a narrow 2-1 victory against hosts Sligo Rovers writes Conall Collier.

Due to an injury to Rovers’ keeper Kristen Sample in the second-half, there was nine minutes added time at the end. Unfortunately for Rovers and Sample, the American sustained a broken arm and will be out of action for a long period.

Rovers enjoyed a good opening spell and there was a great tussle between Lauren Boles for the hosts and Galway’s Julie Ann Russell, a sister of Men’s Assistant Manager John, throughout.

Galway forced two early corners, but Rovers settled into the game and
created a number of good chances without seriously troubling Abbiegayle Ronayne between the posts.

However, there was a scare for the hosts in the 10th minute when Sample had to divert a deflected free out for a corner with a smart save.

Galway continued to press and Sample was in action again in the 14th minute when Emma Starr broke through, but her shot was saved.

Rovers found a perfect response to that let-off when Emma Doherty beat the out-rushing Ronayne in a race for possession and then slotted to the empty net from the edge of the penalty area.

Leah Kelly created the chance with a great piece of individual skill and a good ball out of defence.

Galway reacted positively and upped the tempo and had a couple of efforts narrowly off target before Becky Walsh glanced a 39th minute header off the foot of the post.

The post saved the hosts again soon after when Jenna Slattery was denied and the same player fluffed a couple of better chances on the stroke of half-time.

In added time Walsh headed an equaliser for Galway and they added a second goal on the hour as they resumed the second-half smartly with Shauna Brennan finishing to the net.

Bit O’Red ‘keeper Kristen Sample sustained her injury in her efforts to save the Galway effort and she was replaced by Amy Mahon who was in action fairly quickly as she saved well from Jenna Slattery in the 70th minute after Galway had a goal ruled out for offside.

Russell had a fine effort for Galway that skimmed the top of the crossbar in added time and she also hit the post while the Bit O’Red had long-range efforts from Gemma McGuinness and Sarah Kiernan.

Sligo Rovers – Kristen Sample; Leah Kelly, Orna O’Dowd, Gemma McGuinness, Lauren Boles, Emma Doherty, Aoife Brennan, Amy Roddy, Kerri O’Hara, Paula McGrory, Sarah Kiernan. Subs –
Fiona Doherty for Brennan 56 mins, Amy Mahon for Sample 60 mins, Helen Monaghan for O’Hara and Katie Melly for Kelly both 70 mins,


Galway WFC – Abbiegayle Ronayne; Becky Walsh, Emma Starr, Shauna Brennan, Chloe Singleton, Julie Ann Russell, Jenna Slattery, Lynsey McKee, Therese Kinnevey, Jamie Erickson, Kate Thompson. Subs – Lauryn Gamache for Slattery 83 mins, Aoife Thompson for McKee and Taylor Rutland Singleton both 89 mins, Nicole McNamara for Thompson 97 mins.

Referee – Sean Stephens.