Sligo Rovers host Bohemian on Saturday night in The Showgrounds in the match to signal the halfway stage of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.

The match is live on LOI TV with commentary from Darragh Cox and Joseph Ndo. Click here to buy.

The Bit O’ Red have a five-point lead on the Gypsies going into the game, but the visitors bring a record of four wins in their last five.

Rovers were unfortunate not to win in Derry last Monday, with a deflected goal giving the Candystripes a point.

The sides sit in third and fourth place in the table in what should be an intriguing game.

Rovers won 3-1 earlier this season in Dalymount Park.

In team news, Robbie McCourt will not feature for a few weeks due to a broken wrist. David Cawley is now fully recovered and came off the bench in the last two games.

Garry Buckley will have a late fitness test on a muscle injury.

Liam Buckley said: “We were relatively happy with the performance in Derry. After two poor games, it was important to be better and we felt we were that on the night.

“Conceding a goal in the manner we did was quite unlucky. You need a little bit of luck in games and that didn’t go our way.

“While we did improve, we are looking for more and we will need more to get back to winning games.  

“Bohs are a good footballing side, they’re on a very good run and it’s always a difficult task against them.”

Buckley has confirmed Robbie McCourt will miss a period following the injury sustained last week.

“It’s unfortunate for Robbie. It will take some time and he will recover over the next few weeks.

“Regan Donelon came into the side on Monday. Regan has been a first-team starting player for a number of years at the club, it’s great for us to be able to call on someone like him.

“At the start of the year the pre-season circumstances gave Robbie the chance which he took and Regan had to bide his time as a result. 

“David Cawley is now fully fit and Garry is getting closer and we’ll see how he is for Saturday.”  

View a selection of images from last night’s 1-1 draw with Derry City in the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. Photos by James Fallon.

Sligo Rovers were held to a 1-1 draw by Derry City at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.

After trailing to Jordan Gibson’s 55th minute goal, the Candystripes showed that never-say-die attitude again when they scored another late goal, this time Ronan Boyce’s deflected effort earning them a point.

City went close to taking the lead on 33 minutes as full-back Danny Lafferty did well down the left before his low centre found David Parkhouse, but the big striker fired over from just around the penalty spot. Soon after a poor clearance by Jack Malone only found Greg Bolger and his clever pass into the edge of the box to Johnny Kenny meant the young striker had time to get a super drive on goal, but Derry keeper Nathan Gartside did well to turn the effort around the post.

The home side went close to breaking the deadlock on 54 minutes as Will Patching cut in from the left before seeing his curling 20 yard strike sail just past the right hand post.

Rovers took the lead a minute later as Jordan Gibson broke in behind the Derry defence, to latch onto Mark Byrne’s clever flick, before calmly slotting the ball past Gartside.

Just after the hour mark McGinty had to make a top save when diving full stretch to his left the Rovers keeper did well to keep out Jack Malone’s curling strike. Another teasing pass by Greg Bolger on 76 minutes released Kenny and with Gartside caught in no man’s land, the young striker’s attempted lob into the unguarded net, sailed just wide.

Derry levelled things in somewhat fortunate circumstances on 85 minutes as Ronan Boyce’s low 20 yard drive took a big deflection off Shane Blaney before sneaking past McGinty.

Soon after Patching was inches away from giving the home side lead as his dipping pile driver had to be tipped over by McGinty.

Derry City: Nathan Gartside, Ronan Boyce, Eoin Toal (Danny Lupano 45), Cameron McJannet, Daniel Lafferty; Ciaron Harkin, Jack Malone, Will Patching; Will Fitzgerald, David Parkhouse (Marc Walsh 65 – Patrick Ferry 78), James Akintunde.

Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty, Lewis Banks, Greg Bolger, Jordan Gibson, Niall Morahan, Ryan De Vries (Walter Figueira 77), Mark Byrne (Romeo Parkes 77), Shane Blaney, Regan Donelon, John Mahon, Johnny Kenny (David Cawley 77).

Referee: Derek Tomney (Dublin).

Sligo Rovers face St Patrick’s Athletic on Friday night at Richmond Park in the SSE Airtricity League.

Rovers, in second place, are three points ahead of the Saints going into the game. The match will be on LOITV.

The teams met earlier this season when a stoppage time goal by Ian Bermingham cancelled out Jordan Gibson’s penalty.

Rovers have six wins and a draw from seven away games so far. The Bit O’ Red were beaten 2-1 by Drogheda United last week in The Showgrounds in what was a second defeat of the season.

In team news, Garry Buckley will have a late fitness test on a muscle injury.

David Cawley is available again. Regan Donelon is also fit having missed the game last week.

Darren Collins has returned to training but this game comes too soon for him. Romeo Parkes is back from suspension.

Liam Buckley said: “We were disappointed last week in losing to Drogheda. We know we won’t win every game, but we do want to play better.

“We want to respond to that and bounce back. Once the game is over, all you can do is put the focus on the response and we have an opportunity here.

“It is a difficult one and we want to compete well. Pat’s will have a similar approach and it will be keenly-contested certainly. They’ve had a good season and there’s just three points between the teams

“We have done well away from home and we’d like to continue that. We’ll check on Garry Buckley, while we know we definitely have Dave Cawley and Regan Donelon back.

“Darren will come into the equation soon and Romeo has served his one game.”

Sligo Rovers have been drawn with FH of Iceland in the first round of Europa Conference League qualifying.

The Bit O’ Red were in a European draw for the first time in seven year as they were paired with Hafnarfjarðar .

The tie will be played on 8 and 15 July. Rovers will play in Hafnarfjarðar for the first leg.

Details have yet to be confirmed by the clubs. Fans are not permitted to travel to the game in Iceland.

FH are currently seventh in the Icelandic league. They played Dundalk in Champions League qualifying in 2016-2017 and were beaten on the away goals rule.

Sligo Rovers face Drogheda United on Saturday evening in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division in The Showgrounds, as supporters return to the venue again.

The Bit O’ Red go into the game on top of the table with Drogheda sitting in fourth.

In team news, David Cawley and Danny Kane have returned to training. Gary Buckley is doubtful with a muscle strain. Darren Collins and Jason Devaney are out with ankle and hamstring complaints while Romeo Parkes will serve a one-game ban.

“The break is what it is. We’re back to it now and we’re looking forward to being back out on the pitch for what is going to be a difficult game.

“We’re a prime example of how competitive the league is and that every game is an opportunity to pick up points. You have to work for every point you get in this league and if you don’t you’re going to be beaten. We’re very pleased with our total so far.

“That said, we’re far from getting ahead of ourselves. We know there are just 14 matches played in a 36-game season and there isn’t a great deal of points from first all the way down to eighth. There’s a long way to go and we just have to keep working hard and building on the momentum we have.

“Drogheda have have a great campaign so far and it’s not a surprise when you look at the experienced players like Dane Massey, Gary Deegan and a lot of quality players in a good squad. We know it’s a hard game and we have to be ready for it.

“We did particularly well to come away with the three points in Ballybofey having been down a man for a lot of the second half. We showed good character.

“Danny Kane is back and available this week which is great. We’re delighted to have him training every day.  

“Dave Cawley is also back training after missing some games prior to the break. We’ll check on Garry Buckley on a muscle strain while Darren and Jason will miss out this week.”

100 fans will return to The Showgrounds after being successful in a ballot of season pack holders.

Buckley added: “It’s great. We’re thrilled for the people who will be there with us and I’m sure we’ll hear them and they’ll be getting behind us.

“In time we hope to see more and more. As a club we’ve followed the Covid-regulations in the strictest detail and one of the many reasons for doing that is to get to a point where fans can be back in the stadium.

“As we know this is a fan-owned club. They make it possible for us to be representing Sligo Rovers and the people of the area and we really want to see and hear as many as we can as the restrictions ease.”

LOITV passes are now available to purchase ahead of the season restart.

The Premier Division will join the SSE Airtricity First Division and the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League on LOITV.ie, with all three divisions on one streaming platform.

Match pack season ticket holders should click here to learn how to redeem their streaming pass.

Supporters who didn’t buy a match pack season ticket can now purchase their Premier Division Pass which covers all matches from now until the end of the season, for just €79. With 110 matches left in the 2021 season, that works out at just €0.79 per match.

The platform will aid Rovers financially with Season Pass sales set to go to the subscribers’ selected team whilst pay-per-view revenue will go to the home side of the individual fixture, a valuable revenue stream for the League of Ireland.

The Premier Division matches will be broadcast via the clubs’ own production solutions including replays and multiple camera set-ups. Rovers have hired Studio Rove, a local company, and will provide these features along with a commentary team. More features will be added over time.

Head over to LOITV.ie now and get your season pass or learn more below

Moving from WATCHLOI to LOITV

• Rovers supporters who have match pack s can use five tickets to redeem a pass. Click here for more info
• Former WATCHLOI customers are encouraged to subscribe to loitv.ie to get access to all the remaining Premier Division fixtures this season for just €79

Sligo Rovers will enter the first round draw for the UEFA Europa Conference League next Tuesday.

With the Bit O’ Red set to make a first appearance in Europe since 2014, we look at the details ahead of the draw.

When is the draw?

The draw is scheduled for Tuesday 15 June at 12pm on UEFA.com. You will be able to stream it live.

When are the games?

The first round is two legs. The games are scheduled for 8 and 15 July. The home fixture will likely be early evening. The draw will determine whether the home game is on 8 or 15 July.

Can I stream the games?

Yes. We will stream the home game which will be outside of the LOI TV platform. We will announce this in detail shortly. For the away game, we will update fans closer to the date as the opposition will determine such a facility.

Can I attend the home game?

We are still awaiting news on the UEFA policy for this season.  If possible we will allow a small number of fans to attend under current guidelines in Ireland. They must purchase in advance.

Who can we face?

UEFA will shortly confirm the seedings.

The Bit O’ Red will be unseeded, meaning our possible opposition can come from these countries based on current standings.

When will it be narrowed down?

It’s expected that in the 24 hours before the draw the teams will be grouped into five teams. There will be seven groups of five teams, seeded and unseeded

Numbers are allocated to each team and the draw itself will be see one number chosen from seeded and one unseeded.

One pairing creates seven ties at once from the seven groups.

Will the draw be regionalised?

The groups of five often consist of some sort of regionalisation but due to the complex make-up of clubs in each draw, no such thing is guaranteed.

Does the second round draw take place the same day?

No, it is done 24 hours later. The first-round pairing involving Rovers will be in the draw and again it will be streamed on UEFA.com.

Sligo Rovers wish to confirm that 100 supporters will be permitted to attend our SSE Airtricity Premier Division match with Drogheda United next weekend. 

The match takes place on Saturday 12th June at 7.45pm.

The Showgrounds can host 100 fans for games in June under the new Covid-19 guidelines. As the stadum has a capacity of less than 5,000, no more than 100 can attend. 

Match Pack holders will be included in an open draw. Match packs are on sale ahead of the return of supporters to The Showgrounds. Click here to buy.

All match pack holders will be automatically entered into the draw per game. Those 100 will then drop out of the ballot for our next game until all ticket holders attend a match. 

Supporters will be contacted by this weekend if they have been successful and will be asked to confirm their attendance and fill in a Covid-19 declaration form before attending.

Should the planned Covid-19 re-opening continue, 200 fans can attend games later in the summer and up to 1,000 from August. 

As such, only match pack holders will be considered for European fixtures and all games in the summer period. 

We encourage supporters to buy match packs in order to be eligible to attend games. 

Meanwhile, local company Studio Rove have been hired for our match night production on the LOITV streaming service. 

Professional commentators will be hired by the club also. Supporters can purchase a streaming pass for €79 or by using five passes in their match packs. 

To redeem please follow the instructions below:

• Take five tickets from your match pack book.
• Post them to: Secretary, Sligo Rovers FC, The Showgrounds, Sligo. (before Wednesday June 9th – streaming passes will only be redeemed once tickets have been received)
• Include a note with the tickets with your name and e-mail address (e-mail address is important as your streaming code will be emailed to you)
• We advise you to please send these in without delay as the season restarts on Friday June 11^th and Rovers’ first game is due to be Saturday June 12^th.
• Once we receive the five tickets, we will send an email with instructions on how to access the streaming service.
• For any enquiries, please email colinfeehily@sligorovers.com or call071-9171212

Non match pack holders can purchase a pass on the new platform directly.

LOITV passes are now available to purchase ahead of the season restart.

The Premier Division will join the SSE Airtricity First Division and the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League on LOITV.ie, with all three divisions on one streaming platform.

Match pack season ticket holders should click here to learn how to redeem their streaming pass.

Supporters who didn’t buy a match pack season ticket can now purchase their Premier Division Pass which covers all matches from now until the end of the season, for just €79. With 110 matches left in the 2021 season, that works out at just €0.79 per match.

The platform will aid Rovers financially with Season Pass sales set to go to the subscribers’ selected team whilst pay-per-view revenue will go to the home side of the individual fixture, a valuable revenue stream for the League of Ireland.

The Premier Division matches will be broadcast via the clubs’ own production solutions including replays and multiple camera set-ups. Rovers have hired Studio Rove, a local company, and will provide these features along with a commentary team. More features will be added over time.

Head over to LOITV.ie now and get your season pass or learn more below

Moving from WATCHLOI to LOITV

• Rovers supporters who have match pack s can use five tickets to redeem a pass. Click here for more info
• Former WATCHLOI customers are encouraged to subscribe to loitv.ie to get access to all the remaining Premier Division fixtures this season for just €79