As we head into Round 9 of our Last Man Standing competition, there are just 23 left in the competition.

Chelsea’s draw with Burnley and Bournemouth’s home defeat to Fulham resulted in 90 entrants crashing out.

The following are the final 23 who remain standing:

Selections for Round 9 must be sent to shane@sligorovers.com or to 086-4554265 by 7pm on Friday.

The cream of young soccer talent from across Ireland and the UK will assemble in Sligo this weekend for an unique three-day festival of youth football.

Proudly hosted by Sligo Rovers and the Sligo/Leitrim Schoolboys Leagues, with the full backing of the SFAI, the elite u-12 Sligo Super Cup tournament has attracted heavy hitters such as Leeds United, Derby County, and Aberdeen alongside Glenavon from Belfast, defending champions, Dublin District Schoolboys League, the Mayo League, Donegal League and the locals, Sligo/Leitrim.

With four teams in each of two qualifying groups, the programme includes sixteen matches across three action-packed days, starting on Friday afternoon. There will be four games on Friday, eight on Saturday with the four placings play-offs on Sunday morning. The grand final is timed for 11 a.m. on Sunday.

In a unique innovation this year, eight of the sixteen games will be steamed live on the Sligo Super Cup facebook page. There will also be a daily highlights package and a goal of the tournament segment.

The honour of kicking off the tournament falls to the hosts, Sligo/Leitrim, who face last year’s champions, DDSL, at the Sean Fallon Centre at 3 p.m. on Friday. Other must-see games on the opening afternoon include Leeds United against Glenavon at 4.30 and the mouth-watering clash of Aberdeen and Derby County on the main Showgrounds pitch at 5p.m.

There are a number of cracking match-ups on Saturday, starting with the eagerly anticipated meeting of Sligo/Leitrim and Leeds United at 10 a.m. on the main pitch. Other stand-out fixtures include the hosts tie against Glenavon at 3p.m. and the highly fancied Dubliners against Leeds United at 4p.m.

Meanwhile, there will be huge interest in how Derby County and Aberdeen fare against the Mayo and Donegal Leagues in their group games.

As well as showcasing Sligo’s state-of-the art soccer facilities, the tournament is also proving to be a shop window for the town generally. Derby have confirmed they will be bringing a group of about 50 supporters for the week-end, while bookings from Dublin, Mayo, Donegal and Belfast are also quite heavy. It’s estimated at least 300 visitors will be in town especially for the tournament.

All of the young players and their coaches will be guests of Sligo Rovers at the Airtricity League game against Finn Harps at the Showgrounds on Saturday night.

The tournament is the result of a mammoth feat of organisation by a dedicated committee, who have been planning and preparing over the past six months under the inspirational leadership of Tournament Director, Packie Lynch.

He says: “We set out with a very definite plan, to make our tournament attractive to overseas academies, to provide a platform to help the development of young players and to showcase Sligo as a venue with the state-of-the-art facilities capable of hosting a prestige tournament.

“We have succeeded in growing the tournament year on year, and the introduction of live streaming of matches this year brings us to a whole new level.

“We are urging the Sligo soccer community to come out and support the young players. We can guarantee a top class festival of football”.

Sligo/Leitrim squad: Paul McAteer, Cillian O’Neill (Merville Utd); Max Farrell, Calum Lynch (Calry Bohs); Cian Nicholson, Conor Langan (Benbulben Rangers); Jack Kelly (Manor Rangers); James Lavin, Emmanuel Oyelalus, Calvin Hogge, Danny McCormack (Ballymote Celtic); Aaron Healy (Boyle Celtic); Darragh McKeon, Jack Brehony (Arrow Harps), Cathal Gilligan (Strand Celtic); Peter Moran (Carrick Town).

Sligo Rovers would like to thank both the Match Sponsor and Match Ball Sponsor from our home games against Dundalk and Waterford respectively.

The Match Sponsor against Dundalk was Foleys Bar & Off Licence, Castle St Sligo while the Match Ball was sponsored by Cot & Cobble Ballina.

The Match Sponsor against Waterford was Cadden Monumental Sculptors while the Match Ball was sponsored by Quinns Chemist, Crossmolina.

Our thanks to all four businesses for their continued support of the club.

We are heading towards the end of the Premier League season with just five rounds of fixtures to complete before yet another season finishes up.

There are now just 113 players left standing in our LMS competition, with each and everyone of them eyeing the top prize of €1,000 for the winner.

All players who have successfully made it through to round eight will be contacted by the club later tonight.

For those of you who wish to do their homework early this week ahead of the weekends fixtures, below is a full list of fixtures for round eight. You can send your selections to shane@sligorovers.com or alternatively text your selection along with your name to 086-4554265.

Reminder you cannot pick the same team twice. For example if you picked Man City in round one you cannot pick them again in the competition.

Fixtures:

Man City vs Tottenham

Bournemouth vs Fulham

Huddersfield vs Watford

West Ham vs Leicester

Wolves vs Brighton

Newcastle vs Southampton

Everton vs Man Utd

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace

Cardiff vs Liverpool

Chelsea vs Burnley

We are already heading towards Round 7 of our Last Man Standing competition, with just 139 left standing.

All 139 players left standing in the competition will be contacted by the club later in the week for their selections for this weekend.

Below is the list of players who remain standing and their selections to date. It may help some of you with your predictions ahead of the weekend.

Sligo Rovers entertain Bohemians in The Showgrounds tomorrow (April 6th) with a 7.45pm kick-off and there is plenty of reading ahead for anyone who purchases a match programme on the night.

The following is the list of topics being discussed in tomorrow nights match programme:

• Interview with supporter Dolores Henderson
• Liam Buckley – his thoughts on the game
• Sligo Rovers Womens U17 by Jessica Farry
• Conal Collier on the Fixtures Department
• Stephen McLoughlin gives his thoughts on Bohs
• 20 Questions with Mitchell Beeney
• Where are they now by Joe Molloy
• Face In The Crowd Photo, if you are picked, you win a prize
• Red Icon – Nancy Callaghan

Along with all of the above, there is also a free limited edition Harry McLoughlin poster for every supporter who purchases a programme.

Gates open at 6.30pm tomorrow evening.

Sligo Rovers return to league action tomorrow night, as Bohemians visit The Showgrounds in the SSE Airtricity League with a 7.45pm kick-off.

With the postponement of Sligo Rovers Vs. Waterford last month, tomorrow night’s encounter will mark the first league game in The Showgrounds since Rovers defeated UCD 1-0 on March 9^th.

In team news, Ed Mc Ginty is still out with a broken finger while there will be a late fitness test for John Russell.

Liam Buckley said “Bohemians have had a great start to the season and tomorrow night will be a difficult test for the lads but it’s a test that we are all looking forward to.

“There is no denying that the last 3 results have been disappointing but we are getting to a stage now where we’re getting the squad back to where we want it in terms of fitness and having a near full squad of players to choose from.

“It’s nearly a full month since our last home league game in which we overturned UCD and I know our supporters will come out in huge numbers once again to support the team.

“As I said previously it’s going to be a difficult test for the lads but I am confident it’s a test we can rise to and send our supporters home happy. “

Gates open at 6.30pm tomorrow evening with match tickets available here: https://www.sligorovers.com/match-tickets/

Sligo Rovers are back in action this coming Saturday night as Bohemians visit The Showgrounds with a 7.45pm kick-off.

The Match Sponsor is Tony Quinn Foods, the Match Ball Sponsor is Eammon Scanlon while the After Match is sponsored by The Railway bar, Lord Edward Street Sligo.

There will be a free Harry McLoughlin poster with every match programme bought on the night also.

Due to the postponement of our home game against Waterford in March, this coming Saturday will mark the 28th day since our last home league game.

Turnstiles will open from 6.30pm, with match tickets available here.

There is little or no rest for all of the remaining entrants in our Last Man Standing competition, with Round 6 of the competition kicking off tomorrow night.

There are 10 fixtures down for decision from tomorrow (Tuesday) until Sunday the 7th of April. Selections for Round 6 must me emailed to shane@sligorovers.com by 6pm tomorrow evening (Tuesday) or sent via text to 086-4554265.

Please note Round 6 is based on games from Tuesday the 2nd of April until Sunday the 7th.

Just five entrants were knocked out in Round 5 so far, meaning there are currently 150 left standing.

Fixtures for Round 6 are as follows and as always, best of luck!

Watford vs Fulham

Wolves vs Man United

Chelsea vs Brighton

Man City vs Cardiff

Tottenham vs Crystal Palace

Southampton vs Liverpool

Bournemouth vs Burnley

Huddersfield vs Leicester

Newcastle vs Crystal Palace

Everton vs Arsenal

Sligo Rovers make the short trip to Ballybofey tonight, ahead of the EA Sports Cup second round tie against Finn Harps.

The Bit O’ Red collected a narrow 2-1 win in Ballybofey earlier in the season, with manager Liam Buckley expecting a tough test once again in Finn Park.

He said “we were all disappointed with last Friday night and we are very much looking to bounce back tonight by progressing into the next round of the cup. We came out with a victory from Finn Park a few weeks ago but we had to work extremely hard for that and I expect another battle tonight. It’s always a test coming to Finn Park and with that in mind we need to be ready from the start and get a foothold in the game early on”.

In team news, Ed Mc Ginty is out with a broken finger while there will be late fitness tests for Ronan Murray, David Cawley and John Mahon.

Kick off in Finn Park is 8pm.