By Conall Collier

Three games into the Women’s Premier Division season, and Sligo Rovers manager Steve Feeney remains positive despite last Saturday’s reversal against Waterford in front of the TG4 cameras at the Showgrounds.

Following an encouraging start to the season with a draw against Bohemians, the Bit O’Red has faltered twice subsequently and also drawn a blank on the scoreboard.

The manager’s positivity is centred on the fact that against both Cork City the previous week and Waterford last Saturday, the team created at least half a dozen scoring opportunities in each game.

Steve believes that once the first goal is scored, it will boost the confidence of the players who
can’t be faulted for their determination and commitment.

“The attitude and commitment of the players can’t be faulted, and while we haven’t won yet, we are creating chances; that’s a big positive,” he commented.

“Last Saturday was similar to the previous week against Cork City; we missed a hatful of chances, and Waterford took theirs and picked up the three points.

“It’s quite simple: if we don’t take the chances that we create, we certainly can’t expect to win games.

“We were in contention when trailing by a goal, but we gave away the penalty in the second half, and then it was 2-0, but we still made openings and just didn’t take them.

“We pushed to try to get something from the game, but in fairness to Waterford and ‘keeper Maeve Williams, she made some good saves.

“Having said that, we hit too many shots straight at her; we needed to be a bit more composed in front of goal, and hopefully we will see that in Wexford,” he concluded.

By Conall Collier

Two Olivia Shannon goals paved the way for a historic first Women’s Premier Division win for Waterford at the expense of Sligo Rovers in front of the TG4 cameras at the Showgrounds on Saturday night.

Sligo Rovers manager Steve Feeney made one change from the previous week, with Anna McDaniel coming in for Rachael McGoldrick.

The hosts enjoyed plenty of possession in the opening half and had a number of chances, with Muireann Devaney and Anna McDaniel both on target with good efforts.

However, Waterford took the lead in the 33rd minute when Olivia Shannon got a vital touch in a crowded goalmouth from a corner to claim a historic first goal in the League of Ireland for the Munster women.

The Bit O’Red laboured through the remainder of the half, with the only real chance arriving in the 41st minute when a Paula McGrory header was saved by Waterford netminder Maeve Williams.

Soon after the resumption Waterford had a gilt-edged chance for a second goal, but Zara Corcoran blazed over the bar from inside the six-yard box, and the home defence breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Sligo Rovers upped the tempo subsequently, and Anna McDaniel brought a good save out of Maeve Williams in the 63rd minute, but an error at the other end gifted Waterford a penalty 60 seconds later, which Shannon converted.

The hosts kept battling, and Mairead McIntyre had a good effort blocked in the 73rd minute, and Muireann Devaney was on target soon after as Waterford defended well.

Emma Hansberry had the last chance for Sligo Rovers with a free that Maeve Williams tipped over.

Sligo Rovers – Bonnie McKiernan; Cara King, Keeva Flynn, Alana Doherty, Kate Nugent, Muireann Devaney, Emma Hansberry, Paula McGrory, Katie Melly, Eimear Lafferty, Anna McDaniel.

Subs – Mairead McIntyre for King, Rachel McGoldrick for Doherty and Alice Lillie for Lafferty all 66 mins, Kya McKenna for Nugent and Sarah Kiernan for McGrory 81 mins.

Waterford – Maeve Williams; Danielle Griffin, Jessica Lawler, Lauren Walsh, Danielle Burke, Chloe Atkinson, Mia Lenihan, Sophie Slattery, Olivia Shannon, Aoibh Thomas, Zara Corcoran. Sub – Nancy Edogiawerie for Corcoran, 89 mins.

Referee – Mark Houlihan.

Assistant referees – Fintan Butler, Keenan Deering.

Fourth official – Marc Lynch.

Sligo Rovers will be aiming to maintain an unbeaten home Women’s Premier Division record when they welcome Waterford on Saturday evening in front of the TG4 cameras with the live action set for a 7.35pm kick-off.

This will be the first visit to the Showgrounds for Waterford,, who are the new faces in the Women’s Premier Division,, and both teams will be keen to find some improvement on last week’s results.

Sligo Rovers conceded four goals against Cork City at Turner’s Cross,, while Shelbourne fired four past Waterford at the RSC last Saturday as the Munster women played a historic first home game in the League of Ireland.

While Waterford will go into Saturday night’s encounter on the back of two defeats, they lost on the opening day (2-0) against Treaty Utd at the Markets Field; the Bit O’Red had an encouraging scoreless draw against Bohemians at the Showgrounds.

Manager Steve Feeney was disappointed with the performance last weekend and will be looking for a quick response from his players this Saturday night.

“That’s two games now,, and we haven’t scored. We will have to put that right quickly, but at least we created plenty of chances in Cork. The key now is to finish them,” he commented.

“We are certainly capable of winning the game against Waterford, but that won’t count for anything if we don’t deliver a performance on the pitch.

“We certainly won’t be underestimating the threat that Waterford will pose; we are not in any sort of a position to be doing something like that.

“Apart from the players who are still on the injured list, there are no new concerns from the Cork game. Leah Kelly, Keela Scanlon and Ciara Henry are still a few weeks from returning to action, but everyone else is fine.

“We will have to make sure we have the correct attitude going into the Waterford game; we will have to regroup and make sure we are ready to go on Saturday,” he concluded.

FOCUS ON WATERFORD

That first home game for Waterford was a huge occasion, and a crowd of 1,076 turned up at the RSC, where they were treated to a battling performance that included two penalty saves by talented goalkeeper Maeve Williams.

Waterford were in contention until about 25 minutes from time when Shelbourne managed four goals in a 10-minute spell, one from a penalty with the rest engineered from corners.

Waterford manager Gary Hunt will have taken plenty of positives from his team’s performance against the Dublin women.

“We will dust ourselves down after that game against Shelbourne, and we are looking forward to going to Sligo next Saturday,” commented the manager.

The game will be live on TG4 with kick-off at 7.35pm and free entry to the Showgrounds.

By Conall Collier

Two games into his return to the Women’s Premier Division, Sligo Rovers manager Steve Feeney has certainly experienced the positives and negatives of the new season.

The positives of an opening day draw against a well-regarded Bohemians side were followed by the negatives of a disappointing defeat against Cork City at Turner’s Cross last Saturday.

Since Sligo Rovers entered the League of Ireland, games against Cork City have usually finished with a goal between the sides.

However, the concession of four goals last Saturday delivered a dollop of reality, and Steve was certainly aware that the performance against Cork wasn’t good enough.

“We weren’t good defensively, and Cork punished us, while at the other end we didn’t take our chances,” he commented.

“On the opposite side of that, we probably created more chances against Cork than we did against Bohs, so that would be a positive.

“You could say that the scoreline was a bit harsh, but it really was down to the fact that we didn’t
Take our chances; Cork did and got the win they deserved.

“The previous week against Bohs we were good defensively, and against Cork we weren’t as good; that just about sums up our performance,” he added.

After keeping a clean sheet against Bohemians, the below-par display against Cork was a major concern for the manager.

“We are very disappointed with the type of goals we gave away, especially after looking so solid the previous week, and we will have to address that,” he said.

“I suppose the penalty miss in the 94th minute just about summed up our day, but we have to focus on the next game now, and that’s against Waterford on Saturday,” he concluded.

David Goulden at the Showgrounds 

Michael Duffy scored the only goal of the game as Derry City beat Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds for the first time since 2021.

The game’s deciding goal didn’t come without controversy however as the referee’s assistant had initially ruled the goal out for offside before changing his mind.

The results sees Rovers two points adrift heading into the international break. 

Manager John Russell made two changes from the draw in Cork. Jake Doyle-Hayes and Oskar Van Hattum replacing Matty Wolfe and the injured Owen Elding respectively.

Despite an aggressive start from Rovers, it was the visitors who led this game at the break courtesy of match-winner Duffy. 

The multiple league and cup winner was involved eleven minutes in when he crossed for Liam Boyce who nodded wide. City then had to rely on a clearance from Sam Todd, their only change from their draw with Galway. The former Finn Harps man swept away the danger after Jad Hakiki had lobbed the ball over the oncoming Brian Maher after Reece Hutchinson’s ball had opened up the City rearguard. 

Tiernan Lynch’s men opened the lead on 20 minutes when Sligo’s Oskar Van Hattum conceded a set-piece to Duffy for what may have been interpreted as fair challenge. 

The ex-Dundalk winger’s right-footed free-kick from the left drifted into the opposite corner, untouched. Referee’s assistant Darragh Keenan had initially lifted his flag to rule out the goal, before quickly changing his decision.

Without a win at the Showgrounds since 2021, a record which stretches back to the early days of Ruaidhri Higgins’ reign, City then lost midfielder Sadou Diallo to an arm injury nine minutes from the break, after Duffy’s corner had sliced Conor Walsh’s crossbar.   

Sligo’s main threat came from Hakiki who fired well over on 69 minutes as the sides struggled to create much in a second period without many talking points until the dying moments. 

Substitute Stephen Mallon might have done better with his opportunity on 88 but could only fire straight at Maher who had closed the angle. While the Derry stopper easily dealt with John Mahon’s headed effort from a Hutchinson cross on the stroke of full-time.

Jake Doyle-Hayes was then shown a red card after the final whistle.  

Sligo Rovers: Conor Walsh; Harvey Lintott (Stephen Mallon HT), Ollie Denham, John Mahon, Reece Hutchinson; Connor Malley (Ronan Manning 78), Jake Doyle-Hayes; Oskar Van Hattum, Jad Hakiki, Will Fitzgerald (Francely Lomboto 78); Cian Kavanagh.

Derry City: Brian Maher; Mark Connolly, Hayden Cann, Sam Todd; Ronan Boyce, Ben Doherty; Sadou Diallo (Ciaron Harkin 36), Adam O’Reilly; Dom Thomas (Shane Ferguson HT), Michael Duffy; Liam Boyce (Danny Mullen 69). 

Referee: Rob Hennessy.  

Attendance: 3,712. 

Sligo Rovers will look to extend their unbeaten run against Derry City to six league games when they face the Candystripes at the Showgrounds this Saturday, kick-off 7.45pm.

The Bit O’Red are unbeaten against this weekend’s visitors since July 2023, while August 2021 was the last time Derry overcame Rovers at the Showgrounds. 

Both teams have matching records so far this season with one win and three defeats from their opening four outings. Rovers will bring a two game unbeaten run into Saturday’s tie following victory over Shamrock Rovers and a draw in Cork last Friday. While Derry will arrive in Sligo on the back of a defeat to St Pat’s and a draw with Galway. 

John Russell will be without Wilson Waweru and the suspended Conor Reynolds, who serves the first of a two game ban having been sent off in Turner’s Cross. Russell will have an otherwise full squad to choose from with Jake Doyle-Hayes expected to return to the fold having missed the game on Leeside for personal reasons. 

One player hoping to further impress is full back Reece Hutchinson. The 24-year-old has played every minute of Rovers’ opening five games of the season, scoring in that recent win over Shamrock Rovers. 

Hutchinson says he and his team mates have long put behind them Sligo’s patchy start which saw Rovers lose their first three and are ready to extend their recent good form on Saturday. 

“It was a rough start and everyone in the squad acknowledges that it wasn’t what we expected of ourselves”, he says. 

“We never planned to start with three defeats. But the reaction from the boys has been incredible. We showed a lot of character for a team with so many new players to bounce back the way we have. We’re looking to keep the unbeaten run going now on Saturday.

Looking ahead to Derry, Reece continues: “It’s always tight when we play Derry. They have a lot of talent all over the pitch, but for us it’s about ourselves and what we can do. There’s definitely an advantage there in being at home and we’re looking for another big attendance to replicate the atmosphere we played in against Shamrock Rovers as it gives you such a lift as the game goes on. 

“We showed against Cork that there’s plenty of heart in this group. Being part of the defence, I was disappointed with the amount of goals we conceded in our first three. But we shored things up against both Shamrock and Cork and showed that once we cut out the individual mistakes at the back, we’re a force for anyone as we are really threatening going forward.” 

Having steadied the ship with that impressive win over Shamrock Rovers and followed that result up with a solid point in Cork, Russell says he is expecting a wounded and dangerous Derry to visit Sligo. He has also called for the Sligo sporting public to back the Bit O’Red under the floodlights once more.

“We know how tough it will be and what kind of test Derry will offer”, he warns. 

“They have had a difficult start to the season, are in a hugely false position and we need to expect a backlash as they will be coming to Sligo looking for a win. 

“They have invested in their squad heavily over the winter and have huge strength in all positions. They also have players with international experience and there is no way a squad of their depth will be stuck in their current situation for much longer. 

“We have to be at our best to deal with them on Saturday and that’s why we need a big crowd. We saw over four thousand in for the Shams game and that support got us across the line. We’re hoping for our supporters to come out on Saturday to get behind the team.

David Goulden 

By Conall Collier

Sligo Rovers face the trek to Turner’s Cross to tackle Cork City for the first Women’s Premier Division (WPD) away game of the season on Saturday, kick-off 5pm.

Close encounters between the sides have been the norm, and last season the Bit O’Red achieved a first WPD win with a hard-earned victory in Cork while the Munster women enjoyed a narrow win at the Showgrounds.

Sligo Rovers manager Steve Feeney will be aiming to build on the positives from a scoreless draw last weekend against Bohemian FC as he returns to a venue where the Bit O’Red famously achieved a historic first League of Ireland victory in the debut season in 2022.

“There’s never much between the teams, and I suppose Cork will want to make a good start in their first home game of the season after losing against Peamount Utd in the opener,” Steve stated last weekend.

“They have a new manager this year, and I have no doubt that it will be a close contest, but we have to back up our performance now and show a bit of consistency.

“Paula (McGrory) sat out last week’s scoreless draw against Bohemians; it was a late decision and more of a precaution than anything else.

“Katie (Melly) picked up a knock during the game, but hopefully both will be available for selection, and we should have a couple more players in contention also.

“Hopefully, we will have a full panel to select from, and there is huge competition for places in the starting 11.

“Based on the evidence of the Bohs game, I feel we have a good competitive squad, but we will have to be at our best to get anything out of the game in Cork.

“If we can get another performance like last Saturday and maybe add a little bit to it, then we will be in contention and will have every chance of taking something home with us; three points would be great,” he concluded.

Cork City Focus

New manager Frank Kelleher saw his team lose last Saturday against Peamount Utd as the Dublin women won by 2-0 with both goals scored in the opening 15 minutes.

Saturday’s encounter at PRL Park was a special occasion for Cork City’s Eva Mangan, who made her 100th appearance for the club, and she will pose a serious threat to the Sligo Rovers rearguard on Saturday.

“It was a disappointing start to the season; we conceded the goals in the first 15 minutes, but after that I think we matched Peamount for the remainder,” said the Cork City boss.

“We were denied a goal by a great Amanda Budden save for Peamount before the interval, and again she made a fine save in the 85th minute.

“I’m really looking forward to the first home game now because I think we can take some momentum from our performance against Peamount.

“I think Fia (Fiana Bradley) played very well, and it’s great to see Cathranne (Fitzgerald) in with us, and she had a good debut.

“We were all delighted for Eva (Mangan) to make her 100th appearance; she’s a top-quality player,” he added.

MATCH DETAILS

Cork City v Sligo Rovers will be live on LOITV with kick-off at 5pm on Saturday.

We would like to welcome James Ottewill, CEO and owner of Van Haven, and Dan Duffy – Van Haven Ireland; they are our new Diamond Sponsors at Sligo Rovers.

Van Haven is revolutionizing the way people experience travel and adventure, offering state-of-the-art, sports Combis, business use mobile offices and camper vans that are designed for modern explorers. Each van is equipped with smart technology, premium amenities, and customizable features, making it the perfect home on wheels for weekend getaways or cross-country journeys.

James and team, welcome to Sligo Rovers and thank you for your support.

By Conall Collier

Popular Sligo Rovers player Katie Melly can be described as a young veteran, although she only started her fourth season in the Women’s Premier Division with her hometown club in a scoreless draw against Bohemians at the Showgrounds on Saturday.

That ‘veteran’ tag can be substantiated by the facts: Katie is the only player who started on Saturday for Sligo Rovers and also started in that historic first League of Ireland game back in March 2022 against Peamount Utd.

Now in her fourth League of Ireland season, it has been a memorable journey for the Melly family, who are all avid supporters of the Bit O’Red, and for Katie, who can remember going to the Showgrounds to watch her local team from the age of four or five.

Another claim that Katie, who played under-age with Strand Celtic, can make is that she also started in the club’s historic first victory in March 2022 against Cork City at Turner’s Cross, and the Bit O’Red will travel to the Munster venue this Saturday buoyed by a positive opening to the season.

Talking after last Saturday’s encounter at the Showgrounds, Katie pointed to the experience that the team has now, compared to that first outing at PRL Park in west Dublin a little over three years ago.

“I’m not old enough to be classified as a veteran, but I know what you mean in the sense that I played in the first game, and I’m really pleased to continue playing, but it was tough going against Bohemians, and I got a bit of a knock near the end,” she commented.

“We have a bit more stability about us now, a bit more experience, even for the younger players, whereas for that first game against Peamount, it was a real journey into the unknown for us.

“At this stage most of us know what to expect, and it has been all about learning and adapting, trying to improve with each game, and now, in our fourth season, we can have a bit of confidence about ourselves,” she added.

Katie is very proud to play for her local club at the highest level, but it has taken a lot of effort, commitment, and determination on her behalf and her parents, who used to drive her to training locally and then to Castlebar when she was recruited as a 16-year-old by the Mayo side.

“It’s great to get the first game of the new season out of the way, and I’m really enjoying playing, but our squad is very competitive, and no one is guaranteed a starting position,” she stated.

“We had a preseason of seven weeks, lots of training, and games in preparation for the new campaign, and I felt we gave a good performance against Bohemians and showed what we are capable of.

“We got a point on the board and the next target is to get a victory, we go to Cork on Saturday and there is never much between us, but we have to adopt a positive approach and aim for three points,” she concluded.