Sligo Rovers play their penultimate home league game of the season on Friday night as Dundalk visit The Showgrounds, kick-off 7.45pm.

After three weeks without a competitive game, Rovers return to action against the Lilywhites in what is likely to be a tight affair given results so far between the sides.

Each side has an away victory while Dundalk took the spoils in the most recent clash in which Rovers were unfortunate to slip to a 1-0 loss.

In team news Mark Byrne and Gary Boylan are the only absentees. Earlier this month Byrne had keyhole surgery to ensure a full return to fitness in 2024 following his cruciate ligament injury.

Stefan Radosavljevic (Faroe Islands), Nando Pijnaker (New Zealand) and Conor Walsh (Republic of Ireland Under-19s) return from international duty respectively.

Manager John Russell said: “It was not ideal having such a large amount of time without a game. We’ve done our best to spend the time as efficiently as we could. 

“We had two friendly games and plenty of sessions and we’re eager to play the game on Friday night.

“It’s great for me to have the options available in the squad. We had a couple of good performances in recent games and then a good half against Bohs. The second we weren’t at it and we deserved to lose the game because of it. We’re looking to be much more consistent over the 90 minutes on Friday as we were in those previous games. 

“We’ll reflect on everything and pick the starting team but we know in recent home games we’ve been able to call on our bench to good success so we have that available as well.

“We’re delighted be back at home, the Derry game had a brilliant atmosphere and we’re hoping for more of the same. Dundalk are a good side as we’ve seen and I think it’ll be another close game. 

“We want as many points as we can and there’s still four matches to go in the season. We’ve still got plenty to play and a lot of work has gone into it with this group so every game is very important.”

There was heartbreak for Sligo Rovers at a wet Tolka Park on Wednesday night as hosts Shelbourne snatched a 90th minute Women’s Premier Division winning goal from Megan Smyth-Lynch’s speculative effort for a 2-1 victory, writes Conall Collier.

The ball looped over the head of 16-year-old debut ‘keeper Amber Hardy, who had an impressive outing the Bit O’Red. Emma Hansberry was sent-off a minute earlier for a second yellow card.

All that was in contrast to a bright opening half when Hansberry gave Sligo Rovers a third minute ead after a cross from Jodie Loughrey wasn’t cleared properly by Keeve Keenan and Hansberry rifled to the net.

Sligo Rovers defended resolutely for the remainder of the half with Shelbourne going close on 15 minutes when Alex Kavanagh, making her 150th appearance for the Dublin club, tested the quality of the woodwork.

Shelbourne manager Noel King started six of the team that won the FAI Cup semi-final on Saturday, but he brought in two more for the second-half, Smyth Lynch and Hannah Hedaly.

The Dublin women were back on terms three minutes into the second-half when Christie Gray capitalised on a loose ball in the penalty area and the net bulged.

A minute later Sligo Rovers missed a gilt-edged opportunity at the other end and they also could have had a free on the edge of the penalty area, but the referee wasn’t interested.

A draw looked the most likeliest result until that late goal gave Shelbourne a hard-earned victory.

Shelbourne – Courtney Maguire; Keeva Keenan, Pearl Slattery, Leah Doyle, Alex Kavanagh, Jemma Quinn, Nadine Clare, Keri Letmon, Leah Reilly, Christie Gray, Libby Moore.

Subs – Noelle Murray for Kavanagh, Megan Smyth-Lynch for Moore both
70 mins, Hannah Healy for Quinn 71m, Morgan Rees for Clare 78.

Sligo Rovers – Amber Hardy; Alice Lillie, Sarah Kiernan, Eimear Lafferty, Amy Roddy, Emma Hansberry, Lauren Boles, Jodie Loughrey, Emma Doherty, Keri Loughrey.

Subs – Helen Monaghan for J Loughrey 74 mins, Leah Kelly for McGrory 79m, Amy Hyndman for K Loughrey and Jessica Casey for Lafferty both
86m.

Andrew Feakins was appointed the new CEO of Sligo Rovers this afternoon.

Here we ask Andrew about his career so far and becoming the new CEO of the Bit O’ Red.

You can read about his appointment here

Q&A with Andrew Feakins

Q: You’re welcome to the club, Andrew. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

A: Thank you. It’s a great honour. I’m originally from Essex and I’ve been Managing Director and owner of IPS Global Recruitment from over two decades. We’ve placed over 320 port and logistic professionals across 50 countries. The company is well-known in a niche market and very well established in the industry.

Q: How did you end up relocating to Sligo?

A: My wife is from Belgium and our children were born there. We were there for 12 years and were very much part of a European community. We had settled back in the UK after going there for family reasons. But when Brexit happened, I wanted my children to have the rights and opportunities of being in the EU. We decided that Ireland was a great choice and having made several visits, I loved the community feel and the people. Sligo became home because of a school we wanted for my son. We moved to Geevagh and it’s been a great decision for all of us. We immediately felt part of the community.

Q: When the job was advertised, did it immediately appeal?

A: My wife saw the advert and said this was something I simply had to go for. I looked at the description and spec and I knew it was too. I had already attended a number of matches and the history and story of the club is incredible. I firmly believe that the clubs potential is significant. I applied, met the committee officers and members and came through the process. I didn’t know what would transpire and to get the call from Tommy Higgins to offer me the position was like a dream. To work in football is something everyone wants. My wife and others will be taking over my recruitment firm so I can concentrate on Sligo Rovers and its future.

Q: What is your experience in the game?

As a teenager I played at Southend United as a youth player and then played non-league with Grays Athletic and Billericay Town as a semi-professional until I was about 27. My knee wouldn’t let me play beyond that unfortunately. I began to focus on my working life in business after that. It will take some time to become familiar with working in football and that will be a learning curve, but I do feel I’ll quickly pick it up. I’ve always harboured the desire to be involved in football and the passion I have for it will make it easier to get a grip on it. 

Q: So you’ve already had an experience of sport in Sligo.

Yes. I have been a coach at youth levels in a number of sports because it is a passion. I’ve been helping out coaching youth sides at Arrow Harps (football), Shamrock Gaels (Gaelic) and Sligo Rugby. I love football and to work in it is really special. My job of course requires an understanding of football but really I am responsible to support John Russell, Steve Feeney and Conor O’Grady because they lead the way in terms of football. My responsibility is to do whatever I can to make their task easier. A crucial aspect of that is having the resources to do their work. Budget is all-important of course so I know it’s up to me and indeed everyone to maximise commercial opportunities so we can to put the best teams out on the pitch.

Q: What will you do now you’ve started the role?

The first three to four months is going to be a significant learning curve to get to know everyone within the club, the day to day, how things are done, working with the FAI, other clubs and understanding, really, the  DNA of Rovers. I’ve seen the commitment of the volunteers, what they all do, so I need to plan how I can support them going forward.

And of course, just understanding where the club is looking to go. Clearly European qualification is very valuable to the club. The development plans for the stadium was also a key factor in my desire to take on the challenge. That is can create a bright future for the club.

But, ultimately, my job as I see it is to really be a support person to John Russell and all the teams that are here, the volunteers, and just try and help everyone to get their jobs done in the best possible way and provide as much help and guidance as possible.

Q: What’s something which appeals to you early on?

The opportunity! My goal is to communicate to the community and companies out there, about the incredible possibilities they have when it comes to investment and sponsorship of Sligo Rovers. There are excellent opportunities for them in getting their brand out there for local and national exposure.

And even international exposure, as we saw in beating Motherwell in 2022. There is already fantastic support and I aim to develop the commercial value to the sponsors, the community and ultimately the club itself. Needless to say, this has to sit hand in hand with the fact that we are truly a community club, in the hands of the supporters.

I’m am excited to bring my commercial acumen to the club, I’ve spent most of my life in the commercial environment.

I feel that improving our digital media output will be beneficial to the club and sponsors. That’s a massive growth area and excellent for fan engagement. As I said earlier, in the interview process, I shared some thoughts and ideas with the committee.

Q: How do you feel you’ll cope with working with a club with such a strong volunteer ethos?

It’s important to learn from those that have held the role before. Colin Feehily has an incredible reputation within the club. He’s come all the way through and was clearly, a very skilled individual when it came to knowing the club, knowing what needed to be done. I can see the club was in great hands under his stewardship.

I hope I can pick up the baton he ran with and also add my own strengths for the good of the club. I have the utmost respect for the volunteers. They are the glue that holds the club together and I hope to get even more on board with the help of the committee. It will be needed.

Q: Friday will be your first night officially in the role. Crowds have been strong all year. Are you looking forward to it?

A: Of course. From what I’ve seen, the supporters turn up, week in, week out.  That’s in the good and bad times, good and bad weather, you name it. Maintaining a committed supporter base is essential for this club.

As a community club, we need the community come out and support their local team. We also need to make it an attractive place to come. The committee have done a lot of good work with the stadium and telling the story. We have our long-term plan with the stadium redevelopment but that’s down the road.

Fans play a massive part in everything from the lotto, 500 club, programme purchases, merchandise all these elements feed into the, not just survival, but hopefully the growth of the club going forward.

Q: You have been on the ground already the last few days. How has it been?

It’s been overwhelming. You know, I have to say quite honestly, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect coming in.

I have seen the enthusiasm, clear motivation and drive from everyone involved, from the committee right through to all of the volunteers that are turning up every single day to make this club what is, it is just quite incredible how much commitment there is and a goodwill in the club.

When you’ve got that sort of support, it’s humbling to come into a place where people are putting in so much in their own time.

The staff that are employed here are also so dedicated. There’s always someone working here, first thing in the morning to last thing at night.

I’m going to be doing the same. There’s no doubt that the club deserves a great deal of success just purely based on the commitment of so many people. My job will be to make sure we’re all working in unison to try to get there.

Q: Any final message for now?

To the fans, the club needs you and thanks you for your support. I will work hard to get familiar with everything and everyone. There isn’t time to waste so I will be immersing myself in the club activities. I want to get as much knowledge as I can and just build on the fantastic football club we have here already. Up the Rovers!

Sligo Rovers can confirm the appointment of Andrew Feakins as the club’s new Chief Executive Officer.

Formerly Managing Director of IPS Global Recruitment, an Executive Search firm in the port and logistic sector, Andrew now takes over as the new CEO of the Bit O’ Red, beginning the role this week.

Having established and run IPS successfully for over two decades, Andrew relocated to Ireland from Britain three years ago, becoming part of the community in County Sligo with his family.

Following a thorough process in appointing a new CEO, he emerged as the successful candidate to lead Rovers going forward. 

Sligo Rovers chairman Tommy Higgins said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Andrew to Sligo Rovers.

“I believe Andrew can add a new element to the operations at the club. He is eager, enthusiastic and has already demonstrated an understanding of what the club is about and how we can move forward. 

“His experience in the commercial and business world will be an asset to us going forward and something we will utilise.

“I know he will receive tremendous support from the staff, volunteers, supporters and everyone at the club.”

New Sligo Rovers CEO Andrew Feakins commented: “It’s a great honour to become CEO of Sligo Rovers and a responsibility I do not take lightly.

“I know I have a big task ahead and I can’t tell you how excited I am to begin working at the club.

“I have great admiration for the role Sligo Rovers plays in the community and my aim is to develop that aspect even further. I believe in fan engagement, community engagement and even in these early days I have nothing but respect and pride in what the volunteers do at the club.

“I can see how committed and dedicated the staff are and my role is to provide the conditions and tools for everyone to do their work at the club to the best of their ability. That is for the board, the football management of the male and females sides, the academies, the volunteers and the staff.

“I’ve shared some initial thoughts in terms of growth of sponsorship for the club, relationship development and a general progression of Sligo Rovers, with the committee. I will keep these close to my chest for now but I can assure you that the work will begin as soon as possible.

“I look forward to get to know everyone and play my part in trying to maximise what Sligo Rovers already is and can be in the future.”

Sligo Rovers are back in action on Friday night in The Showgrounds as Dundalk FC visit for the penultimate game of the season.

The match kicks-off at 7.45pm with supporters asked to note this is a Friday fixture.

Match tickets are available here

Our final home game of the season against Drogheda United on Saturday 28 October will kick-off at the earlier time of 6pm.

Three games unbeaten is new territory for Sligo Rovers, but they won’t get carried away with this 3-3 draw against Cork City in the Women’s Premier Division at the Showgrounds on Saturday evening, writes Conall Collier.

The Bit O’Red went in at the interval with a 3-0 advantage, but six second-half minutes of defensive lapses gifted Cork City a lifeline.

The first-half goals set the Bit O’Red up for what looked like a victory with a brace from Emma Doherty and a Casey Howe penalty, but there were warning signs also during that opening 45 minutes.

The first goal arrived in the 18^th minute. Alice Lillie received the ball at the edge of the Cork penalty area from a corner and her centre was headed to the net by Doherty.

It was a deserved lead after the hosts forced a series of corners and it got better seven minutes later when the second goal arrived.

Once again Lillie was involved, this time she was impeded in the penalty area and Howe confidently converted the resultant spot kick.

However, sitting on a two-goal advantage saw the Bit O’Red produce some less than impressive defending and Cork City went close on a couple of occasions, but failed to hit the target.

Then the hill got very steep for the Munster women in first-half added time when another corner wasn’t cleared and Doherty got the necessary touch for her second and that 3-0 interval advantage.

However, 10 minutes into the second-half the Cork women found the net when Laura Shine finished after a free rebounded off the post.

That gave Cork a major lift and they surged forward with Kiera Sena finding the net two minutes later and the equaliser arrived direct from a corner in the 61^st minute when Alex Mendez floated the ball into the net.

That left the hosts under pressure for the remaining 30 minutes, but they stood strong and almost fashioned a winner when Katie Melly’s header in added time was cleared off the line by a Cork defender.

Cork also had chances to win it, but in what turned into a scrappy encounter, the visitors deserved a point for the way they battled back from what looked like an impossible position at half-time.

Sligo Rovers – Bonnie McKiernan; Leah Kelly, Alice Lillie, Sarah Kiernan, Eimear Lafferty, Emma Hansberry, Lauren Boles, Keri Loughrey, Casey Howe, Jodie Loughrey, Emma Doherty. Subs – Paula McGrory for J Loughrey half-time, Katie Melly for K Loughrey 68 mins.

Cork City – Clodagh Fitzgerald; Lauren Walsh, Ciara McNamara, Alex Mendez, Keira Sena, Ellie O’Brien, Shaunagh McCarthy, Eva Mangan, Christina Dring, Heidi Mackin, Laura Shine. Subs – Fiana Bradley for Walsh half-time, Aoibhinn Donnelly for Sena and Heidi O’Sullivan for Dring both 65 mins.