Sligo Rovers had five academy fixtures take place over the weekend with everyone bar our Under 14 side in action on either Saturday or Sunday.

The weekend kicked off with a home game against Athlone Town for our Under 17 Womens team. Ella Vahey scored for Rovers but the visitors ran out 3-1 winners.

Our Under 17 Men’s team drew 1-1 at home to Kerry at The Sean Fallon Centre. Conor Cannon had given Rovers the lead but a late goal from the away team meant the points were shared.

On Sunday our Under 15’s defeated Bray at The Sean Fallon Centre thanks to goals from Under 14 player Jack Nicholson, his first at Under 15 level and Reuben Gillespie. This made it two wins in a row for Paul Masterson’s side.

Our Under 19 Mens team took on Cork City on The Showgrounds main pitch and goals from Kailin Barlow, Eanna Clancy and Niall Holohan secured a 3-1 win and three points.

Our Under 19 Womens team faced Galway away from home in Dangan. It was the second week in a row to play Galway after last week’s home win. Goals from Katie Maguire and Alicia Hogge weren’t enough as the hosts won 3-2 in a tight encounter.

Our 2022 Annual Draw is well underway as our ticket sellers are out and about in the local community selling tickets door to door.

Our volunteer sellers wish to thank the people of Sligo and surrounding areas for their kindness and support of the draw so far.

How can you help?

Buy a ticket:

You can buy a ticket online at https://srfcdirect.com/annual-draw-ticket/ Here you can buy one ticket or a book of ten tickets.

Take a book to sell:

You can take a book (or more) to sell on behalf of the club to your friends or work colleagues. Contact the club on 0719171212 or email colinfeehily@sligorovers.com who will assist you with this.

Take a book for your business:

Have a business where you can sell some tickets for us? We sell full books of ten tickets to businesses for €100 and in turn each business gets entered into a draw to win a pitch-side sign at The Showgrounds for the 2023 season.

Businesses can keep the tickets themselves, offer them to customers as a thank you or sell them at the counter, meaning if you sell all ten tickets, you’re in the draw for free.

This year all proceeds from the draw are going toward our Showgrounds Development plans.

We seen this season with our European games what can be done here in Sligo and we want more.

Our Annual Draw takes place on Saturday October 1st at The Showgrounds at our Shamrock Rovers game.

Sligo Rovers travelled to Finn Park on Friday night in The SSE Airtricity League for a North-West Derby against Finn Harps.

Harps started the game bottom of the table, with Rovers sitting in fifth spot, four points behind St Patrick’s Athletic.

Manager John Russell was without defenders Garry Buckley and Colm Horgan but welcomed back Aidan Keena in attack which came as a welcome boost for Rovers.

There was just one change from the team from the previous game with St. Pats last Sunday, with Frank Liivak dropping to the bench and Karl O’ Sullivan coming into the team in his place, to face his former club.

Rovers started brightly and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty in the opening moments. O’ Sullivan crossed from the right and Max Mata poked the ball toward goal only to be denied by the arm of a Harps’ defender but referee Rob Hennessy didn’t give it and play continued.

The home side picked up some early bookings with Ryan Ryan and Ryan Connolly both yellow carded inside the opening ten minutes before manager Ollie Horgan was dismissed from the line for dissent.

Soon after however, Harps took the lead. The ball broke to Barry McNamee around thirty yards out from goal and he set himself and unleashed an unstoppable effort into the far top corner via the upright past Luke McNicholas.

The Bit O’ Red tried to get back into the game and had half chances through O’ Sullivan, Will Fitzgerald and Aidan Keena but it was the hosts who doubled their lead on 37 minutes when Gary Boylan’s corner was headed to the net by Ryan Rainey from close range.

The sides went in at the break with Harps two goals to the good and Rovers with a mountain to climb but the deficit was halved inside the opening two minutes of the second half. Harps had a long throw in on the right in line with the edge of Rovers’ penalty area. Ethan Boyle’s throw was cleared and Karl O’ Sullivan broke forward at pace. He reached half way and slid the ball across to Aidan Keena who ran toward goal. Keena found himself inside the box one on one with James McKeown and cooly lifted the ball over the advancing goalkeeper to score.

It was all Rovers at this point and it looked as if they would get back on level terms during the second half with plenty of possession and half chances but the game turned again on 67 minutes. Ryan Rainey had the ball inside the Rovers’ area and Will Fitzgerald was deemed to have fouled him and referee Hennessy pointed to the spot. Replays suggest the decision was extremely harsh but Harps extended their lead once again through Ryan Connolly from the spot.

John Russell introduced Frank Liivak for Will Fitzgerald soon after and the Estonian won his side a penalty on 81 minutes after being fouled just inside the box by Ethan Boyle. Aidan Keena smashed the penalty home to make it an interesting last ten minutes or so.

Sub Kailin Barlow, brought on for Lewis Banks found himself free at the back post but he couldn’t find the net as his header was straight at McKeown.

Shane Blaney went close with a free kick from the edge of the area and Keena went close once again but it wasn’t to be and Harps ran out 3-2 winners, a win which saw them come off the bottom of the table after their close rivals UCD were beaten by St Pat’s, a result which didn’t suit Rovers either.

Next up is a home game against second placed Dundalk at The Showgrounds next Monday night at 7.45pm (August 29th)

Cork City struck a late winner to get the better of Sligo Rovers by 3-2 in the Women’s National League at Turner’s Cross on Saturday in an exciting contest.

The hosts enjoyed the better of the first-half exchanges, but had to settle for parity at the interval after the sides exchanged goals in the space of three minutes.

Cork City hit the front in the 13th minute when the impressive Laura Shine found the net, but the Bit O’Red reacted positively and were back on level terms in the 16th minute when a Paula McGrory shot beat home ‘keeper Abby McCarthy.

The play moved from end-to-end and Emma Doherty went close with a good effort for the Bit O’Red while for Cork, Laura Shine was a constant threat and had a great chance in the 32nd minute, but was denied by the post.

At the other end a Paul McGrory header from a corner hit the Cork post as Sligo Rovers went in search of a lead goal.

However, Cork City almost found the net close to the interval, but Christina
Dring failed to capitalise on some defensive hesitancy by the visitors and it
remained level at the half-time.

Eleven minutes into the second-half Amy Mahon came to the rescue for the Bit O’Red with a smart save to deny Nadine Seward who looked certain to score.

There was a swift reaction from Sligo Rovers when Paula McGrory claimed her second goal. She won possession inside the Cork penalty area and was totally composed as she sidestepped a defender and fired into the far corner on the hour.

The lead lasted all of seven minutes and Cork were back on terms when Becky Cassin got on the end of a long ball over the top and finished to the net.

Soon after there was a yellow card for Cork City manager Danny Murphy from referee David Connolly.

On the pitch, Cork had a great chance just narrowly wide from Lauren Walsh while Sarah Kiernan tested the ability of Cork custodian Abby McCarthy from a free.

With three minutes remaining Cork City hit the front when Eva Mangan fired to the net from a well-struck free from the edge of the penalty area to give the Munster women a first win of the season against the Bit O’Red.

Cork City – Abby McCarthy; Danielle Burke, Zara Foley, Heidi Mackin, Nadine Seward, Christine Dring, Aoibhin Donnelly, Laura Shine, Becky Cassin, Eva Mangan, Lauren Walsh.
Subs – Orlaith Deasy for Donnelly and Fiona Bradley for Dring both 66 mins, Ciara McNamara for Seward 75m, Aoife Cronin for Shine 87m

Sligo Rovers – Amy Mahon; Leah Kelly, Orna O’Dowd, Amy Lauren Boles, Emma Doherty, Kerri O’Hara, Paula McGrory, Amy Boyle-Carr, Sarah Kiernan, Helen  Monaghan, Aife Haran. Subs – Aoife Brennan for Haran 63 mins, Fiona Doherty for O’Hara 75m, Lauren McLellan for Monaghan 86m.

Referee – David Connolly.

Our Academy teams are all in action this weekend bar our Under 14’s who have the weekend off with a break in their fixture schedule.

On Saturday there are two games taking place at Sean Fallon Centre with our Under 17 Men and Women’s teams both in action.

At 12pm our Under 17 Womens team host Athlone Town. It will be the first home outing of our new kit sponsored by Avenue Mould Solutions.

At 3pm, Our Under 17 Mens team host Kerry. The sides met recently in Kerry with the hosts winning 2-1 on the day.

On Sunday, our Under 19 Men’s side host Cork City at 3pm on The Showgrounds main pitch in the Under 19 league.

Our Womens Under 19s are in Dangan to play Galway at 2pm. The sides met last Sunday also, with Rovers winning 4-2 at home.

Our Under 15s host Shelbourne at 2pm at The Sean Fallon Centre. The lads had an impressive 4-1 win in Kildare last weekend.

#bitored

Sligo Rovers make the long journey to Turner’s Cross on Saturday for a showdown with Cork City in the Women’s National League.

Sligo Rovers manager Steve Feeney will be looking for the form that saw his team record a victory over Shelbourne in front of the TG4 cameras at the Showgrounds at the end of July and two wins against the Cork women already this season.

The Cork women are Without a victory since they defeated Treaty Utd in June, but that will not count for much between two evenly-matched teams that both lost last week and also exited the FAI Cup at the quarter-final stage the previous week.

Cork City lost narrowly (1-2) to Athlone Town last week, but were unlucky not to take something from the game.

Athlone took an 18th minute lead through Madison Gibson, but the equaliser for Cork came in the 55th minute from Christina Dring.

Athlone were awarded a penalty soon after, but Abby McCarthy saved from Emily Corbet, but in the 74th minute Madison Gibson hit the winner. Cork also lost to Athlone in the Cup.

Sligo Rovers conceded an early goal against Bohemian FC last week and a second goal for the Dublin side arrived close to full-time. The Bit O’Red also lost to Bohemian FC in the Cup.

A lot of similarities there between the two teams, but the Bit O’Red will take positives from an impressive display last May and a 2-0 victory against Cork.

On that occasion it was a first clean sheet for the Bit O’Red as early and late goals earned victory at the Showgrounds.

It was another solid display by the Bit O’Red with an impressive showing from the defence and goalkeeper Amy Mahon.

There was a dream start for Sligo Rovers with July player of the month recipient Emma Doherty heading the hosts into a first minute lead while Gemma McGuinness hit the second goal.

Although he was disappointed with the defeat by Bohemian FC last weekend, there was a positive reaction from Bit O’Red manager Steve Feeney as he turned his focus to the trip to Turner’s Cross.

“It was a disappointing result, but I couldn’t fault the players in terms of effort and the young players who have come through the Academy were excellent,” he stated.

“Cork City have changed the way they are playing since Danny Murphy went in (as manager) and it will be another tough game.

“We will want to show that we are better than what we produced against Bohs and there won’t be much in it,” he added.


LAST TIME – 21st MAY, Sligo Rovers 2-0 Cork City

Now into his second season with Sligo Rovers after signing from Doncaster Rovers last season, defender Shane Blaney is enjoying the current campaign having shaken off his injury woes from last year to become a regular in the first team:

“I am loving it and it is all going very well for me at the moment. The past few weeks, indeed the past couple of months have been great. Last season was tough with the injury I picked up ruling me out of actions for a few weeks halfway through the season. I had a Lisfranc fracture in my foot and it was hard coming back from that so that was a rough patch. But this season I was prepared better for it and was looking forward to getting going.”

Blaney played a key role in the Europa Conference League Qualifiers against Bala Town and Motherwell, part of the team that earned a crucial 1-0 win away from home in the First Leg before scoring a sublime free kick in the Second Leg at home to give Rovers an early lead on the night before winning the game 2-0.

“Yeah look we knew that we should have given a better account of ourselves in the FH games last season. So going into this season’s ones we had a chip on our shoulder. We shouldn’t have come away from both of those games against FH with two losses and wanted to have a better run this season and we have had that.”

One of Rovers great success stories has been the advancement of players through the club’s underage sides as the club continues to develop its academy. This has proved to be a mixed blessing as before the season Johnny Kenny signed for Celtic and John Mahon for St. Johnstone and recently Ed McGinty signed for Oxford United. Blaney feels that this is the new normal for clubs in the League with teams in England Scotland realising how talented the players here are:

“Aye, yeah it is tough but that is just the game that we are in at the moment. We’re not unique, a lot of the other teams in the league are in the same position in losing their better young players to teams from England and Scotland and European ones. Those leagues have realised there are some really talented players in the League here and that they can get them at good prices. As a player it is great for the rest of us and makes it really exciting going forward. As a team in the League you have to deal with it and it is part of life now and every team seems to be losing a fair few players. If you look at Ed, what an incredible keeper and what a way to sign off his time with us after the penalty shoot-out against Bala. We are all in the same boat when it comes to him in that he is a top, top, top keeper and he will go further than the level he has gone to.”

Blaney has made 24 appearances so far this season and may make his 25^th in a North-West Derby against his former club Finn Harps on Friday night in Ballybofey.

By Keith O’ Dwyer

Sligo Rovers Heritage Group is inviting Rovers fans and the wider community to visit the Showgrounds Outdoor Museum during Heritage Week 2022, which runs from 13^th – 21^st August.

Members of the Heritage Group will be in attendance at an ‘Open Day’ between 10am and 4pm on Sunday 21^st August to guide visitors around the museum and to explain the fascinating background stories to many of the exhibits.

The Museum is the first of its kind in the country, and was funded by the EU Peace IV Programme. The facility is made up of 100 panels located throughout the ground, detailing the stories of the people who have been central to the club’s history.

Given the important role played by the club in the community, it also represents a social history of Sligo over the last 90+ years. The aim in developing the museum is to demonstrate the diverse and inclusive history of Sligo Rovers.

The club has a rich tradition of attracting managers, players and volunteers from abroad, particularly England and Scotland. Sligo Rovers has always been a welcoming club, and many who came to play made Sligo their home.

According to Chair of the Heritage Group Aidan Mannion :

‘Heritage Week present an opportunity for people to gain an insight into our past and to discover more about the fascinating characters and legends who made their unique contribution to this special club.  The museum is an evolving facility, and we will be adding to the exhibits in the years ahead. Our ultimate ambition us to house the many artefacts and mementoes in the possession of the Heritage Group in a new museum which forms part of the Showgrounds Masterplan.’

Museum Project Team

Management: Sligo Rovers Heritage Group

Funded by: Peace IV Programme

Panel Design: Daragh Stuart

Panel manufacture: Ballast Signs

Sligo Rovers are back in action once again tomorrow as we travel to Dublin to take on St Patrick’s Athletic in Inchicore at 5pm.

The game is Rovers’ 11^th fixture in six weeks having gone through a busy European and Domestic run.

Rovers have won two games in a row having defeated Bohemians in the league last Sunday and Viking in The Europa Conference League Third Round Qualifier Second Leg on Thursday evening.

Manager John Russell looks forward to the game:

‘’It is a big game tomorrow evening.

‘’St Pats are a good side and sit just above us in the table so we know we’ll have to be at our best to get a result.

‘’We come into the game in good form. It’s important we build on our recent performances. 

‘’We’re expecting big away support tomorrow. Our fans have been fantastic this year and we hope we can put on a top performance for them’’.

In team news, Garry Buckley is sidelined for a number of months with a serious knee injury. Colm Horgan and Seamas Keogh remain out with long term muscle injuries while Russell will need to assess his squad over the weekend before making a final decision on a number of players who are carrying knocks, including David Cawley and Aidan Keena who missed Thursday’s game.

The game kicks off at 5pm and tickets can be bought on the turnstiles.

The game is live on LOI TV

Sligo Rovers and Bohemian FC renewed rivalry today at The Showgrounds in the Women’s National League just seven days after an absorbing FAI Cup encounter at Dalymount Park that the Dublin women won by 3-1.

This time around Bohemian FC took the spoils with a hard-earned, but well-deserved 2-0 victory with a tremendous duel between Kerri O’Hara for the Bit O’Red and Bohs speedster Abbie Brophy a highlight of the afternoon.

There was hardly a minute on the clock when Bohemian FC hit the front from a well-taken Niamh Prior goal that left the hosts reeling.

Then Lisa Murphy had a shot from distance for Bohs in the 14th minute that skimmed the top of the crossbar much to the relief of Sligo Rovers ‘keeper Amy Mahon.

Bohs continued to press and in the 22nd minute Abbie Brophy was denied by another smart Amy Mahon save.

Mahon was kept busy for the remainder of the half with some respite from the water break, but the Mayo teenager was equal to anything Bohs had to offer with one particularly smart save that denied Chloe Darby in the 35th minute.

Mahon was in action again seconds after the resumption as Bohs continued to press the hosts and Erica Burke also had a good chance, but Sarah Kiernan averted the danger.

Emma Doherty had a half chance for the Bit O’Red on the hour, but she picked up a yellow card for her challenge on Bohs goalkeeper Rachael Kelly in her effort to get on the ball.

Sligo came more into the game after the second water break and Emma Doherty blazed wide in the 81st minute.

At the other end Amy Mahon produced another good save, but from the resultant corner Abbie Brophy pounced on the loose ball and rifled to the net from close range to seal the 2-0 victory in front of an official attendance of 309.

Sligo Rovers – Amy Mahon; Leah Kelly, Emma Hansberry, Orna O’Dowd, Lauren Boles, Emma Doherty,Kerri O’Hara, Paula McGrory, Sarah Kiernan, Jessica Casey, Aife Haran. Subs – Aoife Brennan for Hansberry and Helen Monaghan for Casey both 57 mins, Ciara Henry for Haran 68m,


Bohemian FC – Rachael Kelly, Kate Burdis, Isobal Finnegan, Lisa Murphy, Kira Bates-Crosbie, Erica Burke, Chloe Darby, Abbie Brophy, Rachel Doyle, Katie Lovely, Niamh Prior. Subs – Ann Marie Byrne for Burdis and Erin Phelan for Bates-Crosbie both 73 mins, Aoife Robinson for Prior 77m, Bronagh Kane for Burke 88m.

Referee – Sean Stephens.
Assistant-referees – Richard Storey, Keenan Deering.
Fourth official – Rob Dowling.