Sligo Rovers host St. Patrick’s Athletic on Friday night at The Showgrounds in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division.

Rovers come into the game on the back of a 2-2 draw away to Drogheda United last week, having lead 2-0 and controlled large periods of the game.

St. Patrick’s Athletic most recently played a friendly against Cliftonville last Saturday following their Europa Conference League exit a fortnight ago and an FAI Cup win over Longford Town.

The Bit O’ Red must now do without the services of striker Max Mata who earlier completed a move to English League One side Shrewsbury Town.

Fabrice Hartmann is expected to play some part in the game following his return to the club on loan from RB Leipzig. Hartmann trained this week with his Bit O’ Red team-mates and could start.

Manager John Russell takes the positives of recent weeks into Friday’s game:

‘’It was disappointing to come away with only a draw last weekend as the players showed a good reaction after the cup defeat.

‘’Tomorrow night we welcome an in-form St Pats side to the Showgrounds. Our previous games against them have been tight encounters so we’re expecting another difficult game.

‘’It’s important we build on our last two home performances where we took maximum points. We are eager to try and build some momentum and with players starting to return to full fitness this will only enhance our chances’’.

Tickets for the game can be purchased on the gate on the night from 6.30pm or online in advance on srfcdirect.com

Russell is hoping for a good Showgrounds support as we go in search of our third straight home win:

‘’I was delighted to bring Fabrice back to the club and he has given everyone a real lift. He is a player of immense quality and is exactly the type of player we need in the final third.

‘’We’re hoping our supporters turn out in their numbers tomorrow night. They have been with us through the ups and downs this season and we need them now more than ever’’.

In team news, as announced earlier in the week, Will Fitzgerald is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a groin injury along with Garry Boylan who continues to recover from an ACL injury. Mark Byrne is still a few weeks away from a return.

Karl O’ Sullivan is back in the squad after his ankle injury and James Finnerty and Garry Buckley have shown no ill effects after their return in the last couple of weeks and are fit to play.

John Mahon is a doubt with illness but, it is hoped he will recover in time for the game.

Richard Brush and Daniel Lafferty are suspended for the next 2 and 3 games respectively.

Sligo Rovers can confirm that Max Mata has today completed a permanent transfer to Shrewsbury Town in the English Football League for an undisclosed fee.

Mata arrived at The Showgrounds ahead of the 2022 season and has since made 58 appearances for the Bit O’ Red, scoring 19 goals.

At present, Mata is joint highest scorer in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division with 11 goals.

The New Zealander has enjoyed his time at the club and has said that he will forever hold the club in his heart:

”Sligo is a place I will never forget with people who I will always hold dear to my heart, especially at Sligo Rovers. I know I will always have the Bit O’ Red with me in my life. 

”Thank you all very much for my time with the Club, I have appreciated the moments when things went well and the moments that were tough.

”You are loyal supporters who stood by us when we needed it most and for that I am forever grateful”.

Everyone at Sligo Rovers would like to wish Max all the best in his future career and we thank him for his service to the club.

Sligo Rovers can confirm that Daniel Lafferty’s six match suspension has been reduced to 4 matches following a successful appeal from the club today.

Daniel was sent-off against Drogheda United on Friday July 21st in the FAI Cup First Round and following this and taking into account the match official’s report, a six-match ban was handed out.

Sligo Rovers have not commented on the matter publicly due to the fact that an appeal was lodged last week and we felt it necessary to allow this run its course before making any comment.

The club felt this decision was extremely disappointing and submitted a formal appeal along with video evidence of the incident and the aftermath of the incident today at the FAI’s Disciplinary Control Unit’s appeal hearing.

Following this hearing, the FAI have confirmed that Daniel’s suspension has now been reduced to four games and he will return to the Rovers squad for our game against Cork City on September 1st.

We wish to thank the FAI, the DCU and the Appeals Committee for their assistance on this matter.

Sligo Rovers can confirm that winger Will Fitzgerald is expected be out of action for the rest of the 2023 season following a significant groin injury sustained in training recently.

Fitzgerald will now undergo surgery on the injury and we wish him the best in his recovery.

Keep strong, Will.

Sligo Rovers’ next Men’s home fixture is this coming Friday night at The Showgrounds against St. Patrick’s Athletic.

The game kicks off at 7.45pm.

The game was originally scheduled for Saturday evening, however the League moved it forward 24 hours as it will be shown Live on RTE 2.

Tickets for the game can be bought online in advance on srfcdirect.com or simply on the turnstiles on the night from 6.30pm.

Fabrice Hartmann has returned to the club on loan and is expected to feature in the match squad for the big game.

The Bit O’ Red Academy had four games this past weekend on another wet and wintery couple of days.

On Saturday, our Under 17 Womens team travelled East to Oriel Park to play Dundalk.

An entertaining game saw four goals scored in a 2-2 draw, with McKenzie Reynolds and Anna McDaniel on target for Rovers.

Our Under 14’s had a tough day at the office, suffering an 8-0 defeat in Dublin against UCD.

It was the side’s first defeat since June 3rd and one they will bounce back from.

Sunday saw our Under 15 side host Dundalk at The Sean Fallon Centre on a rain soaked afternoon.

An own-goal meant Rovers shared the points with the Louth side.

Our Under 19 Womens side suffered their first defeat since May 21st with a 5-0 defeat at The Showgrounds against Shelbourne.

On Tuesday night, our Under 17 Men’s team are in Cup action away to Derry City at 7pm in Aileach.

The 500 Club members draw for June was made recently by the 500 Club Committee.

These monthly draws see ten members drawn each month for cash prizes, with the top prize being €500.

The 500 Club continues to be one of the club’s most important Fundraisers and we thank the 500 Club committee for their continued hard work.

The following are the winners for June:

1st: €500 – Seamus Gilmartin, Grange, Co. Sligo

2nd: €100 – Paul Mulligan, Rosehill, Sligo.

3rd: €100 – Ben/Abigail Crossan, Rathcormac, Co. Sligo

4th: €100 – Pat McCormack, St. Josephs Terrace, Sligo

5th: €100 – Frank Feighan, Strandhill Rd, Sligo.

6th: €100 – Veronica Drury, Calry, Co. Sligo.

7th: €100 – Jane Nugent, Ballygawley, Co. Sligo.

8th: €100 – Allen Banks, Ballisodare, Co. Sligo.

9th: €100 – Paul Higgins, Monkstown, Co. Dublin.

10th: €100 – John Verdon, Greenfort Estate, Sligo.

We wish to thank all our 500 Club members for their continued support and our 500 Club Committee.

Sligo Rovers are thrilled to announce the re-signing of Fabrice Hartmann on loan until June 30th 2024 from German Bundesliga giants RB Leipzig.

Hartmann had spent the first months of the 2023 season at The Showgrounds before returning to Germany to undergo a rehabilitation programme at his parent club after sustaining a hamstring injury in May.

Hartmann is now returning to full fitness and will go straight into John Russell’s squad for next Friday’s crunch game against St. Patrick’s Athletic at The Showgrounds.

Rovers boss John Russell is happy to have the German back in Sligo:

“I’m delighted to bring Fabrice back to the club again.

“He is a player of immense quality. I felt he was just getting into his stride before his injury so to have him back with us is exciting.

“He makes the difference in the final third with his ability to create chances and score goals.

“I’m sure our supporters will be excited by this news”.

The 22-year-old winger has said he’s excited to be back at The Showgrounds:

“I am really happy to extend my loan at Sligo Rovers.

“I want to thank the manager, John Russell for the trust that he’s given me.

“Im looking forward to getting more minutes and helping the team as much as I can for the rest of the season and next”.

Hartmann will once again wear the number 11 jersey for the Bit O’ Red for the rest of the season.

Sligo Rovers made the trip to Drogheda to take on Drogheda United at Weavers Park in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division on Friday night.

Manager John Russell was without the suspended Daniel Lafferty and Richard Brush who were both sent off in last week’s FAI Cup defeat at the same venue.

Frank Liivak was replaced by Lukas Browning and David Cawley captained the side in his 300th competitive appearance in place of Lafferty.

Rovers started well and kept some good possession in the opening spells with the hosts looking dangerous on the counter attack.

Just as Drogheda looked to get a foothold in the game, Rovers took the lead on a break of their own.

Kailin Barlow found space on the right hand side before prodding the ball in behind toward the on running Cawley who fired off the upright with goalkeeper Andrew Wogan beaten.

The shot came back out into the danger zone and Stefan Radosavljevic did well to keep the rebound down and fire in the opening goal.

The home side again looked to get forward at every opportunity but chances were few and far between and the Bit O’ Red lead at the break.

John Mahon was replaced at half time due to illness and Barlow picked up a minor ankle injury and both were replaced by Garry Buckley and Frank Liivak respectively.

Rovers started the second half well and looked to take control of the game when Johan Brannefalk’s cross from a wide free kick was headed into his own net by defender Conor Keeley on 58 minutes to double Rovers’ lead .

It looked as if Rovers were handling anything that was thrown at them comfortably until a defensive mix up on 70 minutes let in Adam Foley to pull one back with twenty minutes to go.

It got worse for Rovers eight minutes later when a cross from the left hand side was nodded down for Dayle Rooney to nip in and equalise for the home side.

Pedro Martelo replaced Radosavljevic for the final ten minutes or so and both sides were eager to go and get a third goal.

The game ended with both sides having half chances to get a winner but neither side would go on to do so meaning a the spoils were shared.

James Finnerty returned late on for Cawley in his first game back from injury which is a welcome addition for John Russell.

Next up is a home game with St. Patrick’s Athletic next Friday at The Showgrounds at 7:45pm.

Our Academy has four games this weekend between Saturday and Sunday afternoon as the season continues to progress through the Summer months.

On Saturday, our Under 14 side are in Cup action as they take on UCD away from home at 3pm.

The lads have had a couple of weeks with no competitive fixture so, will be rearing to go in Dublin.

The squad take part in the Galway Cup next week so it is a busy week ahead for the squad.

Also on Saturday, our Under 17 Women take on Dundalk at Oriel Park at 2pm. Rovers sit on top of the table with two wins from two in the opening games of Phase Two.

Our Under 15 side host the same opposition on Sunday at 1pm at The Sean Fallon Centre.

Admission is free and all support is welcome for this young side.

Later on Sunday, our Under 19 Women host Shelbourne at The Showgrounds with a kick-off time of 2pm and again, all support is welcome.