Sligo Rovers return to League action tonight against Drogheda United at Weavers Park

The sides met last Friday night in the FAI Cup with Drogheda winning 2-1 and progressing to the next round.

Max Mata scored his 12th goal of the season in the first half but, the hosts drew level early in the second half and went on to win the game from a penalty of their own.

Manager John Russell is looking for a reaction from his side:

‘’We were very disappointed with the performance, and ultimately the result last weekend.

Our performance levels and results have been good in the league lately so we can’t let one bad performance impact our mindset’’.

The game is Live on LOI TV from 7:45pm and Ocean FM will provide updates.

Russell is keen for his side to continue their decent league form, winning two from the last three games:

‘’The staff and I have such belief in this group of players. They have the ability and mentality to put a run of results together.

We are now entering the business end of the season so a big performance is needed in front of our away supporters this evening’’.

In team news, Garry Buckley is now fit and available following his return to action from the bench last Friday.

Karl O’ Sullivan could return to the match squad after his long lay off with an ankle injury and James Finnerty is also fully fit again.

Will Fitzgerald will be sidelined with a groin injury while Mark Byrne and Gary Boylan remain out.

Daniel Lafferty is suspended.

Our Academy had another hectic weekend this past week with four games down for decision between Saturday and Monday.

Our Under 17 Women left it late to secure three points at home to Longford Town on Saturday lunchtime as goals from Kya McKenna and Tess Longworth were enough to get the home win on a terrible afternoon for football.

Sunday saw two Under 19 games taking place, with our Under 19 Men’s team in Enda McGuill Cup action as they hosted Athlone Town at The Sean Fallon Centre.

A tight first half saw Rovers lead 1-0 at the break after Eli Rooney’s early goal on his return from injury but Rovers pulled away in the second half with Owen Elding’s penalty three minutes in followed by the third goal from midfielder Ultan O’ Grady three minutes later to seal Rovers’ passage into the third round.

Our Under 19 Womens team hosted Cork City at Ballisodare United on Sunday afternoon and goals from Alice Lillie and Katie McGuire were good enough to secure the win in a tighly contested game.

Monday evening saw the final game of the weekend at The Showgrounds as our Under 15 side were taken to extra-time by visitors Galway United after an end to end game in the opening 80 minutes.

Rovers got the winner in extra-time through Troy Kelly and this means we progress to the next round.

On Wednesday night, Rovers Under 17 side take on Longford Town away from home at Bishopsgate in the League.

Kick off is 7pm.

Sligo Rovers get back to Premier Division action this Friday night with a trip to take on Drogheda United at Weavers Park.

The game kicks off at 7.45pm.

It is the second meeting of the sides at the Louth venue in a week as the hosts defeated Rovers 2-1 in last Friday’s FAI Cup First Round tie.

Tickets for Sligo Rovers supporters are available via the link below:

https://eventlist.store/droghedaunitedfc/dufcawaytickets?ftredirect=1

Sligo Rovers are thrilled to announce the signing of goalkeeper Caoimhe O’ Reilly who joins from Hounslow Women in England.

O’ Reilly was born in Castlebar and had spells with Peamount United, Castlebar Celtic and UCD Waves before making the move to the U.K. where she played with Watford, Enfield Town and Hounslow Women.

The 26-year-old will join up with Steve Feeney’s squad when they return to training following a mid-season break in early August.

Feeney is thrilled with the latest addition:

‘’Caoimhe is a top quality goalkeeper and someone we’ve had our eye on for a while.

‘’She is a good age and brings good experience to the group having played in the U.K.

‘’We are looking forward to working with her between now and the end of the season’’.

Rovers will return to League action on August 19^th when they travel to take on Athlone Town.

A week later the Bit O’ Red host Bonagee Celtic in the First Round of the Sports Direct Womens FAI Cup at The Showgrounds.

O’ Reilly is looking forward to getting started:

‘’I am delighted to have signed for Sligo Rovers today.

‘’It is a team with a lot of youth but also some good experience and players with lots of talent and a supportive backroom team.

‘’I am looking forward to getting started and hopefully have a good FAI Cup run and finish off the League season strongly as well’’.

Our next SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division home game against St. Patrick’s Athletic, scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 5th at 7.45pm at The Showgrounds has been brought forward 24 hours.

The game now takes place live on RTE 2 at 7.45pm on Friday, August 4th.

Tickets for the game are available here:

https://srfcdirect.com/match-tickets/

Supporters can also pay on the night at the turnstiles which will open at 6.30pm.

Sligo Rovers are in Sports Direct FAI Cup First Round action on Friday night with a trip to Weavers Park to take on Drogheda United.

The game kicks off at 7.45pm.

Games with Drogheda United always prove to be tightly contested ones and tomorrow’s game is expected to be no different in front of a large crowd at the Drogheda venue.

Rovers Manager John Russell is excited to begin a new Cup campaign:

”We are up against a very difficult opponent in Drogheda United.

”We have yet to beat them this year in the league and their home form is always good.

”However, we come into the game on the back of three good performances”.

The game will be live on LOI TV and Bit O’ Red supporters travelling to the game can buy tickets online now here: https://eventlist.store/droghedaunitedfc/dufcawaytickets?ftredirect=1

Russell says his side must be ready for a tough game and bring recent performances into Friday’s tie:

”The players know the importance of this game and what a cup run means for the team, the club and the supporters.

”The FAI Cup is a special competition and we’re expecting a big away support on the night. Hopefully we can give our fans a top performance”.

In team news, Rovers will be without the injured Gary Boylan, Mark Byrne and Reece Hutchinson. Boylan is expected to be out for the season while Byrne is a few weeks away and Hutchinson due to return to training in the next fortnight.

Garry Buckley is nearing a return to the matchday squad after his ACL injury and James Finnerty is also close, after returning to training following an achilles problem picked up in April.

We wish all Sligo Rovers supporters a safe journey to the game.

Our Wehrly Bros Player of the Month award for May and June were announced in the last 24 hours.

The famous Sligo jewellers sponsor our awards each month for our Senior Men’s and Women’s teams, with the winner receiving a prize on behalf of Wehrlys.

The Men’s Player of the Month for May was Will Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was a key member of the side that defeated St. Patrick’s Athletic early in the month and scored the winner at home to Derry City later on.

Casey Howe picked up the award for the Women’s team as her brace at Turners Cross against Cork City ensured Rovers picked up our first win of the season. Howe also showed good performances throughout the month against Shelbourne and Bohemians.

Niall Morahan won June’s award after some fine displays in John Russell’s midfield. Morahan scored the equaliser away to Shelbourne on June 9th and was part of the team that defeated Bohemians at home at the end of the month.

The Women’s Player of the Month for June was Emma Doherty. Doherty was unavailable to pick up here award this week but will be presented with it in due course. Doherty scored a brace against Treaty United in early June and had some other strong displays also.

This weekend sees four Sligo Rovers Academy teams in action between Saturday and Monday.

Our Under 17 Womens team host Longford Town at 1pm at The Sean Fallon Centre on Saturday. The sides met recently in Longford with Rovers winning 5-0.

Sunday sees our Under 19 Men’s team host Athlone Town at Midday at The Sean Fallon Centre. Last week’s defeat to Derry City was the first since April and Declan Boyle’s side will look to get back to winning ways in this Under 19 Cup game.

Our Under 19 Womens team host Cork City at 3pm at Ballisodare All Weather in the Women’s Under 19 League. Rovers have won their last three games and are coming into the game in good form.

Monday evening at The Showgrounds will see our Under 15 team host Galway United at 7.30pm. Admission is free.

Sligo Rovers shot-stopper Luke McNicholas spoke to Conall Collier for an article in the match programme for the Premier game against Cork City on Saturday night

NUMBER ONE IS A FAMILY TRADITION

Luke McNicholas hails from the Mayo village of Belcarra and is following in the footsteps of his father, Christy, who was also a talented goalkeeper and a well-respected number one for the Balla GAA club for many years.

Luke is the youngest of three children he has a sister Laura and a brother Stephen and proud mum is Martina. Primary school and secondary school was in nearby Balla where he also played Gaelic football and soccer and dabbled, but not seriously, with hurling.

“I played Gaelic football until I was 15, I was in the **TED WEBB Mayo team and it was fine playing both for a while, but when the chance came to sign for Sligo Rovers, I had to make a choice, it was as simple as that,” said Luke.

“I played with Manulla FC until I was 15 and at that stage, I signed for the Sligo Rovers under-17 team after I went for trials and was selected as a goalkeeper with potential, I suppose. 

“I had been in with the regional team in Milebush and I had played in the Kennedy Cup for the Mayo League in 2014, Liam Kerrigan and Niall Morahan were on the Sligo / Leitrim team that year as far as I can remember.

“I signed for the Sligo Rovers under-17s in 2015 and continued until 2019 which was my last year with the under-19s,” he added before the conversation expanded to include a discussion about a Mayo team joining the League of Ireland.

“It will be good to get another team from the west of Ireland into the League of Ireland whenever the team from Mayo affiliates over the next few years,” he suggested.

“There might be some competition with Sligo Rovers and Galway Utd, but it’s also possible that it will provide an extra opportunity for some players who mightn’t just make the top grade initially, they will have a chance to go with Mayo where the focus will probably be more on developing local talent initially as distinct from challenging for titles.

“You see Kerry FC in the First Division this year, that’s good for the League overall and a team from Mayo would be similar I presume, although I don’t know much about the plans for the future,” he added.

Luke missed out on the tail end of last season with Sligo Rovers when he was sidelined with an ankle injury. The experienced Richard Brush deputised.

“Last year was my final stint with the Republic of Ireland under-21s and I picked up that ankle injury that kept me out of the Sligo Rovers team towards the end of last season,” he explained.

“All I can do now is continue to produce consistent performances for the club and you never know what’s around the corner in football, I might get another chance at international level, you have to be positive about things like that.

“My debut for the Sligo Rovers first team was in the EA Sports Cup in 2019 against Finn Harps, it was actually 1st April and we lost at Finn Park, Dante Leverock scored our goal, but it was brilliant to get my debut so soon after signing from the 19s.

“I had signed for the club as a 15-year-old hoping that some day I’d get to play for the first team, it was a pity about the result but it was still memorable from a personal perspective.

“I worked hard to get the opportunity and the club had faith in me, I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but it’s a game I’ll never forget.

“Then, I went on loan to Finn Harps in 2021, I didn’t get to play so it wasn’t much of a benefit from a playing perspective, but I learned a lot mentally, how to deal with setbacks, that sort of thing.

“That experience with Finn Harps has stood to me on various occasions since.

“I was able to return to Sligo Rovers in July of 2021 once the window opened and I was thrown into the Europa Conference League action after an ankle injury sidelined Ed (McGinty).

“I featured in both legs of the Europa Conference League tie with Hafnarfjardar and continued then for a few League games and there was the FAI Cup game against Cork City.

“Then I was on loan again, this time with Cliftonville, but that was tough initially as I got Covid two days before their season started in August.

“I had to wait for my chance, I got to play in a Cup competition, but it was about 13 games into the League before I got my chance.

“I played all the games then and we won the League Cup, but missed out on the League title to Linfield by a point.

“The pitch in Solitude is an artificial surface, but it’s a high-quality pitch, I would rate it much better than either Derry City or Dundalk,” he added.

Last year Luke signed a new deal which will keep him at The Showgrounds until the end of the 2024 season and he is determined to make the most of the opportunity.

“When I came back to the Showgrounds, I was number two to Ed (McGinty), it’s a difficult position to be in – a reserve goalkeeper, but you just have to work at your game.

“I started 2022 on loan with Cliftonville, winning the League Cup before returning to Sligo Rovers and I was straight into first team action when Ed (McGinty) transferred to Oxford Utd.

“It worked out well for me, I knew I was good enough, I got the number one jersey and kept a cleansheet in the two games against Motherwell and in the home leg against Viking.

“The away game against Viking was the worst first 20 minutes we could have had, losing Garry (Buckley) and Adam (McDonnell), any team would struggle to cope with that, but we really put it up to them in the second leg and we got the win, that was very important,” he stated.

Looking at the current season, Luke is pragmatic with his opinion about performances.

I asked him about the bizarre goal that was conceded in last season’s FAI Cup tie against Wexford at the Showgrounds.

“When a goalkeeper makes a mistake, everyone notices it, that just goes with the territory,” he said.

The worst reaction to something like that is to feel sorry for yourself, you just have to get on with it quickly and get through the rest of the game.

“I’ll probably catch 100 crosses without any problems and no one will remember them, but the one I drop is what’s remembered.

“One moment in one individual game, you can’t dwell on it, you have to move on from it, there are highs and lows for a goalkeeper that outfield players don’t experience.

“Richard (Brush) is a hugely experienced goalkeeper, he stood in for me last season and he is a great help with advice when its needed.

“Hopefully, we can push on now for the remainder of the season and give the supporters something to cheer about over the next few months,” he concluded.

** TED WEBB died tragically in a car accident in 1975 and at the time of his death the 21-year-old was a key member of the Mayo GAA senior football team.

Sligo Rovers can confirm that Bogdan Vastsuk has left the club today after his contract was mutually terminated.