Hosts Athlone Town had to work hard for the Women’s National League points against Sligo Rovers with a 4-2 victory as they recovered from the concession of an early goal to get back on the winning track.

Athlone started on the front foot and had a goal chance inside 60 seconds, but a timely Orna O’Dowd interception averted the danger.

The hosts were rocked in the fourth minute when Sligo Rovers hit the front after finding the net with their first meaningful attack as Amy Boyle-Carr finished well from inside the penalty area.

Athlone’s response was to launch a series of attacks that tested Bit O’Red ‘keeper Amy Mahon who was eventually beaten in the 15th minute when a Gillian Keenan effort nestled in the corner of the net.

Seven minutes later Keenan had Athlone in front when she scrambled the ball across the line in a crowded goalmouth.  

Athlone finished the half with a flourish and Kellie Brennan capitalised on some hesitant defending by the Bit O’Red to claim a third goal for the hosts a minute before the break.

Athlone dictated the early second-half exchanges, but it wasn’t until the 65th minute that there was any serious goalmouth action when Sligo Rovers created an opening.

Emma Doherty got on the end of a fine move, but her shot was saved by Niamh Coombes.

At the other end Roisin Molloy went close for Athlone before the Bit O’Red got back into contention when Paula McGrory rocketed a header past Coombes from a Gemma McGuinness cross in the 77th minute.

Emma Doherty had a chance of an equaliser following some hesitancy in the Athlone defence soon after, but the danger was averted and in the final minute the hosts sealed the win when substitute Emily Corbett finished to the net.

Athlone Town – Niamh Coombes; Kayleigh Shine, Jessica Hennessy, Muireann Devaney, Gillian Keenan, Kellie Brennan, Laurie Ryan, Madison Gibson, Kelsey Munroe, Roisin Molloy, Scarlett Herron.
Subs – Kate Slevin for Gibson 53 mins, Emily Corbet for Herron 71m, Lucy Ann Grant for Molloy 86

Sligo Rovers – Amy Mahon; Leah Kelly, Orna O’Dowd, Gemma McGuinness, Lauren Boles, Emma Doherty, Amy Roddy, Kerri O’Hara, Paula McGrory, Amy Boyle Carr, Sarah Kiernan. 

Subs – Fiona Doherty for O’Hara half-time, Katie Melly for Kelly 65 mins, Keela Scanlon for Roddy and Aife Haran for Boyle-Carr both 74m, Lauren McLellan for Kiernan 83m

Referee – Dave Connolly.

Sligo Rovers Annual Draw is now 8 weeks running with around €20,000 raised so far in a magnificent response from our loyal Bit O’ Red supporters and general public around the region.

The draw was launched back on July 10^th and since then, sales have been increasing online and through physical sales door to door or by our ticket sellers within the community.

Volunteers have been out and about in the county selling door to door and the response to this has been as generous as ever with those we visit being courteous and welcoming to our dedicated sellers.

The top prize of €5,000 is just one of a number of special prizes up for grabs this year when the draw takes place on October 1^st at our home game with Shamrock Rovers at The Showgrounds.

We have a €1,000 PetStop voucher with thanks to John McKeon and his team. There are two separate hotel stays up for grabs at both Clayton Hotel, Liffey Valley and the 5 Star Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin City.

Music fans will be delighted to see four Westlife tickets for their Wild Dreams tour in Belfast in December available as well as 2 Rod Stewart tickets for Dublin in November.

There is a trip to Anfield to see Liverpool at a home game also there to be won not to mention €200 Kate’s Kitchen and Intersport Elverys vouchers (2 x €100).

With just 5 weeks to go until the draw, we encourage supporters who have not entered to do so soon to be in with a chance of winning.

All proceeds from this year’s draw will go directly towards our Stadium development plans for The Showgrounds with the club continuously working on our Masterplan which will see The Showgrounds transformed into a modern sporting venue for the North-West region.

There is also a special Business draw which allows businesses to enter a draw by purchasing a book of tickets. Each company will then be placed into a draw to win a pitch-side advertising sign at The Showgrounds for the entire 2023 season, worth over €1,200.

Buy online:

One ticket: https://srfcdirect.com/annual-draw-ticket-2022/

One book of tickets: https://srfcdirect.com/annual-draw-book-of-ten-2022/

After travelling to Cork last weekend, Sligo Rovers hit the road again this Saturday as they travel to Westmeath to tackle Athlone Town for a 7pm kick-off in the Women’s National League.

Edged out by Cork City in a thriller last weekend by the odd goal in five, the Sligo Rovers players will be determined to take something home from this encounter against Athlone.

Paula McGrory scored two great goals against Cork and was denied her hat-trick by the woodwork as the Bit O’ Red produced another encouraging display.

Last Saturday the TG4 cameras were in Athlone for the visit of Peamount and the Dublin side took an important three points with a goal in each half for a 2-0 victory.

Athlone had chances in that game with Erin McLaughlin’s effort headed off the Peamount line and Maddie Gibson clattered a shot off the post.

Last July at the Showgrounds, Athlone Town had to work hard for a 2-1 victory with Gillian Keenan hitting the winner in the 86th minute.

Sligo Rovers hit the front in that game with an eighth minute Gemma McGuinness goal, but Athlone levelled through Madison Gibson midway through the opening half and then hit that later winner.

With seven games remaining in a debut season, Sligo Rovers manager Steve Feeney and the players will realise at this stage that they can compete with the teams pushing for top four places with wins against Shelbourne and Wexford already achieved.

Athlone currently sit in third place and will be targeting this game as a must-win encounter if they hope to close the gap on the top two, but they won’t find it easy against the Bit O’Red.

LAST TIME

Sligo Rovers 1, Athlone Town 2

We have six games down for decision across the weekend with all teams in competitive action.

Our Under 14’s get Phase two of their season underway with a home game against St Patrick’s Athletic at 1pm at The Sean Fallon Centre.

An hour or so later, both Under 17 teams kick off in League games away from home.

Our Under 17 Womens side are in Limerick to face Treaty United at 2pm while our Men’s team are in Drogheda to face The Drogs at 2.30pm.

On Sunday our Under 15 team are away from home against Shelbourne at The AUL Complex at 2pm.

Also on Sunday, both Under 19 teams are in action as our Under 19 Men’s team host Shelbourne at 2pm at MacSharry Park and our Under 19 Women’s team host Bohemians at 4.30pm at The Sean Fallon Centre.

Admission to all games is free and we thank our sponsors of each team for their support this season:

Under 14: Alzheimers Society of Ireland, Sligo (on behalf of The Gallagher Family)

Under 15: O’ Connor Cabins/Knoxpark Developments

Under 17 Men’s: Ivor Parke, Paintor and Decorator

Under 17 Women’s: Avenue Mould Solutions and partners Sweet Beat Cafe, Sligo

Under 19 Men’s: EJ Menswear, Sligo

Under 19 Women’s: Overstock, Sligo and partners Sweet Beat Cafe, Sligo

Our Wehrly Bro Players of The Month awards for our Men’s and Women’s teams were announced today with seven players picking up awards for standout performances for The Bit O’ Red.

Our friends at Wehrly Bros Ltd on O’ Connell Street in Sligo once again sponsor each award and will present the winners with their trophies at The Showgrounds in the coming days.

For April, Aoife Brennan picked up the Women’s award for a crucial brace scored against Treaty United at The Showgrounds, a game Rovers won 3-1. Brennan struck two fantastic free kicks in the first half to seal the points.

David Cawley won the award for our Men’s team after some brilliant displays, most notably against Drogheda United where he scored two goals in the opening three minutes in a 3-2 win. Cawley also assisted Jordan Hamilton to head home the equaliser against Shamrock Rovers in a 1-1 draw at The Showgrounds.

In May, Emma Doherty picked up the award after scoring in three out of four games across the month. Her first minute goal against Cork City at home sent Rovers on their way to a 2-0 win. She also scored away to DLR Waves and at home to Galway.

Aidan Keena scored two goals after returning from a lengthy lay off through injury, first a powerful strike in Tallaght against Shamrock Rovers followed by a beautiful curling effort against St Patrick’s Athletic at The Petstop End at The Showgrounds.

June saw Shane Blaney pick up the Men’s award after two solid defensive performances against Finn Harps and Drogheda United, earning Rovers four points over the two games and two clean sheets.

Amy Mahon picked up the Women’s award after her heroic penalty save against Wexford Youths in stoppage time to maintain Rovers’ 1-0 lead and earn a huge three points for her side. She also pulled off a number of key saves in the game.

Finally, July’s awards went to Gemma McGuinness for our Women’s team after scoring a goal in each of our four games over the month against Bohs, Galway, Athlone Town and Shelbourne, the latter bringing Rovers back into the game just before half time after falling 2-0 behind early on. This stemmed a fantastic comeback by Rovers, eventually winning 3-2.

Aidan Keena earned his award for July by scoring two goals against Shelbourne in the league at The Showgrounds just days before scoring away to Bala Town in The Europa Conference League First Leg and then scoring a penalty in the all important shoot-out to progress through the tie. Keena once again scored in a vital win away to Motherwell at Fir Park and wrapped up his scoring for the month with a penalty in the defeat to Wexford FC in The FAI Cup.

Wehrly Bros are huge supporters of the club and we wish to thank Richard and all the team for getting behind the club each year.

It is rare for a manager to have two of his formers clubs meeting in an European tie but that is what happened for Ian Baraclough, who has previously managed in The Showgrounds and Fir Park.

Now manager of the Northern Ireland International side, Baraclough wouldn’t be drawn on whom he would have liked to see progress but in the end, The Bit O’ Red were victorious on a 3-0 aggregate scoreline over two legs.

With the game being called the ‘Ian Baraclough Derby’ by some and not just this interviewer as queried by Baraclough, he is happy to hear that this is the case as he has good memories of his time with both clubs:

“It is nice of people if they referred to the game that way, as I said I had good times at both clubs and look back on my time with both fondly. I think that looking back, that I achieved what I set out to do with both.

With Rovers, it was to win the League and win trophies and with Motherwell it was to stay in the League. So I do have a sense of pride from my time with both and I wish both clubs well.”

No stranger to these type games from his time with Rovers when his side faced Slovakian team Spartak Trnava in the Europa League and Norwegian team Molde in the Champions League, Baraclough feels that it is all about who you draw and that what you hope is that you get drawn against a team of a similar standard:

“The thing with those types of games and I know this from my time with Rovers is that when the draw comes around you hope that it will be a favourable one. If you look at the teams we faced during my time with the club – Spartak Trnava and Molde – they were among the toughest teams we could have faced. They were better teams than us and that can be seen by the fact they qualify for Europe regularly and have the group stages at times as well. In the early rounds you want to try and draw a team of a similar standard.”

With Rovers now under the stewardship of one of Baraclough’s former players in John Russell, he was delighted to see Russell get the chance and thinks that the time is right for him to make the move into senior management:

“With the appointment of John Russell, I actually think that it has come at the right time for him. He has been involved in the underage set-up and was assistant manager to Liam Buckley. I brought him back to the club from St. Patrick’s Athletic in 2014 so know what sort of character he is and how determined he is and he will bring that trait into being a manager. He has earned his chance and it is great to see the club promoting from within. He knows the football club and has gotten off to a good start in getting through a couple of rounds in Europe as not many Rovers managers have done that. That will help those around him have confidence and will help him be more confident as well. He has been involved in some great times with this club and I know that he will want to be involved in more and I hope that he does really well with the club going forward.”

Of course 2022 marks the ten year anniversary of Baraclough’s first season with Sligo Rovers when the club won its first Premier Division title in 35 years, great memories for Baraclough who can’t believe how fast the years have gone:

“Well the first thing I thought is didn’t those 10 years go quickly! It was when I was asked to be involved in the recent documentary on that season that it dawned on me that it had been ten years.

”I have great memories of that season. It is always great to bring success to a football club because in this game you experience more disappointments than you do success. So when you win cups and trophies those memories always stay with you. I look back on that season and it was nothing but a happy time, it was great for the town and the team and it was just a great period that I can always look back on. To be a part of the club’s history is something very special to me and as well after winning the League we backed up that success with winning the FAI Cup and the Setanta Sports Cup. It’s just that it was ten years ago, I can’t believe where that’s gone!”

By Keith O’ Dwyer

Emma Doherty attended a home based Republic of Ireland Senior squad training session in Abbotstown this afternoon as she continues to progress since joining the club back in January.

In her first season at Women’s National League level, The Donegal striker has scored nine goals and has been at the heart of Rovers’ attacks throughout the season.

Doherty has been capped at International level before through the underage system and today met up with other home based players under the watchful eye of Senior Women’s Team manager Vera Pauw.

Doherty will join up with The Rovers’ squad for training tomorrow before making the trip to Athlone on Saturday as the team face Athlone Town at 7pm.

Our 500 Club Draw for June and July took place recently with twenty members being drawn out to win prizes totaling €2,800

Our 500 Club is one of the club’s most important fundraisers with over 500 members contributing just €20 per month to help towards the running of the club.

Since the start of July, the club have been increasing awareness around the 500 Club and has been seeking new members to join. Those who join the 500 Club will become Members of the club after three years. With that, Members can contribute at AGM’s and become a part owner of the Football Club.

To become a member you can visit https://srfcdirect.com/fundraising/500-club/ or contact the club through shane@sligorovers.com

The latest winners were Paul Kivlehan (June) and Declan McGarrihy (July). Both members take away €500.

Draw results:

June:

1^st: €500: Paul Kivlehan, Ballymote, Co. Sligo

2^nd: €100: John Verdon, Greenfort, Sligo

3^rd: €100: Austin O’ Callaghan, c/o Ocean FM

4^th: €100: Mary Burke, Dromore West, Co. Sligo

5^th: €100: Yvonne French, Calry, Co. Sligo

6^th: €100: Keith Taylor, Castlebaldwin, Co. Sligo

7^th: €100: Shane Martin, Oakfield, Sligo

8^th: €100: Noel McLoat, Cleveragh, Sligo

9^th: €100: Michael Comny, Culleens, Co. Sligo

10^th: €100: John Roaf, Ferndale, Sligo

July:

1^st: €500: Declan McGarrihy, Rathcormac, Sligo

2^nd: €100: Pauric Casey, Ransboro, Sligo

3^rd: €100: Gavin Gilmartin, Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo

4^th: €100: Eileen Rossiter, Collooney, Co. Sligo

5^th: €100: Ian McLoughlin, Calry, Co. Sligo

6^th: €100: Jim Gray, Cartron, Sligo

7^th: €100: Pat Devaney, Ballincar Co. Sligo

8^th: €100: Jim Gallagher, Kintogher, Co. Sligo

9^th: €100: Conall Collier, Navan, Co. Meath

10^th: €100: Brendan McIntyre, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh

Congratulations to all members who won a prize and we wish to thank all our 500 Club members and 500 Club committee for their continued support.

Be part of it, join The 500 Club

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.