Our Academy teams were all in action this weekend bar our Women’s Under 19 team who had a free weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, our Under 14 team defeated Cavan/Monaghan 7-1 at The Sean Fallon Centre thanks to a hat-trick from Jack Nicholson and a goal each from Sean Casey, Ashton Conlon, Troy Kelly and Oisin Keenan.

Also on Saturday, our two Under 17 teams had games, with one at home and one away.

Our Under 17 Men’s team were beaten 2-1 in Kerry, with Niall Holohan on target.

At Sean Fallon Centre our Womens team had an impressive 5-0 win over Donegal. A hat-trick from Ella Vahey and a brace from Jillian Monaghan secured the points.

On Sunday afternoon our Under 15 side were defeated 3-1 by Galway at home with Reuben Gillespie on target for Rovers.

At time of print, our Under 19 men’s team are in action against St Patrick’s Athletic in Dublin. The result will follow on our social media platforms.

It was a good week for Sligo Rovers Academy. We have seen many of our young talents involved at Senior level for both the Men’s and Women’s teams.

Last Thursday night, Kailin Barlow was introduced in the second half in our win over Motherwell and performed brilliantly. Cillian Heaney, Daire McCarthy, Eanna Clancy and Conor Walsh were all in the match day squad.

Goalkeeper Luke McNicholas who came through the academy signed a new two and a half year deal to extend his stay at Rovers until the end of 2024 and other talents such as Niall Morahan who continues to excel in midfield and Mark Byrne who was also part of the squad against Motherwell.

On Saturday night we saw our Womens team defeat League champions Shelbourne in an epic game at The Showgrounds. Pixie O’ Hara, Helen Monaghan, Sarah Kiernan were and still are part of our Academy system as well as Farah McDonagh, Aife Haran and Jessica Casey.

On Sunday, we saw First Team full debuts for Kailin Barlow and Eanna Clancy who started in our defeat to Wexford in The FAI Cup.

Alice Lillie was part of the Republic of Ireland team who played in the Super Cup NI last week and Lillie continues to impress both here and on the international stage.

Our upcoming Europa Conference League 2nd Leg game with Viking FK of Norway on Thursday August 11th at The Showgrounds is sold out

There are no more tickets remaining and there will be no admission on the night

We will await feedback from our opponents and determine if any of their away allocation will be returned.

Super Sligo Rovers took the Women’s National League points with a thrilling 3-2 victory against defending champions Shelbourne at a frenzied Showgrounds this evening in front of the TG 4 cameras in a thriller.

Defending champions Shelbourne arrived at the Showgrounds determined to get back on the winning track after two draws in the last seven days.

By contrast, hosts Sligo Rovers had conceded five goals last time out against neighbours Galway and were equally determined to make the game competitive.

While the hosts started positively and had an early chance, Shelbourne hit the front in the 11th minute when Pearl Slattery headed powerfully to the net from a corner.

Six minutes later it was 2-0 for the Dublin women when Alex Kavanagh slotted to the net with a well-placed free from outside the penalty area. Referee Declan Toland harshly penalised Sligo Rovers defender Kerri O’Hara and that gave Kavanagh the opportunity.

Shelbourne continued to dictate for the remainder of the half, but as the clock ticked over 45 minutes Sligo Rovers got back into contention when Gemma McGuinness out-muscled a Shelbourne defender and toe-poked the ball to the net from about six yards.

It got worse for Shelbourne eight minutes into the second-half when minnows Sligo Rovers grabbed a sensational equaliser. Emma Doherty did the damage as she evaded a couple of defenders and rifled to the net.

Emma Doherty then fired Sligo Rovers into the lead on the hour with another superb strike only seconds after Shelbourne had introduced three substitutes which included new recruit Heather O’Reilly.

For the remainder it was end-to-end as Sligo Rovers stood up to Shelbourne with immense displays that were inspired by Lauren Boles as the Bit O’Red delivered a thriller for the live television audience.


Sligo Rovers – Amy Mahon; Leah Kelly, Ruth Monaghan, Orna O’Dowd, Gemma McGuinness, Lauren Boles, Emma Doherty, Kerri O’Hara, Paula McGrory, Amy Boyle-Carr, Helen Monaghan. Sub – Sarah Kiernan for R Monaghan 33 mins, Emma Hansberry for McGuinness and Jessica Casey for O’Hara both 73 mins, Fiona Doherty for E Doherty 85 mins

Shelbourne – Amanda Budden; Jess Gargan, Jessie Stapleton, Pearl Slattery, Shauna Fox, Alex Kavanagh, Rachel Graham, Megan Smyth-Lynch, Keeve Keenan, Leah Doyle, Emma Starr. Subs – Noelle Murray for Kavanagh, Heather O’Reilly for Keenan and Abbi Lareekin for Smyth-Lynch all 60 mins, Izzy Glennon for Starr 78m, Lia O’Leary for Doyle 85m.

Referee – Declan Toland.
Assistant-referees – Ciaran O’Reilly, Richard Storey.
Fourth official – Damien MacGraith.

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce that goalkeeper Luke McNicholas has extended his stay at the club until the end of the 2024 season.

McNicholas has played in our recent Europa Conference League tie with Motherwell, keeping a clean sheet in both games and performing excellently throughout.

Luke had a successful loan spell at Cliftonville from August 2021 to May 2022 and was part of the squad that finished runners up in the NIFL Premiership and won silverware at Windsor Park in the League Cup.

The man from Mayo spoke of his delight this morning:

‘’I’m delighted to have extended my stay here at the club.

‘’I feel like we are pushing in the right direction and working well under John Russell and his staff and I feel like there is great opportunities here for young players like myself and I am excited for the future.

‘’It has been a great experience playing in The European games and we all want to experience games like that more often, which we will aim to do on a regular basis moving forward’’.

Luke has been part of the club’s Academy system, starting off at Under 17 level before making his way through that age group, into the under 19 squad and through to the first team which has proven to be a common path-way in recent years.

Manager John Russell is in no doubt of the quality McNicholas brings:

‘’ I’m delighted that Luke has committed himself to Sligo Rovers for the next two and half years.

‘’Luke has all the attributes to play at the highest level.

‘’He has come up through the academy system here and is a current Irish U21 International.

‘’He gained valuable first team experience during his loan move at Cliftonville last season and now he is ready to be the number one at Sligo Rovers’’.

McNicholas will be part of The Bit O’ Red squad for tomorrow’s cup game against Wexford FC at The Showgrounds. Kick off is 6pm and tickets can be got on the gate.

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce the signing of Robbie Burton on loan from Dinamo Zagreb until the end of the season.

Burton spent fourteen years at Arsenal where he signed as a schoolboy at the age of six.

In 2020, Burton was transferred to Dinamo Zagreb of the Croation Premier Division for a six figure transfer fee.

He has spent two and a half years with Zagreb and moves to Sligo to bolster John Russell’s midfield options for the rest of the 2022 season.

Manager Russell is delighted with the signing:

”I’m delighted to have secured the signing of Robbie Burton on loan from Dinamo Zagreb. I’d like to thank the sporting director Marko Vukelic for his assistance in getting this deal done.

”Robbie is a creative midfielder who will bring a lot of quality to our team.

”He came through the Arsenal academy before joining Dinamo Zagreb. I feel this will be great opportunity for Robbie to get back playing first team football and show what he is all about.

”I’m sure our fans will enjoy watching him play.”

The midfielder will go straight into the squad for this weekend’s FAI Cup tie with Wexford at The Showgrounds and is excited by the challenge ahead:

”Delighted to have signed with Sligo Rovers today.

”I can’t wait to get started and be part of the squad in Sunday’s game against Wexford in front of the fans at The Showgrounds.

”I am excited about the coming weeks and months and look forward to finishing the season strong with the team”.

Burton will also be part of The Bit O’ Red squad for our upcoming Europa Conference League campaign which resumes next Thursday night away to Viking of Norway in the Third Qualifying Round.

He will wear the number 18 shirt which was most recently worn by Bit O’ Red manager John Russell.

Welcome Robbie.

We are delighted to announce that our UEFA Europa Conference League Third Round 2nd-Leg game against Viking will take place at home in The Showgrounds on Thursday August 11th at 7pm.

The club have worked tirelessly since the final whistle last night to secure the game here in front of our home supporters and it has now been confirmed by UEFA.

There was a possibility of having to stage the game at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin but this now means European Football will once again be back here in Sligo.

We wish to thank UEFA for their help and especially our association, The FAI.

There are a number of extra measures needed to help bring the ground up to speed but there will be no temporary stand and capacity will remain around the same as our game with Motherwell on Thursday night.

The club will now work on putting all these measures in place ahead of the game.

Ticket sales will be as follows:

Saturday July 30th:

10am-6pm: Season Ticket Holders only. Maximum of 2 tickets per season ticket holder. From Showgrounds front office window. Park in astro turf car park and enter via pedestrian entrance of ground.

Sunday July 31st:

On sale at Wexford FC cup match from 4.45pm inside the ground at our merchandise store (General Sale) (Maximum 2 per person)

Monday August 1st:

10am to 6pm from Showgrounds front office window. (Maximum 2 per person)

Tickets are €25 for adult, €20 for concessions (OAP/Students) and €10 for children.

We would urge people to refrain from contacting members of staff or the club with regards tickets as we must respect the above sale times.

We can’t wait to bring another famous European night to The Showgrounds in front of our magnificent supporters.

Sligo Rovers are delighted to confirm the signing of Fabrice Hartmann on loan from German Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.

Hartmann joins The Bit O’ Red for 12 months until July 2023.

The winger (21) made his debut for RB Leipzig in 2018 and has had loan spells with Paderborn and Eintracht Braunschweig in the last couple of seasons.

He has played in a number of attacking positions in his career so far and will prove to be a threat for defenders with his pace and direct dribbling style.

Hartmann has been capped for Germany’s National team at Underage level and joins The Bit O’ Red to bolster John Russell’s options for the remainder of this season.

Manager John Russell:

‘’I’m delighted to welcome Fabrice to the club. He is a really exciting attacking player.

‘’He has come up through the RB Leipzig academy and has represented Germany at underage International level.

‘’He has all the qualities to become a top player. What he needs now is a platform and I feel he can thrive at Sligo Rovers.’’

Fabrice visited The Showgrounds for the first time this afternoon and will take in tomorrow’s Europa Conference League game with Motherwell before potentially making his debut against Wexford in The FAI Cup on Sunday.

Hartmann is excited about the next twelve months with the club:

”I am delighted to sign for Sligo Rovers today.

”I’m looking forward to a great season with the club.

”I can’t wait to meet my new team-mates and play as much as possible and help the team with my qualities. This is a great opportunity for me, and I am excited.”

Sligo Rovers take on Motherwell at The Showgrounds tomorrow but Hartmann is ineligible having missed the deadline of last week to take part in the tie.

Hartmann will wear the number 24 jersey.

Welcome Fabrice

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce the signing of former Republic of Ireland international Amy Boyle-Carr. The 21-year-old makes a return to football for the first time since 2019 having decided to step away to commit to Donegal GAA.

The Glenties native is a well-established GAA player, but is also a highly rated football player who earned her first Irish senior cap at the age of 17. Boyle-Carr, who can operate in midfield, on the wing or as a striker, started her football career with Fintown Harps as part of the boy’s team before moving on to Sion Swifts. She represented Donegal in the Gaynor Cup and was a regular in Irish underage squads.

At the age of 16, Boyle-Carr was named in the Irish senior squad for friendlies before being handed her first start in April 2018 at the age of 17 against The Netherlands at Tallaght Stadium. In fact, it was a game she had tickets for, but they went unused as she was named in the starting 11 on the day. Having made her debut, Boyle-Carr made the decision to step away from Gaelic football.

A number of months later, she made her return to Donegal GAA, and never left since. But, with her GAA season now over, Boyle-Carr has decided to commit to Rovers for the remainder of the season. After attending training on Monday, she decided she wanted to be part of it all.

“Steve had been in touch at the start of the year, but I’d already committed to Donegal. I said I’d come down on Monday and see how I got on. I enjoyed it. “It’s brilliant, it’s a great opportunity to get. I said I’d sign and see how it goes. It will keep me fit.  

“I was training on Monday night and the training was brilliant, good and intense. I enjoyed it.”Boyle-Carr is now part of an already sizeable Donegal contingent within the Rovers squad, but she also knows players like Katie Melly, Lauren McLellan and Ruth Monaghan from her time studying at ATU Sligo, where she has just completed her degree. And now that she’s here, she can’t wait to get going.

“It’s been a while since I played (football). I wasn’t putting too much pressure on myself. “The girls are great, it helped that I knew some of them. I was chatting to them and they were telling me about the backing they get from the club and the support so it’s fantastic. It will only push everyone on.”

Match Sponsor: Engineering Documentation Ltd.
Match Ball Sponsor: Rhatigan Architects

Tomorrow’s Special Edition Europa Conference League Programme will have 52 Pages with everything you need to know about Rovers, Motherwell and the big game at The Showgrounds.

It is available for just €5 and on sale from just inside the turnstiles.

We have our usual notes From Our Chairman Tommy Higgins and Manager John Russell ahead of the clash.

Conall Collier has an article ‘A Bala(nced) Approach Required’ as we look at how we reached this stage and his thoughts on the big game

One Of Rovers Unsung Heroes History By Jim Gray is a nice feature on former Rovers player Martin McDonnell

”Fond Memories For Baraclough” As Former Teams Collide by Keith O’ Dwyer as he looks at Ian Baraclough’s spells at The Showgrounds and Fir Park respectively.

We have our all important Europa Conference League Quiz, Motherwell V Sligo Rovers First Leg report by Jessica Farry and our usual slots for Joe Molloy, Stephen McLaughlin and Anthony Kilfeather.

Get On Board For David And Goliath By Conall Collier talks about the importance of Sligo Rovers Community owned aspect and how important is will be to attract new 500 Club members to the club

Motherwell FC Pen Pics and Motherwell FC By Alan Finn bring us some insight into our opponents camp.

Fans Photos From last week’s win at Fir Park, Motherwell By James Fallon bring some memories to the programme and Motherwell Collectors Corner By Andy Lachlan gives us the view from the Motherwell perspective.

We finish with The Last Line Of Defence Has Been Well Served By Rovers’ Goalkeepers’ Union By Leo Gray, Mick Ferry and The Sligo Rovers Heritage Group By Michael Moran and Irish Clubs v Scottish Clubs In Europe By Joe Molloy

Sligo Rovers Associate Sponsors are listed as always alongside our Results and Fixtues for 2022