By Conall Collier

It’s the third home game of the season for Sligo Rovers in the Women’s Premier Division, and a visit from Connacht neighbours Galway Utd to mark the occasion with a 3pm kick-off at the Showgrounds.

Unlike Sligo Rovers, who have one clean sheet to their credit, the Galway girls have yet to achieve that feat in four outings this season.

However, Galway will arrive at the Showgrounds only three points adrift of

leaders Athlone Town, but with a game in hand due to a weather-enforced postponement against Peamount Utd during March.

Galway manager Phil Trill will be targeting three points following the disappointment of his side conceding a 91st-minute equaliser last week against Wexford at Eamonn Deacy Park only minutes after Amanda Smith had converted a penalty for the lead.

Prior to that, Galway had wins over bottom-of-the-table DLR Waves, Bohemian FC and Shamrock Rovers, with former Sligo Rovers striker Emma Doherty hitting the winner in that five-goal thriller.

Doherty, who departed the Showgrounds midway through last season, will be eager to show the type of form that earned her the player-of-the-month accolade for March, but she will find the going tough against an uncompromising Sligo Rovers rearguard that will be well-marshalled by Keeva Flynn.

And that aspect of the performance, solid defence, on Saturday will be crucial to the outcome of what will be the toughest challenge of the season so far for the Bit O’Red.

“Galway will be a big challenge for us on Saturday, but we are looking forward to it, and we will adopt a positive attitude to the game,” stated Rovers manager Steve Feeney.

“We have the ability to cause Galway problems going forward, but we also know that we will have to keep it tight at the back.

“That’s very frustrating for us at the moment, and we are working hard to address it. We are conceding goals that are preventable, and we really need to maintain our concentration.

“We have to keep working hard, and we certainly have the ability to take points off any of the teams, and the target will be to do that on Saturday against Galway,” he added.

On the player front, Paula McGrory is on the doubtful list for Saturday, but Mairead McIntyre will be available as will Amber Hardy after serving a suspension following a red card against Wexford.

The teams played a friendly at the Showgrounds ahead of the new season, and that game ended 2-2, with Galway snatching a late equaliser.

Kick-off at the Showgrounds will be at 3pm, and the game will be available on LOITV.