| Rovers missing key players for clash with Longford |
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| Thursday, 22 March 2007 | |
 Sligo Rovers will be without Chris Turner, Raffael Cretaro and Gary Curran for Friday night’s visit to Longford Town. Turner is on international duty with the Northern Ireland under-21’s
while Cretaro is suspended and Curran is likely to be out for a month to six weeks with an ankle ligament injury picked up in the two-nil defeat to Derry City at the Showgrounds on St. Patrick’s Day.By Michael Moran, courtesy, The Sligo Champion Turner is on international duty with the Northern Ireland under-21’s, while Cretaro is suspended and Curran is likely to be out for a month to six weeks with an ankle ligament injury picked up in the two-nil defeat to Derry City at the Showgrounds on St. Patrick’s Day. Adam Hughes returns following his one match ban, while Rovers will be anxious to finally secure international clearance to allow goalkeeper, Tommy Arcaba, central defender, Zoltan Vasas, and winger, Piotr Bajdziak, feature in the squad for the short trip to Flancare Park. “Obviously, with three players missing for different reasons we will have to switch things around, but we want to impose our own game on Longford,” said caretaker manager, Leo Tierney. Tierney and under-21 boss, Dessie Cawley, could be in charge for the last time on Friday night, as Rovers Chairman, Michael Toolan, has indicated that a new manager is likely to be in place before the next home game against U.C.D. at the Showgrounds. “Hopefully, we can have the international clearance situation sorted out to enable us bring in the three players involved. “We certainly could do with having that matter sorted this week, especially in the absence of Chris, Ralf and Gary,” added Tierney. Though expecting a tough game in Longford, the Rovers caretaker manager feels his players are capable of earning full points, if they perform to their potential. “It is always a difficult place to go to. They haven’t had the best of starts (losing to St. Patrick’s Athletic and Shamrock Rovers), but they always battle. “We have to go there and play and have the belief and confidence that we can get a result-which I think we can,” Tierney said. Ironically, Longford manager, Alan Matthews, has been mentioned in some quarters as a possible successor to Rob McDonald. Matthews will also be missing some of his regulars, with John Martin and Damien Brennan both suspended. “Whatever team they put out, they won’t make it easy for us. However, our players are looking forward to it and see it as an opportunity to get three points,” Tierney maintained. Looking back on the two-nil defeat to Derry, the caretaker manager felt his side showed the F.A.I. Cup holders too much respect in the first-half. “I thought maybe we stood off them a little bit. We didn’t close them down as we closed Galway in Terryland Park. Obviously, conceding a goal before half-time didn’t help and the second goal just before the break was a killer. “The goal changed everything. They kept the ball well after taking the lead and the second one knocked the stuffing out of us a bit. We felt a bit sorry for ourselves, but in fairness we had a go in the second-half. I thought we did not play as well as we could in the first 45 minutes. “Overall, we did better in the second period, but it just wasn’t enough. Derry are a very, very good team and once we fell behind we were always chasing it,” Tierney concluded. *Longford Town have announced that there is free entry to under-14’s, accompanied by an adult, to Friday night’s game, which kicks-off at 8.00pm. Because of safety reasons, the concession applies to two children to one adult. |
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