The draw for our monthly 500 Club prizes took place this week, with ten supporters being picked out to win some cash.

The winner of the top prize of €500 was Eileen Rossiter from Collooney. Eileen joined The 500 Club recently and is now the lucky winner of the top prize.

Donal Kearns, a Sligo native now living in New York won the second prize of €100 along with four other members, Barbara McLynn, Alan Tiernan, Martin Carr and Gary & Ita Morahan.

There were also four members that won €50. Tom McSharry, Patrick Conlon, Edward Carroll and Barry Rafter.

Full results:

€500 – Eileen Rossiter, Collooney, Sligo

€100 – Donal Kearns, East Elmhurst, New York

€100 – Barbara McLynn – Old Market Street, Sligo

€100 – Alan Tiernan, Cranmore, Sligo

€100 – Martin Carr, Ballina, Mayo

€100 – Gary & Ita Morahan, Kevinsfort Heath, Sligo

€50 – Tom McSharry, Teeling Street, Sligo

€50 – Patrick Conlon, Ballisodare, Sligo

€50 – Edward Carroll, Montenotte Rd, Cork

€50 – Barry Rafter, Castleroy, Limerick

Thanks for our 500 Club Committee who work tirelessly on behalf of the club every year.

To join the 500 Club for just €5 per week and be in with a chance to win the above prizes each month, click https://srfcdirect.com/fundraising/500-club/

All six of our academy sides were in action over a beautiful sunny weekend with Cavan/Monaghan providing the opposition for all three of the Men’s sides at U14, U15 and U17. The Men’s U19 would face Finn Harps at the Showgrounds, while the Women’s U17 hosted Galway on Saturday before their U19 counterparts played Bray at home on Sunday.

On Saturday, our U14 side travelled to Cootehill, Co. Cavan and were unlucky to be beaten by the odd goal in three, Bailey McBride’s strike proving to be a consolation for Rovers. However, there was better news for our U17 side against the same opponents as we ran out 2-0 winners, Niall Holohan and Conor Campbell getting the goals.

Later that day our Women’s U17 played very well against a strong Galway side, both sides had their chances, but unfortunately Rovers succumbed to a 2-0 home defeat.

At 2pm on Sunday our U15 side were in Ballisadare to play the final leg of the Cavan/Monaghan trilogy. It was an open end-to-end game that deserved more goals but somehow only had the one, and unfortunately for us, that one ended up in the Rovers net. Simultaneously, the Men’s U19 and Finn Harps served up a five-goal thriller back at the Showgrounds, Rovers edging it 3-2. Cillian Heaney scored twice for us with strong centre-back Eanna Clancy joining Cillian on the scoresheet.

The weekend ended on a happy note as the Women’s U19 side beat Bray 1-0 at home. Both sides played well in the searing heat that necessitated a drinks break in each half, Nola Eivers scoring the only goal of the game midway through the second half with a terrific left foot curler from distance.

As always, thanks to our sponsors for their support.

Our Under 19’s ran out 4-1 winners against Drogheda United at The Sean Fallon Centre on Sunday afternoon, two goals in quick succession midway through the second half helping secure the points for Declan Boyle’s men.

Rovers were on the front foot from the beginning with Kailin Barlow involved frequently, his crossing and dead ball delivery causing chaos and playing a part in each of the first three goals before deservedly getting on the scoresheet himself late on. Wingers Aidan McHale and Josh Mulrennan were dangerous every time they had possession in the final third and both players ended the game with a goal apiece while Sean McAteer was the glue holding it all together, his tackling and metronomic passing from central midfield ensuring Rovers were always in control.

The first half-chance fell to Eanna Clancy on 8 minutes after a short corner was eventually whipped in by Barlow, the centre back found space near the penalty spot but both his initial effort and subsequent follow up were blocked by an apprehensive looking defence. That would be the theme of the first half as Rovers forced another corner soon after, Bryan Lynch and McAteer linking well with Mulrennan down the left before Drogheda’s Charles Mutawe stepped in. The resulting corner was sent deep where Ciaran Jennings had broken away from his marker and he was left with a simple header at the back post to make it 1-0. Sligo nearly doubled the lead ten minutes later with almost a carbon copy of the opener, Barlow firing a corner deep to Jennings who again lost his marker but this time the ball was an inch too high for the centre back to make any meaningful contact.

Rovers sixth corner of the half actually led to Drogheda’s first as the away side broke quickly 5 minutes before half time but a tame header was gathered easily by James Robinson as he dirtied his gloves for the first time. Moments later, Drogheda earned another corner and when it wasn’t cleared properly Jamal Ibrahim crossed from the right and Michael Soyemi rose highest to head into the far corner. 1-1 completely against the run of play and Soyemi even had another header saved well, before the half, and Drogheda’s best spell, came to an end.

Drogheda left back Sere Ogiehor was spending most of his day as a winger and he had the first decent chance of a slow going second half, his weaving run to the edge of the box and shot with his weaker foot was gathered by Robinson at the second attempt. From there, Rovers broke down the left and Barlow crossed deep towards McHale when the retreating Ogiehor crashed into the Rovers winger in the area and a penalty was awarded. Drogheda goalkeeper and captain Aaron Davies failed to keep his mouth closed and talked himself into a yellow card before diving to his left as Mulrennan fired into the opposite corner to put Rovers back into the lead.

Both sides made two changes each as the game opened up and substitute Darragh Ellison earned Rovers their first corner of the half. Barlow’s cross again caused panic at the back post where Mulrennan headed across goal and McHale nodded in under pressure from a yard out. Jennings headed wide from yet another terrific cross minutes later and McHale had two shots blocked as Rovers went looking for a fourth. It duly arrived on 84 minutes when Drogheda’s Ibrahim Badru unfortunately lost his footing after some terrific skill in the centre circle allowing Rovers to break 3 v 2, Barlow was slid in on goal and he rolled his finish under Davies and into the bottom right corner to give the score line a more accurate reflection of what preceded it.

Next up for the lads is a home game with Finn Harps on Sunday afternoon.

Sponsors: ejmenswear.com

Last weekend saw just three of our academy teams in action across Saturday and Sunday.

Our Under 17 Women and Under 14 & 15 Men’s sides all had the weekend off, so it was business as usual for the rest of the academy.

On Saturday our Under 17 Men’s side defeated Longford Town 4-0 at The Sean Fallon Centre. Goals from Niall Holohan, Oisin Tighe, Adam Nugent & Sam Tuohy were enough to secure the points. The visitors had a couple of chances of their own throughout the game but couldn’t find the net past the Rovers’ keeper.

Sunday saw both our Under 19 sides in action.

Our Men’s team defeated Drogheda United 4-1 at The Sean Fallon Centre. Ciaran Jennings’ goal saw the sides go into the break level after an even first half. Josh Mulrennan scored his second penalty in as many games to give Rovers the lead early in the second half and goals from Aidan McHale and Kailin Barlow wrapped up all three points.

The Women’s team travelled to Dublin to take on Peamount United in Greenogue. Both sides created a number of good chances in the game with Rovers’s losing out 5-2, with goals from Eimear McIntyre and an OG.

This coming weekend, Cavan/Monaghan are our opponents at Under 14, Under 15 and Under 17 Men’s level, with our Under 19 men taking on Finn Harps.

Our Under 19 Women’s team host Bray Wanderers with our Under 17’s taking on Galway.

As always, thanks to our sponsors for their support.

                                                          U19 – Sligo Rovers 0 DLR Waves 1

Sligo Rovers Women were unlucky to be beaten by DLR Waves at The Sean Fallon Centre on Sunday, an 87^th minute Robyn Bolger strike was all that separated the teams. A draw would probably have been a fair result in a game between two very evenly matched sides, although the weather was determined to take centre stage as the heavens opened wide and remained ajar for all but the first 10 minutes of this contest.

Sligo were looking to build on the 1-1 draw with Bohemians in the opening round of games but were on the backfoot early as Zoe Leonard created space on the right for the visitors, her ball inside found Ella Maree but the DLR midfielder shot high over the bar from just outside the penalty area. Perhaps the ball struck a low flying cloud as that was the queue for the rain to appear and suddenly cascade upon the Showgrounds for the majority of the first half. Both sides deserve credit for playing some neat stuff in midfield in such trying conditions, however, the newly slick surface frequently saw the final pass elude a teammate and zip away for a goal kick. DLR probably just shaded the first half as far as attempts went, Lucy Edwards playing just behind Bolger started to find some space and it was her attempt on 26 minutes that brought the first save from Farrah McDonagh in the home goal. Rovers did force the first corner of the game a few moments before half-time but the out-swinging cross sailed just above the head of Sarah Kiernan as she broke free at the near post.

Centre back Keela Scanlon, who was having a very impressive game for Sligo, was unfortunately forced from the pitch with a facial injury and replaced by midfielder Nola Eivers within two minutes of the restart. Eivers went into central midfield to partner Alison Langdon-Long as Kate Nugent dropped back into defence alongside Nadine Hargadon. Sligo slowly gained the upper hand as the half progressed with Eivers growing into the game and it was her strike from distance on the hour mark that just flew over the crossbar. She was at it again sixty seconds later from an identical position but this time her shot was blocked by an increasingly worried looking DLR backline. The rain had eased somewhat but continued to fall as Rovers began to grow in confidence. Left back Kiernan had started to push further forward and it was her run on 73 minutes that almost brought the first goal. She raced into the DLR half, slalomed past two challenges on the edge of the box, cut in on her right foot and curled an effort towards the bottom right corner that was well saved by Rugile Auskalnyte. It was a good stop by the goalkeeper recently called up to the Republic of Ireland U19 side.

Ella Vahey replaced Rebecca Doddy up front for Rovers and the pressure increased, Vahey involved in Rovers best chance on 81 minutes. All four Sligo subs combined brilliantly as Erin Somers picked out Alicia Hogge who threaded through for Vahey, her strike was firm but brilliantly saved by Auskalnyte who somehow got up to block the rebound as well. That scare seemed to rouse DLR who began finding space behind the full backs, their fresh legs on both wings stretching a tired Rovers backline. Holly Rutherford combined with Nicole O’Neill to pick out Bulger who rattled the crossbar with a strike from 20 yards. The Waves pinned Rovers back from the resulting throw in forcing a mistake from Eivers, her under hit pass was leapt on by Bolger who sped towards goal and fired home off the left post. It was cruel on Sligo who had been the better side in the second half and on Eivers especially who was terrific after a tough start. Moments later, the excellent Kerri O’Hara came off injured leaving the home side down to 10 women and their hopes of finding a late equaliser quashed.  Overall it was a tremendous performance from a clearly well coached and talented side who play good football even in biblical conditions, the future for Sligo Rovers women looks very bright indeed.

Report: Richard Mullan

All six academy teams are in action again this coming weekend after a busy opening three days of the 2021 season.

Our opening games saw 1 win, 3 draws and 2 defeats across all age groups with all players finding their feet on opening day.

Friday night sees Alan Farry’s Under 14 team host Mayo League at The Sean Fallon Centre. Kick off is 7.30pm.

Saturday sees two games with our Under 17’s travelling to Aileach in Donegal to face Derry City. Ryan Casey & Packie Lynch’s men drew 1-1 with Dundalk last weekend after going ahead in the game late on, only to concede an injury time equaliser.

Aaron O’ Connor takes his Under 17 Womens squad to Roadstone to take on Shamrock Rovers at 3pm. They’ll be hoping to make it two wins from two after a successful opening day over Donegal.

Three games take place on Sunday with our Under 15 team making the short journey to Milebush Park to play Mayo at 2pm. The team are managed by Paul Masterson & Marcel Gordon who have been busy in pre-season preparing the squad for the campaign ahead.

Declan Boyle takes charge of our Men’s Under 19 team as we host Dundalk at 2pm at The Sean Fallon Centre. A 1-1 draw against Derry City last weekend got the lads off the mark in 2021.

Our Under 19 Womens team host DLR Waves on Sunday afternoon at 4.30pm in their first ever meeting. The game also takes place at The Sean Fallon Centre. Darragh Healy overseen his side draw 1-1 last Sunday at home to Bohemian FC.

As always we thank our Academy Sponsors for their support.

All updates and news will be over on our new academy Twitter page: @sligoroversacad

The Gallagher Family, Sligo are our new Under 14 team main sponsor for the 2021 season.

The Gallaghers have been big Bit O’ Red Supporters over the years and have always helped the club out through match, match ball and player sponsorships as well as purchasing season tickets each year.

In a fantastic gesture of goodwill, the family have requested that our 2021 Charity Partner, Alzheimers Society of Ireland and Aughamore Day Centre, Sligo appears on the front of the Under 14 team shirts as well as the sleeves of our Ladies teams. The logo will appear for the first time this weekend as these teams begin their respective seasons.

Paul Gallagher, based in Singapore, still keeps a keen eye on all things Sligo Rovers.

‘’I have always kept a close on the club since moving away X years ago. I have always kept up to date with the latest news and I think it is important for the local community to keep getting behind the club and for the club to keep developing its academy. The Alzheimers Society is an important charity and The Aughamore Day Centre is vital for Sligo and I wanted to put their logo on the jerseys to give them the awareness they deserve.’’

The Alzheimers Society became the club’s charity partner in March and continue to engage with the club on a regular basis. They will team up with the club in the coming months on various projects to help raise awareness of their services.

Clair Culkin of Aughamore Day Centre:

‘’We are delighted to hear that The Gallagher Family are offering our charity the chance to have our logo on the Rovers’ Academy team shirts. It’s a very kind gesture and it just shows again the support we receive from people in the area and how important our services are and the positive impact it has on those effected. We sincerely thank The Gallagher’s and wish the club the best of luck in the coming season.

Our Under 14 side face Finn Harps this afternoon in Donegal while our Under 17 Ladies team play Donegal at Ballisodare United FC.

Tomorrow, our Under 19 ladies team face Bohemian FC at home to wrap up our first weekend of competitive action in 2021.

Thanks to The Gallagher Family for their continued support of the club.

This weekend sees the start of our Academy season with all six teams in action between Friday and Sunday.

Each squad have been training hard over the last number of weeks and with pre-season friendlies now complete, competitive action can begin.

The weekend sees Our Under 14 and Under 19 boys teams away from home with all other teams having home fixtures, beginning on Friday night with The Under 15 team hosting Finn Harps.

Head of Academy Conor O’ Grady:

‘’ All the players are looking forward to getting their seasons started this weekend. They have put in a lot of hard work over the last few weeks and have been very patient since the end of last season. It’s great to see some competitive football back now. All our coaches and backroom staff have been doing trojan work to get the players ready it so it will be nice for them as well.

We still have to remind everyone of the restrictions in place and the various things we need to do to keep everyone safe, which we will endeavour to continue to do throughout the season’’.

There are a number of new sponsors on board at academy level this season to add to those who sponsored us in 2020.

Full list of sponsors:

• Joma Sport
• IT Sligo/Knocknarea Arena
• Alzheimers Society of Ireland, Sligo (The Gallagher Family)
• O’ Connor Cabins
• Ivor Parke Paintors & Decorators
• Ejmenswear.com
• Verus Metrology
• Overstock
• Oh Hello Clothing
• Sweet Beat Café

Fixtures:

Boys:

Under 14 Vs Finn Harps (Saturday 2pm, Killygordon, Donegal)

Under 15 Vs Finn Harps (Friday 7.30pm, Sean Fallon Centre)

Under 17 Vs Dundalk (Saturday 1pm, Sean Fallon Centre)

Under 19 V Derry City (Sunday 3pm, Maginn Park, Buncrana)

Ladies:

Under 17 Vs Donegal (Saturday 4.15pm, Ballisodare United FC)

Under 19 Vs Bohemian FC (Sunday 4pm, Sean Fallon Centre)

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce a new partner for our Ladies Under 19 team.

Sweet Beat Cafe will become official partners and appear on the back of the girl’s playing shirts for the season ahead.

Sweet Beat Cafe is an award winning family run planet-first café and shop featuring inventive and creative plant-based dishes and offering 3FE coffee. Sweet Beat also offers and eco retail collection at their base overlooking The Garavogue River on Wine Street in Sligo Town.

Company founder and Creative Director Carolanne Rushe expressed her delight today:

“We are thrilled to be able to sponsor the girls this coming season. For us, it’s important to help out locally and being local business, it feels like the right choice to support the team in their first season in the league. Ladies football and sport in general is vitally important and there is a clear plan in place at The Showgrounds which is one of the reasons we wanted to get involved.

Sligo Rovers Ladies Committee expressed their thanks to Sweet Beat:

‘We are really grateful to Sweet Beat for their support. Their logo looks great on our shirts and we hope they will be able to come up and watch the girls play in the coming months. Sweet Beat were very supportive to the Sligo Community during the COVID lockdowns by providing food deliveries to those in need and this shows their support to the community again’’.

You can visit the Sweet Beat on Wine Street in Sligo Town. They open 7 days a week. Check out their website at sweetbeat.ie or find them on social media @sweetbeatsligo