Treaty Utd were within six minutes of a first Women’s National League victory at the Showgrounds yesterday, but Sligo Rovers struck a late equaliser when substitute Lauren McLellan finished to the net for the hosts.

Cara Griffin gave Treaty Utd the lead with a delightful goal in the ninth minute when she lobbed Bit O’Red ‘keeper Amy Mahon and the Munster side bettled with great determination for the remainder.

Prior to that conceding that early goal the hosts had chances with the best for Paula McGrory who headed over from almost under the Treaty crossbar.

There wasn’t too much excitement after that until assistant-referee Keenan Deering broke his flag and play was halted briefly while fourth official Mark Houlihan sourced a replacement.

Sligo Rovers eventually upped the tempo and were denied an equaliser in the 30th minute when the woodwork intervened and from the rebound Aife Haran was denied by a Treaty defender.

Fiona Doherty had a glorious opportunity to equalise in the 35th minute, but she blazed wide from about 12 yards.

Leah Kelly and Gemma McGuinness also had a chances clsoe to the interval, but Trish Fennelly saved both efforts as Treaty held on to lead at the break.

Six minutes into the second-half Gemma McGuinness fired narrowly wide of the Treaty post as the hosts went in search of an equaliser.

Soon after Trish Fennelly fumbled a high centre, but McGuinness couldn’t finish the loose ball..

Sligo Rovers continued to press and Amy Boyle-Carr went close on the hour while at the other end Treaty’s Shannen O’Donovan had a half chance that Amy Mahon saved.

The pattern remained  as Sligo continued to press and Treaty defended with great determination.

Treaty created a good opening in the 73rd minute, but Griffin dragged her shot wide and at the other end McGuinness also blazed wide.

Six minutes from time Sligo Rovers got the equaliser when substitute Lauren McLellan finished to the net with her first touch from about four yards when she pounced on a loose ball.

Sligo Rovers – Amy Mahon; Aife Haran, Sarah Kiernan, Amy Roddy, Leah Kelly, Emma Hansberry, Gemma McGuinness, Fiona Doherty, Lauren Boles, Paula McGrory, Amy Boyle-Carr.  Subs – Katie Melly for Doherty 75 mins, Lauren McLellan for Hansberry, Orna O’Dowd for Kiernan and Ruth Monaghan for Haran all 81m,

Treaty Utd – Trish Fennelly; Alex Mendez, Laoise Browne, Alannah Mitchell, Grace McInerney, Jessie Mendez, Kelsey Wing, Kaiesha Tobin, Cara Griffin, Rosie Young, Shannen O’Donovan.
Subs – Megan Brennan for Tobin 68 mins, Shannon Parbet for A Mendez 73m, Naoise Griffin for O’Donovan 90m.

Our 2022 Annual Draw has now come to a close after the draw took place last night at our game against Shamrock Rovers.

A record breaking total of €106,690 was raised by our supporters this year.

It was decided by the club before the draw, that all proceeds would be put towards our Showgrounds Development Plan and we wish to thank everyone for supporting this and making it our best draw in our history.

This year we had the biggest team of sellers throughout the county, well up from previous years. This was down to dedication from our volunteer Management Committee and supporters, who called door to door around the region.

The more people we have to sell tickets the more we are able to raise for the club.  We thank our volunteers who have been working so hard for this draw for the past number of weeks.

Mark Cummins, Annual Draw co-ordinator and Sligo Rovers Vice Secretary:

“I would like to thank all our ticket sellers who put in such a huge effort this year. 

‘’There was great team spirit amongst the sellers and it was their enthusiasm to set a new record this year that made it possible.

‘’We have set a big target for next year but with a few more volunteers we can surpass this year’s total.

‘’As announced the proceeds of the annual draw are going to the development of the showgrounds.  We hope to be in a position to give an update on our development plans in the next few weeks.

‘’A massive thanks also to the supporters and general public for getting behind the draw from the start’’.

Sligo Rovers Chairman Tommy Higgins:

‘’It just goes to show the sheer commitment and dedication of my fellow Committee members and volunteers for getting such a magnificent result from this year’s Annual Draw.

‘’We decided to put all proceeds from the draw towards our Masterplan, which we hope to see transform The Showgrounds into a state of the art sporting venue for the future.

‘’I want to thank Mark and all the sellers for their unbelievable contribution and of course all our supporters who bought or sold tickets for us.

‘’I also wish to thank those who bought tickets to the draw who may not particularly follow the club. It just goes to show the great respect the people of the region have for our great club.’’

Full list of Winners:

1st Prize: €5000: Donal Kilcullen

2nd Prize: €1,000 Petstop Discount Warehouse Voucher: Bernie Maye

3rd Prize: Shelbourne Hotel Voucher: Gerry Nicholson

4th Prize: Liffey Valley Clayton Hotel stay: Eamonn Rushe

5th Prize: Westlife Tickets for Belfast: Adrian Coen

6th Prize: €200 voucher for Kate’s Kitchen: Jason Mills

7th Prize: 2 tickets to Liverpool FC: Calvin Flynn

8th Prize: 2 Rod Stewart Tickets for Dublin: Brid Doherty

9th Prize: €100 voucher for Intersport Elverys: Joe Gilroy

10th Prize: €100 voucher for Intersport Elverys: Lorraine Miller

Our 2022 Annual Draw concluded tonight with an amazing €106,690 raised for the club from the draw.

This record-breaking total could not have been reached without the dedication of our Management Committee and supporters, who sold tickets throughout the region since the launch of the draw back in July.

The winner of the top prize was Donal Kilcullen from Skreen in Sligo. Congratulations to him and all our other prize winners who are listed below:

Full list of Winners:

1^st Prize: €5000: Donal Kilcullen

2^nd Prize: €1,000 Petstop Discount Warehouse Voucher: Bernie Maye

3^rd Prize: Shelbourne Hotel Voucher: Gerry Nicholson

4^th Prize: Liffey Valley Clayton Hotel stay: Eamonn Rushe

5^th Prize: Westlife Tickets for Belfast: Adrian Coen

6^th Prize: €200 voucher for Kate’s Kitchen: Jason Mills

7^th Prize: 2 tickets to Liverpool FC: Calvin Flynn

8^th Prize: 2 Rod Stewart Tickets for Dublin: Brid Doherty

9^th Prize: €100 voucher for Intersport Elverys: Joe Gilroy

10^th Prize: €100 voucher for Intersport Elverys: Lorraine Miller

Sligo Rovers return to Women’s National League action on Sunday with what will be viewed as a must-win game at the Showgrounds against Treaty Utd.

 Still without a win this season after 23 outings, Treaty Utd will tackle a Sligo Rovers side that they should have beaten when the Bit O’Red travelled to the Market’s Field last May.

 On that occasion the Munster women created lots of good chances, but were denied by a combination of solid defensive play, good goalkeeping by Amy Mahon and the woodwork.

The game ended in a scoreless draw and was a first point of the season for Don O’Riordan’s side, but they haven’t managed to add to that tally in the intervening period.

 With no WNL action last weekend due to the FAI Cup semi-finals, Treaty Utd had a break, but ttwo weeks ago made the trip to Ferrycarrig Park to tackle leaders and title-chasing Wexford.

 The hosts recorded a 3-0 victory with all the goals arriving in the first-half and while there was no surprise about tthe final outcome, Treaty produced a spirited second-half display and will look at this encounter on Sunday as one in which they can achieve that crucial first win of the season.

For Sligo Rovers, it’s a different scenario and one that’s not lost on manager Steve Feeney as there will be expectations of a first win for his team since they shocked Shelbourne with a 3-2 win at the end of July.

“We were good in the first-half against Peamount in the last game, but we faded in the second-half and we will have to raise our performance now for the visit of Treaty Utd,” commented Feeney.

“It will be interesting to see how we handle that fact that we will be expected to win against Treaty, usually we are going out looking for a good performance and the possibility of picking up points.

“On Sunday, we will be expected to win, there’s no point in trying to dress it up any other way, Treaty will be the underdogs, but we know that they gave us a good game the last day and they could have won.

“Both teams will be of the opinion that they can win this one, that should make for a good spectacle for the supporters.

“We showed against Peamount the last day that we can compete, but we only did it for 45 minutes really, that’s probably the challenge for us, to be competitive for 90 minutes.

“We know we can do it, we just have to make sure we do it on Sunday as Cork City are four points behind us and will be targeting eighth position, it’s up to ourselves to make sure they don’t catch us,” he added.

We host Shamrock Rovers tonight at 7.45pm at The Showgrounds as we return to action following the International Window.

We outline all our Match Night information below, where we ask supporters for their assistance and co-operation.

Turnstiles:

Turnstiles open from 6.30pm. You should have your Season Tickets or Match Tickets to hand and ready when arriving to make it a smoother process for our scanners.

Away tickets are sold out and there is strictly no admission without a valid ticket.

Any fans with duplicate tickets will be turned away by our Security and Gardai.

Seating:

Seating is first come, first served in all areas of the ground. Seats with names on them must be respected as these are Gold Season Ticket members who have paid for their seat to be reserved all season. Anyone found sitting in a seat that is not theirs will be asked to move.

Security:

Members of our security team will carry out on the spot checks on bags and persons entering the ground. Alcohol and Pyrotechnics are not allowed and will be confiscated on entry. We ask supporters to please help the club in this regard and refrain from attempting to get in with any prohibited items.

CCTV:

CCTV is again in operation throughout the evening using our Brand New state of the art CCTV system. Security personnel and An Garda Siochaina will be monitoring the system and anyone found to be behaving in a way which contravenes our ground rules will be removed and potentially banned from attending future games.

Car Parking:

There are limited spaces available at The Showgrounds astro turf car park. This will be closed once full, which is expected to be early in the evening. Supporters should note the club have come to an agreement with Nazareth House for official Match Night use of their grounds which has over 200 parking spaces. There is a charge of €2, with proceeds towards the upkeep of their grounds.

Pitch:

It is an offence to enter the field of play at any stage. This includes children. It is parent/guardian’s responsibility to ensure children do not encroach on the pitch at any time.

Rubbish:

Please use the bins provided around the ground. Volunteers help clean the ground after the match and your assistance with this would be massively helpful.

We wish to thank all supporters for their support and we thank you for your co-operation

Sligo Rovers host Shamrock Rovers tomorrow night (Saturday) at The Showgrounds in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division.

The game will be our first in over two weeks after defeat to Derry City at The Brandywell on September 13^th.

Shamrock Rovers have played four games in that period, losing to Gent in the Europa Conference League and to Derry City in The FAI Cup three days later before a 0-0 draw with Shelbourne and an important win over UCD at Tallaght Stadium on Monday last, both in the League.

Rovers are in fifth position in the table with six games remaining while the visitors sit on top of the league, five points ahead of Derry City.

The Bit O’ Red had two players away on International duty over the International Window with Nando Pijnaker playing for New Zealand in two friendly games against Australia in Brisbane and Auckland.

Luke McNicholas returned to the club early from representing Ireland Under 21’s after picking up an ankle injury in training. The injury will see McNicholas ruled out for the remainder of the season. This will see either Richard Brush or Conor Walsh brought into the team in his place, with Brush having made three appearances so far in 2022, helping Rovers to two wins in those three games.

Manager John Russell looks forward to the game:

‘’We’re all looking forward to getting back out in front of our home fans tomorrow night.

‘’We know Shamrock Rovers will be a tough test. They sit on top of the table for a reason  but our players are ready for the challenge ahead.

‘’With only three home games remaining we’re expecting a big crowd and hopefully the players can put on a top performance’’.

In team news, Luke McNicholas and Garry Buckley are out through injury. Buckley had surgery on an ACL in the past few days and now begins his road to recovery. Mark Byrne is also ruled out long term. Scans have shown damage to his ACL following what was thought as a minor knock picked up in training.

Seamas Keogh returned in a friendly against Galway United last Friday and will be part of the squad this weekend. Greg Bolger limped off in the game but is expected to be fit to play against his former club.

The club’s Annual Draw for 2022 will take place at half-time. There is €5000 to be won in our draw and tickets will be available on the night or also online until 6pm tomorrow via the following link:

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

There are just two academy games taking place this weekend and both games are at The Sean Fallon Centre.

Tomorrow, our Under 14 team host Finn Harps at 1pm.

On Sunday, our Under 19 Men’s team host Dundalk in the League at 2pm.

Both games are free to watch and all support is appreciated.

Sligo Rovers Annual Draw is now just 2 days away and we can confirm a total of €71,000 has been raised so far as the community gets behind our draw once again as they do every year.

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 2 days left until the draw, we encourage supporters who have not entered to do so now to be in with a chance of winning. We also ask people selling books on our behalf to begin to get their books back to the club in a timely manner before the draw. The Showgrounds office is open from 9am to 2pm for the rest of the week.

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.

Our record tally for our Annual Draw was back in 2019 when the club raised an amazing €78,340 profit from the draw.

We are hoping to smash this record this year and with just 48 hours remaining, it will take a big push and a lot of effort in order to reach our goal.

Buy online:

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

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

The draw takes place at half time on Saturday at the Shamrock Rovers match.

We have two home fixtures this weekend as both our Men and Women’s Senior teams are in The Showgrounds on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday evening, our Men’s team host Shamrock Rovers at 7.45pm.

Match Sponsors are Nathaniel Lacy Solicitors and Match Ball sponsors are both Sligo Driver Training and Milligram.

On Sunday, our Womens team host Treaty United at 2pm, 24 hours later than usual due to the Men’s fixture on Saturday.

Match sponsors are our friends from Overstock who also sponsor our Under 19 Womens team this season.

Gates open at 6.30pm Saturday and 1pm Sunday and we encourage all supporters to get in and support the teams.

Bit O’ Red goalkeeper Luke McNicholas has sustained an ankle injury which will see him sidelined for the remainder of the 2022 SSE Airtricity League season.

McNicholas picked up the injury whilst training with The Republic if Ireland Under 21 squad ahead of their European play-off with Israel.

McNicholas will now return to the club to begin his rehabilitation and is confident that he will be fit to return as normal for pre-season training in December ahead of the 2023 season.