FAI Cup match: Cork City

600 supporters will be permitted to attend the FAI Cup first round match with Cork City.

The game is scheduled for Sunday 25 July at 5pm in The Showgrounds.

Season pass holders will be contacted this week if successful in the ballot with details of how to acquire a ticket.

The match will also be broadcast on LOI TV for €5.

Under 19’s defeat Drogheda United

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

Preview: Second leg decider vs FH in Showgrounds

Sligo Rovers play the second leg of the Europa Conference League first round match with FH Hafnarfjordur in The Showgrounds on Thursday evening.

BUY THE LIVE STREAM HERE

The Bit O’ Red trail 1-0 going into the game after Steven Lennon’s goal in Iceland.

Rovers are aiming to overturn a deficit in Europe for the first time and secure a third ever victory in European football.

In team news, Johnny Kenny and Regan Donelon are back in the squad. John Mahon, Ed McGinty and Greg Bolger miss out. Bolger is suspended after a red card last week and McGinty has a foot problem.

Robbie McCourt has resumed light training but still has some time to recover from a broken wrist.

New signing Adam McDonnell will also be in contention.

The match is a 6pm kick-off with 400 supporters attending the game, less than 50% of the club’s season ticket holders, in what is a test event for the return of spectators. It will be the biggest attendance in The Showgrounds since the onset of Covid-19 and the first European match since 2014.

The game was against Rosenborg and the winner of this tie will go on to meet the Norwegian outfit.

Liam Buckley said: “I knew it would be a close game last week and I think it will be tight again for the second leg.

“We have to patient. We need to score, we need to win the game, so we approach Thursday with all of that in mind.

“We want to improve on our performance and if we do that it will give us a chance. The first goal is obviously going to be important but that said, we’re ready for it and we’re going to give it a right go.

“Johnny is set to be available. He has trained with us. John won’t make it. We have three players out but everybody else is in the mix.

“We’ll pick a team knowing we need a goal but again there is just one goal in it. We don’t want to have regrets, we have to give ourselves the opportunity to win the game and we’ll only do that with the right performance.”

Academy Weekend Review

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.

Adam McDonnell signs for Sligo Rovers

Sligo Rovers can today confirm the signing of midfielder Adam McDonnell.

McDonnell began his career at Shelbourne before moving to Ipswich Town under Mick McCarthy.

Two successful spells at Aldershot Town saw McDonnell play some of the best football of his career before a switch to Boreham Wood for the last two campaigns.

The 24-year-old officially joined the club last weekend and has completed Covid-19 protocols so he trained with the first-team squad this morning.

He is already eligible to play in the league and European action.

Speaking to www.sligorovers.com, McDonnell said: “It’s brilliant to get it over the line. In the last few weeks my agent and the club were in conversation and for me it was a no-brainer to sign for Sligo Rovers.  

“I know what Liam Buckley teams are like, I remember it from playing against St Patrick’s Athletic at the start of my career and I didn’t forget it. I was up against Greg Bolger that day actually and the style of football will be a great fit for me.

“I’m a ball-playing midfielder who can play six or 10. I think defending matters when it comes to midfield so if I play six I like to get on the ball and protect the defence, and if playing further up the pitch create chances or score goals.

“I absolutely loved my time in England. The last year or so was not as enjoyable with lockdown and it was right time to come back to Ireland.

“I’m in Sligo so I’ll be able to travel home to Dublin at times and see my family which I wasn’t able to do in England. I know Robbie McCourt and Danny Kane so I spoke to them about the club and when you just hear good things, it made me want to come here.  I can see the positive mindset here and a winning mentality and it’s fantastic to be part of that. Even after one session I can see that positivity.

“There’s so much to play for in terms of the league and obviously there’s Europe on Thursday. I trained today, I’ve been ticking over since I left England and while I may need match sharpness, I want to play as soon as I can.”

Liam Buckley said: “We’re very pleased to bring Adam in.

“I’ve known of Adam since he was a young kid starting out at Shels with a lot of potential, he’s gone over to England and done very well for the last six or seven years.

“He brings experience and he’ll be a help to us over the season. We are only at the midway point so between the league, the Cup and the rest of the European season, there’s a lot of football to be played.

“Adam can play in a couple of midfield roles, he’s got a lot of quality and he’ll get a chance here.

“We’re working off a very good squad here but a tight squad on numbers so we will need everyone.

“Every player we bring in will get the opportunity and Adam comes into the mix now. With this move being in the offing for a while, Adam has kept fit and from training today he looked good. We’ll see how things go for when he makes a debut but it’s another good addition to us.”

Buckley added: “We’re still in the mix with the window still open. As I said we don’t have the biggest of squads so if something does materialise we will assess it as we continue to do on an ongoing basis.”

Women’s Under 19 0-1 DLR Waves

                                                          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 87th 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

Rovers fall to one-goal defeat

Sligo Rovers must overturn a one-goal deficit if they are to progress in the Europa Conference League after they were beaten by Icelandic side FH Hafnarfjordur at Kaplakriki.

The Bit O’Red, who created the better of the chances, had Greg Bolger dismissed seven minutes before reigning Icelandic player of the year Steven Lennon netted the Urvalsdeild side’s winner.

Despite defeat and with the away goal rule no longer in play, Sligo will feel they have a chance of advancing from this first round tie, when the teams face each other again at the Showgrounds in a week’s time.

This was Sligo’s first European game in six years and the Bit O’Red looked comfortable against their Icelandic opponents in the opening exchanges.

The only change from the weekend’s win over Longford, goalkeeper Luke McNicholas easily claimed Bjorn Sverrisson’s effort early on.

Both sides struggled to manufacture chances and it took until the 35th minute for Rovers to test FH goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen. The Faroe Islands international was content to see Bolger’s volley from 20 yards fired straight at him following work from Romeo Parkes and Colm Horgan.

There were chances at both ends later in the opening half.

Former Dundalk man Lennon saw his header clip the post from an Ingi Gunnarsson cross on 38 minutes, before both players combined again as the latter fired wide off the outside of his left boot.

Rovers then had their best opportunity of the half in added time, but leading scorer Jordan Gibson was unable to get his shot away after a magnificent scooped pass from Parkes found the former St Patrick’s Athletic winger three yards out from goal.

Gibson flashed a speculative effort across the face of the FH goal on the hour as both camps took their time to settle back into the game after the interval.

Liam Buckley’s charges then squandered two golden opportunities to take the lead mid-way through the half.

Parkes inadvertently blocked Gibson’s goal-bound shot after wonderful work from substitute Walter Figueira, moments before Shane Blaney headed straight at Nielsen from a Bolger set-piece.

The visitors were reduced to ten on 77 minutes when Bolger was shown a second yellow card after Maltese referee Ishmael Barbara adjudged the Rovers skipper to have dived inside the FH penalty area.

Rovers were further punished on 85 minutes, with Lennon latching on to the end of substitute Vok Dimitrijevic’s cross as he steered his header into the far corner and beyond the reach of McNicholas.

FH Hafnarfjordur: Nielsen; Kristjansson, Vidarsson, Thorisson, Gunnarsson, Sverrisson, E Jonsson, J Jonsson (Gudlaugsson 93), Helgason (Dimitrijevic 82), Lennon (Hreidarsson 93), Vilhjalmsson.

Sligo Rovers: McNicholas, Banks, Buckley, Blaney, Horgan, Bolger, Morahan, Byrne (Cawley 64), Gibson, Parkes, De Vries (Figueira 64).

Referee: Ishmael Barbara (Malta).