Sligo Rovers WU17s were defeated for the first time this season as they were defeated 3-0 by an impressive Peamount side at the Showgrounds on Sunday evening.

The Dubliners went ahead in the first-half, and added their second and third goals of the evening in the second-half, earning a well deserved victory against a steely Rovers side.

The Bit O’Red started well, and a good interception from Aoife O’Leary in the Peas defence put an end to a lovely move involving Ciara Henry and Alison Langdon-Long.

Amy Mahon in the Rovers goals kept the visitors scoreless with a super save from an Orlagh Fitzpatrick shot.

Keela Scanlon forced a good save from Ciara Glackin in the Peas goals after eight minutes when she got on the end of a fine through ball from Ciara Henry.

Another strong shot from distance was well held by Amy Mahon, before the Dubliners took the lead on 24 minutes.

Becky Watkins got on the end of the impressive Orlagh Fitzpatrick’s corner, knocking past Mahon from close range to make it 1-0.

Fitzpatrick forced another good save from Mahon seconds later, before the Dubliners should have extended their lead when Della Doherty played a great ball to Abbie Clarke, the tall striker just nodded her effort wide.

Rovers started well after the restart, but they went further behind on 49 minutes when Della Doherty headed past Mahon from close range.

The hosts didn’t give up, however, and went on in search of a goal with Kate Nugent trying her luck from distance, watching on as it was wide of the mark.

Substitute Ella Maree made it 3-0 on 74 minutes. Rovers fought hard for the remaining 15 minutes with Maeve Molloy troubling the Peas defence, but the stronger team won on the day.

Sligo Rovers: Amy Mahon, Keela Scanlon (Maeve Molloy, 75), Sarah Kiernan, Emer O’Neill, Kate Nugent, Erin Taheny, Alison Langdon-Long (Eimear McIntyre,18), Helen Monaghan, Ciara Henry, Jessica Casey (Aine Gorman, 58), Cathy Harrison.

(Jessica Farry)

View a selection of images from the 1-0 defeat to Bohemians on Friday night in the SSE Airtricity League. Photography by James Fallon.

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Sligo Rovers will play Derry City in the quarter-finals of the Extra.ie FAI Cup in the Showgrounds.

First Division side Athlone Town will welcome Shelbourne.

Holders Shamrock Rovers will face a difficult trip to Ballybofey to face Finn Harps.

Bohemians, who secured a 1-0 win over Sligo Rovers this evening before the quarter-final draw at the Showgrounds, will welcome Dundalk in the last eight. 

Extra.ie FAI Cup Quarter-Final Draw

Athlone Town v Shelbourne
Bohemians v Dundalk 
Finn Harps v Shamrock Rovers 
Sligo Rovers v Derry City 

All dates and KO times will be confirmed at a later date.

Bohemians found a way past Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds on Friday night.

Andre Wright’s strike ten minutes from time was enough to seal the win for an industrious Bohs outfit who inflicted upon the Bit O’Red, their first league defeat in six games.

Seeking to tighten that gap between themselves and the league leaders, it was the visitors who dictated much of the play in the opening half and who fashioned the early chances.

Rovers goalkeeper Ed McGinty was called into action five minutes in when Lewis Banks mis-controlled his attempted clearance at the edge of the Sligo area. Possession fell to ex-Sligo winger Kris Twardek who picked out the waiting Dawson Devoy, who was in turn denied by the sprawling Scot.

Devoy was offered another chance to open the scoring just 60 seconds later. But the ex-Home Farm youth could only drive wide from all of 15 yards.

Rovers then had to rely on acrobatics from Kyle McFadden whose overhead kick stopped the ball from going over the line after Twardek’s cross was poked towards goal by a Bohs player.

The home side, looking to continue their impressive post lock-down form, conjured up their first opportunity on 17 minutes. Will Seymore might have done better when he headed David Cawley’s corner past James Talbot’s post.

The Phibsboro men were back amongst the chances before the break. Danny Grant’s effort was deflected into the path of Wright, but the striker couldn’t apply the finishing touch with the goal at his mercy.

While McFadden was involved in front of his own posts again on 37 when he blocked down Grant’s well struck volley.

Both sides began the second period with headed chances. Ronan Coughlan first for Sligo, while Bohs’ Wright was next to miss the mark after he met Anto Breslin’s hanging ball from the left.

Good work from both Seymore and Junior provided Coughlan with Sligo’s next opening with just over an hour elapsed.

The sparse Showgrounds crowd took to their feet in anticipation as Coughlan found himself one-on-one with Talbot. But Coughlan’s poor finishing was his downfall as he fired wide with just the Bohs net-minder to beat.

McGinty was called on to get both hands behind Wright’s opportunistic shot on the turn with a quarter of an hour to go as Sligo continued to frustrate their opponents.

The Dubliners finally broke the deadlock on 80 when Wright was allowed ample space to connect with Devoy’s cross. The 23-year-old marksman tucking the ball past McGinty for his fourth goal of the campaign.

There was a late chance for Sligo, but the mis-firing Coughlan blazed over Seymore’s knockdown from a Cawley corner.

Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty; Lewis Banks, Kyle McFadden, Teemu Penninkangas, Regan Donelon; David Cawley, Will Seymore (Ryan De Vries 90); Junior, Garry Buckley (Ronan Murray 81), Jesse Devers; Ronan Coughlan.

Bohemians: James Talbot; Andy Lyons, Dan Casey, Rob Cornwall, Anto Breslin; Conor Levingston, Keith Buckley; Kris Twardek, Dawson Devoy, Danny Grant; Andre Wright.

Referee: Rob Hennessy.

It’s another busy weekend at academy level with all five teams playing league games between Friday and Sunday.

Tonight in Finn Park, Alan Farry and Kieran Brick take their Under 13 team to face Finn Harps. The sides met last Friday night in Sligo with the visitors taking all three points thanks to three second half goals.

Our under 15 squad face Derry City on Saturday at 2pm at The Showgrounds. The sides met on the opening day of the season with Rovers running out winners in Donegal in August.

The team are looking to make it five wins from five in the league so far.

Sunday sees three games down for decision with Ryan Casey’s under 17 team travelling to Aileach, Donegal to face Derry City. The last time the teams met, they couldn’t be seperated with the game finishing 1-1 thanks to Darragh Reilly’s equaliser. We wish Darragh well in his recovery from an injury picked up lately.

Brian Dorrian and our under 19 side take on the same opposition at 2pm at The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. Rovers defeated Longford Town on Wednesday and will be hoping to take that form into Sunday’s game, having been defeated by the Candystripes back in August.

The final game of the weekend sees our under 17 Ladies team host Peamount at The Showgrounds. The girls have had a good start to their campaign picking up a win and a draw from the first two fixtures, against Shamrock Rovers and Donegal.

The game kicks off at 6:30pm.

Best of luck to all our players and coaching staff this weekend.

Sligo Rovers host Bohemians on Friday night in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division in The Showgrounds in a match to be broadcast live on RTÉ2, kick-off 7:45pm.

Rovers earned a first draw of the season last week against St Patrick’s Athletic, and extended an unbeaten run to five matches in league and Cup.

The Bit O’ Red are in fifth position in the table, with Bohs three placed and five points ahead.

In team news Danny Kane (ankle), Darren Collins (ankle), Sigitas Olberkis (hamstring) and Johnny Dunleavy (knee) are out. Niall Morahan serves a one-game suspension for the red card last week.

Manager Liam Buckley said: “Given it wasn’t a performance we were happy with last week, a point was important for us. It’s a congested table so every result counts.

“This is another six-pointer, a good result could put us right up there again. We have to eke out as many results as we can, it is something we’ve said to the players from the start of the season. It makes all the difference. This is a stiff test, but one we are looking forward to.

“We’re expecting a tight game. One thing we would like to do compared to last week is keep possession better and use it better. That sort of improvement will be important.

“We can’t affect what Bohs do, except by imposing ourselves on the game, our focus is on producing an overall performance from our end.

“I’m delighted to have our supporters back with us, even if it is only 100. They’ve been with us every step of the way this year, even when we haven’t seen much of them because of the circumstances. We’re certainly aware of the support they give us.

“Having 100 of them behind us will mean something. In this short truncated season, we have to be grateful for every occasion.

“We know there’ll be plenty watching on television and online so we’re going to try to put in the performance for them as well.”

Kick-off is 7:45pm. Supporters who have been issued match info following successful ballot for tickets should follow advice given. No other supporters can be admitted. The match is live on RTÉ2 and WATCHLOI.  

Sligo Rovers can confirm that 100 supporters will be permitted to attend Friday’s SSE Airtricity Premier Division game with Bohemians.

Following updated regulations by the government on the six-month plan for Covid-19, The Showgrounds can admit 100 fans from today. 

As part of our commitment to loyal supporters, the club will now use our season ticket holder database to randomly select those that can attend.

The match with Dundalk last month was due to be played in front of a small number of fans who had not yet attended a game and were successful in the ballot. 

However a change in regulations meant they could not attend. Those fans will now be contacted to inform them that they can instead be at The Showgrounds for Friday’s game.

The rest of the places in the 100 allocation will come from season ticket holders who have not attended a game since Covid-19 regulations came in. They too will be contacted shortly. Our match night personnel needed for each game and the daily running of the club will also be in place to ensure a safe event takes place. 

We thank our supporters for the incredible backing they given us in the last six months and look forward to welcoming even more fans for the remaining two home games if possible. 

Friday’s match is live on RTE2 and worldwide on WATCHLOI.

Our under 13 team were first up this weekend when they welcomed Finn Harps to The Sean Fallon Centre on Friday night.

The team competed well for large stages of the game, creating some good chances in either half. With twenty minutes remaining, the teams were level at 0-0. Harps took the lead with fifteen minutes left, and added two more goals before the end to make it 3-0 at full time.

On Saturday, both our under 15 and 17 boys took on the same opposition.

In Drumoghill, Donegal, Rovers ran out 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Adam Nugent and Conor Devaney. This result sees Rovers lead the group on a maximum 12 points from the opening four games.

The Bit O’ Red were without a couple of players for this fixture due to their involvement with the under 17 squad, so this result shows the strength in depth of Conor O’ Grady’s squad.

At 1pm, our under 17 team hosted Harps at The Sean Fallon Centre. These two sides met a fortnight ago and it was the same scoreline this time around with Rovers winning 5-0 thanks to a Johnny Kenny hattrick, taking his tally to 9 league goals for the season, and a goal a piece from Kailin Barlow and Oran Groarke. Ryan Casey’s side have now won their last three games and remain unbeaten in the league so far.

Our under 17 ladies team travelled to Letterkenny to take on Donegal at 5:30pm, also on Saturday.

A lively start to the game saw Rovers take the lead, and be pegged back straight away inside the opening minutes. Two Sarah Kiernan goals as well as a Muireann Devaney strike eventually saw The Bit O’ Red run out winners on a 3-2 scoreline. This result continues a solid start to the campaign with four points from the opening two games.

On Sunday, our under 19 squad also played Finn Harps at The Sean Fallon Centre.

A tight first half saw both sides create chances and either goalkeeper making a couple of good saves. The game opened up after the break and Harps took the lead from the penalty spot before Johnny Kenny, having scored three the previous day for the under 17 team, equalised for Rovers.

The game could have gone either way at this point but the away team took all three points thanks to a fine header late on.

Thanks to our sponsors Pure Telecom, Ivor Parke, O’ Connor Cabins, EJ Menswear and Verus Metrology.

Sligo Rovers drew 0-0 with St Patrick’s Athletic last Saturday in Richmond Park.

Both sides made just one change from differing results last time out, St Pat’s losing 3-0 in Waterford while in-form Sligo notched up their fifth win from six games with a 3-1 home victory over Finn Harps.

St Pat’s began positively with Georgie Kelly, Chris Forrester, Jamie Lennon and Robbie Benson having sights of goal that came to nothing, all inside the opening seven minutes.

Composed in their passing, the home side maintained their dominance of the ball as Sligo laboured to get a foothold in the game.

Liam Buckley’s side finally managed to do that on 24 minutes, springing to life in an attacking sense to carve the first real opening of the game. 

Right-back Lewis Banks’ diagonal ball was helped on by skipper David Cawley for Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe. The Londoner cut across the St Pat’s 18-yard area to unleash his shot that was deflected out for a corner.

Minutes later, the visitors’ more direct approach troubled St Pat’s again. Jesse Devers played a long-range one-two with Will Seymore to get into space on the right.

The cross, though, had just a little too much on it for Ronan Coughlan who couldn’t get any real purchase on his header that was well off target.

Likewise Junior a minute before half-time, when the winger glanced a header wide from Cawley’s cross after Sligo had worked a short corner.

As in the first, St Pat’s began the second half on the front foot.

A promising move involving Forrester, Kelly and Billy King set up Shane Griffin whose drive was blocked and cleared by a blanket Sligo defence.

Left-back Griffin then did well two minutes later when getting across the end line only to drill his shot into the side netting.

Upping the tempo, St Pat’s were inches from a deserved lead on 61 minutes.

The impressive Feely’s cross dropped awkwardly for Benson in the area, though the midfielder still managed to direct it off his thigh onto a post, Banks hacking the loose ball clear.

The same upright came to Sligo’s rescue again on 83 minutes as Forrester’s curling shot beat Ed McGinty only to strike the butt of his left-hand post.

Club captain Ian Bermingham’s late introduced marked a record 309th league appearance for St Pat’s. 

Rovers then finished with ten men when midfielder Niall Morahan was sent off for a second booking in stoppage time.

St Patrick’s Athletic: Brendan Clarke; Rory Feely, Luke McNally, Lee Desmond, Shane Griffin (Ian Bermingham 81); Jamie Lennon (Darragh Markey 86), Chris Forrester; Jordan Gibson, Robbie Benson, Billy King (Jason McClelland 70); Georgie Kelly.

Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty; Lewis Banks, Kyle McFadden, Teemu Penninkangas, Regan Donelon; Niall Morahan, David Cawley; Jesse Devers (Alex Cooper 87), Will Seymore (Garry Buckley 75), Junior; Ronan Coughlan.

Referee: Derek Tomney (Dublin)

Sligo Rovers will face St Patrick’s Athletic on Saturday in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division in a 5pm kick-off in Richmond Park.

Now third in the SSE Airtricity League table after winning five of the six games since the league resumed, the Bit O’ Red face Stephen O’Donnell’s side who are just four points behind.

In team news Danny Kane (ankle), Darren Collins (ankle), Sigitas Olberkis (hamstring) and Johnny Dunleavy (knee) are out.

Alex Cooper returns from a hamstring problem.

Liam Buckley said: “There wasn’t a lot in the game last Monday, it was an important win when you factor in the league table and how things are.

“It’s a hard, hard league and every game is a big ask. Looking back on Pat’s last week, the scoreline did not reflect the game, it wasn’t a 3-0 match. They’re right in the mix as as all the teams are.

“We’ve been producing a serious effort in these games. The credit goes to the players, they are putting in these shifts.”

Rovers won in Derry on 31 July, but the good form has been aided most by the home record, with four victories in succession. Now faced with more games on the road, behind closed doors, Buckley is adamant is all that counts is attitude.

“It’s about application. If the application is spot on, then you have a chance in any game. That is what has pleased me most, that the players have worked so hard and the results have come with it.

“At times we want more in terms of an overall team performance, we have shown what we can do in moments in games. We’re always looking to improve on that and it’s no different this Saturday.

“Alex Cooper comes back in this week. We can see a healthy competition within the group, all the players are contributing. It makes training all the better when we have more players available. We’re still without a few lads but the rest have recovered well from Monday. We’ve prepared as best we can and look forward to the game.”