Sligo Rovers travel to the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium on Friday night to take Derry City in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division.

The Bit O’ Red extended their unbeaten run at home to nine matches last time out against Waterford and go in search for a fourth win on the road this year.

Wins over Finn Harps, UCD and Bohemians have helped Rovers to sit in sixth place in the league, with this game a key one in trying to get closer to Derry and St Patrick’s Athletic.  

In team news, Dante Leverock (red card last time out) and David Cawley (yellow card accumulation) are suspended.

Niall Morahan is away on international duty.

Regan Donelon returns and is available to play.

Liam Buckley said: “We expected a bit more last Saturday. We’re proving very hard to beat but we could have done a good bit better in the game.  

“We would have liked to play better in the second half. We got the point so we’re still in there and with 11 games to go we’d like to see where a good run could take us.

“The league table doesn’t lie in that Derry are a couple of wins ahead of us but we feel we can compete against any side. We’ve beaten the top three in the league yet had some disappointing results and Derry couldn’t get that goal last week so it proves how hard this league is.

“We’d like to go up there and show a bit more of what we can do and get the result.” 

Sligo Rovers are delighted to confirm the renewal of their partnership for 2019 as Top Oil are again confirmed as official fuel supplier to the Bit O’ Red.

The announcement was made today with representatives of Rovers are Top Oil at The Showgrounds.

Details were also announced of how fans can help the club once again as part of the new agreement.

€10 will go to Sligo Rovers if customers quote ‘TopSR’ when ordering fuel from Top Oil.

The partnership has been very successful so far, so we encourage all fans to use Top Oil. To order, phone 071-9162238 for a quote and receive the excellent customer service that Top Oil provides.

Sligo Rovers chairman Martin Heraghty commented: “Top Oil has been very loyal to the club and we are very happy to have them on board again.

‘’It shows that our sponsors see the benefit of long-term association with the club as the agreement has been extended for a third time.

‘’We ask all our fans to support our sponsors and don’t forget to mention ‘TopSR’ when ordering.

Andrew Meagher, Head of Sales for Top Oil’s Direct business, said:

‘’We are very pleased to be extending our long-term partnership with Sligo Rovers. Top Oil is very much part of the local community in Sligo where we employ are serve local people and businesses.

“Sligo Rovers is a community based club so we are pleased to be associated with such a great club as we renew our sponsorship again for another year. We want to take the opportunity to wish the club the very best, both on and off the field.’’

Top Oil has a growing network of depots and forecourts that champion quality service and reliability.

As an addition to the partnership, Top Oil has committed to making a €10 donation to Sligo Rovers FC for every order placed in the region using the promo code ‘TopSR’.

Orders can be made online at their website top.ie or by calling your local Top Oil depot in Sligo locally on 0719162238.

Romeo Parkes missed a first half penalty as Sligo Rovers played out a scoreless draw with Waterford at the Showgrounds.

There was further anguish for the Bit O’Red as they finished the game without defender Dante Leverock. The Bermudan dismissed four minutes from time having been shown a second yellow card. 

Both sides produced three goals each in their last meeting as the RSC, but this game was to pass without either goalkeeper breached.

Rovers’ Ronan Coughlan had an early chance before Michael O’Connor’s header from a Tom Holland free from deep looped over Ed McGinty’s crossbar.

Parkes’ first touch took him away from a Waterford defender after he controlled a Ronan Murray cross on the quarter hour. But Parkes’ resulting effort was deflected away.

Last May’s game also saw both teams miss a penalty each and Parkes continued this tradition on 18 minutes.

The Jamaican denied by Matthew Connor from twelve yards after Danny Kane was tripped by O’Connor.

The Blues’ net-minder also keeping out Murray’s follow-up.

This sucked the wind from the Rovers sails as Alan Reynolds’ charges finished the half the stronger.

Jonathan Lunney’s drive from 25 yards not too far away from McGinty’s post after the attacker dinked his way past two Sligo challenges. But this was the best the away side could muster before the break.

Waterford threatened after the re-start courtesy of the lively Cory Galvin and again on 66 through O’Connor as the two thousand strong support awaited an opener.

Galvin gave the Rovers defence plenty of cause for concern and went close once more on 67 when his effort from the angle smacked back off the Sligo’s woodwork.

While Connor was comfortable dealing with David Cawley’s shot from the edge of the box after Parkes shifted play into the path of the Mayo man.

Maxim Kouogun wasted a glorious opportunity with twelve to go when Johnny Dunleavy’s lack of urgency allowed the centre half in. But his ballooned effort flew well over the Sligo goal with just McGinty to beat.

O’Connor’s next go suffered a similar fate minutes before Rovers were reduced to ten when Leverock was shown his second yellow after a late challenge on Galvin.

Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty; Johnny Dunleavy, Kyle Callan-McFadden, Dante Leverock, Danny Kane; Romeo Parkes, Daryl Fordyce (John Russell 68), David Cawley, Kris Twardek; Ronan Coughlan (Sam Warde 61), Ronan Murray (John Mahon 87). 

Waterford: Matthew Connor; Rory Feely, Kenny Browne, Maxim Kouogun, Kevin Lynch (Georgie Poynton 56); Jonathan Lunney, Tom Holland, Shane Duggan; Dean O’Halloran (William Fitzgerald 76), Michael O’Connor, Cory Galvin.

Referee: Rob Harvey

Attendance: 2,037

Sligo Rovers host Waterford FC on Saturday night in The Showgrounds. Kick off is the later time of 8pm.

The Bit O’ Red drew 0-0 with Shamrock Rovers last week and played a mid-season friendly on Monday, beating Accrington Stanley.

New signing Danny Kane is awaiting international clearance. 

Lewis Banks serves a one-game ban.

Regan Donelon (hamstring) and Romeo Parkes (ankle) will undergo late fitness tests. 

Niall Morahan has been called up to the Ireland Under-19 squad for the European Championships so will miss out.

Liam Buckley said: “We were superb without the ball in Tallaght in terms of organisation, tenacity and overall defensively. We battled and scrapped and wouldn’t give in. With the ball, we could have been a lot better. It was a very good point from where we are at. Not many teams are getting a result there currently.

“Monday’s game was useful in that we got minutes for lads who needed them and it was actually a very good game. It was competitive and we played quite well. It was good for the likes of Danny Kane to play a part and a couple of others coming back from knocks. 

“We’ve got 12 games left. I think the players have worked extremely hard, and a late run could make it an exciting end of the season for us. We’re still in a position to kick on and going into this game that’s what we’re looking at.

“We will be without a couple of lads at least, the rest we’ll look at before the game. 

“It’s great for Niall to get the call-up, it’ll be a fantastic experience for him and he is progressing. 

“We’d like to put on a big performance in front of our supporters, we’d love a big crowd behind us and we’ll try to get the win because it could really get us closer to the top half teams.”

Sligo Rovers can today announce the signing of defender Danny Kane until the end of the season subject to international clearance.

The former Cork City and AFC Fylde man has been recovering from serious injury and has been part of the Rovers group for the majority of the season in that process. 

Kane, 22, has been recuperating from a serious ankle problem but is now back to fitness and played in the 1-0 win over Accrington Stanley on Monday.

Danny Kane said: “I’m delighted to officially be a Sligo Rovers player. It has been a long recovery but I’m happy to have been here for it. The lads are a fantastic group and it’s a great environment to be in. 

“I met Liam Buckley for the first time in January in Dublin and he ticked every box for me. I ended up going to Sligo the next day.

“He said I could do my recovery with a view to joining and the club would be totally open to me, help me and be part of things which was great. It has been frustrating watching on and mentally hard but being around the lads and the staff has been vital for me. They helped me settle in straight away.

“Playing on Monday was a great feeling. I think I did okay and I just need to get sharper. Now that I’m signed I want to show what I can do and get back flying. We have a few defenders in the squad. My preferred position is centre-half but I can play anywhere across the back four. I don’t mind, I just want to get back to my best.”

Liam Buckley said: “We lined Danny up earlier in the year. Both sides have had to be patient – it was a bad injury and he’s done the work to get back. We wanted to help him get back because we have a very good player on our hands at his best.

“He’s a baller. He can really play and also defend very well. He has that versatility and while we have good players in defence so he’ll have lots of competition, we have been low on bodies through the year. Not too long before the injury he was playing for the Ireland Under-21s and doing well and we think we can get him back to that form. 

“He played in the friendly with Accrington and came through that well. I think he can make a big contribution and I see the hunger in him. His grandmother is from the area so to have family around is great for him as well. 

“We are still looking. This window is difficult to pick up players. We don’t just want to go for someone for the sake of it. There’s still a couple of weeks to go so we are certainly not ruling anything out.”

Danny is awaiting clearance to be ready to be involved in competitive action. 

Sligo Rovers are partnering with Nazareth Nursing Home Sligo and Ballymote Community Nursing Unit in 500 km/1000 km Challenge in aid of both nursing homes.

Together, they challenge you to get out and about and to cover 500km or 1000km in one year all while raising funds for this very worthy cause.

Walk it, jog it, run it or even dance it. The choice is yours. You will need to walk just 1.4km every day to cover the 500km in the year and double it to cover the 1000km. You may already be a keen walker or runner and achieve this over a number of marathons or you may be starting off from the couch to 5km, either way, do it your way.

Take this on as a personal challenge, or better still, get your family, friends and colleagues involved.

Whatever way you take part, the sponsorship you raise is supporting Nazareth Nursing Home Sligo and Ballymote Community Nursing Unit to build and refurbish their Nursing homes, so that people living there have the most comfortable homes where they can live out their lives in style.

Each participant will receive a medal and certificate on completion of the challenge.

Sligo Rovers are delighted to be supporting our neighbours with the campaign, further evidence to the club being at the heart of the community once again.

It’s free to join, all you have to do is go to www.thenazarethcarefund.com/walkingchallenge and fill in your details to register. The 365 days begins the day you register.

Sligo Rovers will play Glebe North away in the first round of the Extra.ie FAI Cup in August.

The draw was made at the Aviva Stadium. Club officials were present for the draw.

Rovers face the Leinster Senior League outfit from Balbriggan on weekend ending 11 August. More details will be confirmed shortly

Sligo Rovers can confirm that Jack Keaney has left the club to join UCD.

The 20-year-old moves to the Students on their scholarship programme.

Keaney played 54 times since graduating from the underage teams, scoring six goals. 

Liam Buckley said: “We are sorry to lose Jack from the squad. He has had this offer from UCD for a couple of seasons.

“He has decided, at this final juncture to do so, to take it up and we respect that decision. 

“Jack has made great strides and for a man of his age he has had a big influence on the pitch, as well as off of it. He can be very proud of that progress made.

“As a club we do not want to lose any player. Our education partnership will help that cause going forward. The underage system here is very good and it shows that players get opportunities. 

“We are likely to lose one more player come the end of the month but we will look to bring in one or two to add to the squad. We will update on that shortly.”

Jack Keaney said: “This has been an extremely difficult decision to make, and I want to thank everyone at Sligo Rovers, and the Sligo Rovers fans, for all the support they have given me over the last number of seasons. 

“When I arrived at Sligo in January 2016 as a kid and I leave here not only having grown as footballer, but more importantly as a person too. 

“I also want to take this opportunity to personally thank Danny O’Leary, Niall Harrison, Colm Jinks, Dave Robertson, Gerard Lyttle, Kevin Deery, John Russell, Liam Buckley, Brian Dorrian and my teammates, who have all been instrumental in both my personal and professional development. 

“This is special club that will forever hold a place in my heart, and I want to wish everyone at Sligo Rovers all the best for the rest of the season.”

Sligo Rovers chairman Martin Heraghty has said Monday’s friendly with Accrington is an important night for bringing funds into the club.

Rovers host the League 1 side on Monday with the game ear-marked in the mid-season update as one of the ways to contribute to the club. The match kicks off at 7:45pm.

The Annual Draw generated over €78,000 as another one of those methods but the chairman said the game still represents a worthwhile opportunity.

He told sligorovers.com: “We were very proud of what the Annual Draw became. It was a shining light of the spirit we have at the club and created genuine astonishment at the level of support we receive. 

“I’ve made the point already that as €78,000 was coming into the club, it was quickly being used for expenditure. It allowed us to meet our commitments and we continue to do that with the help of the Sligo public.

“The thinking behind Monday’s game is to offer an evening’s entertainment as a money-spinner for the club because there is little cost to the game. We are charging our usual prices and it was debated on what to do with that. In the end we decided to with our normal pricing to try to maximise revenue on the night. 

“We have been trying to find a balance on things that affects fans. For example the previous family night at a home game was free of charge. The Bit O’ Red Trust provided travel to fans to the game with Harps. We will continue to look at methods to invest, such as the development projects. However, we have to accept that the first-team set-up is our priority because it dictates so much.

“We are speaking to Liam in relation to the transfer window. We want to provide the opportunity to bring in players. I think the fans will agree that recruitment has been very good this year. He has his belief on what works in this window and what doesn’t, but what we want to do is be in a position to go for a player if he comes along. Liam, John Russell and Dave Campbell do that work very well. We need to utilise it when we can.”

The Rovers chairman said that the committee are trying to plan long-term to increase income streams.

“The landscape is changing year on year. The budget of the title challengers compared to ours is getting further and further away. We never stop looking at different revenue streams to allow us to even compete. Fundraising will stay at the cornerstone of it but we need more creative methods and outside of football. 

“What I would say today is Monday night will be a benefit to us and the amount of support we receive will dictate the extent of that benefit. I’d encourage our fans to come out and we have a host of families activities for children for just €5 two hours before the game.

“We welcome John Coleman who was fundamental in making this game happen. He wanted to help us and pushed to make the game happen. Andy Holt, the Accrington chairman, is a great guy and we welcome all that visit from Lancashire.

“Seamus Conneely is very well regarded by our fans and I know they will enjoying seeing him again. If you can come on Monday night, your support is massively appreciated. Last night’s result – and more so the sheer determination not to give in – resonates with us all.

“We want to compete and we want to be at the top table in the country. We do that together and your role is key. I wanted to explain our thought process and where we are and pass on our continuing gratitude for all our fans do.

“Our position is good one but we want to improve on it and that work is ongoing. See you on Monday night.”