International success for Rovers players

There was good news for Sligo Rovers players at the weekend at underage and senior level.

Niall Morahan made his Under-19 debut for the Republic of Ireland last Saturday as they qualified for the European Championships this July.

Niall could yet feature in Tuesday’s game with Russia which is a dead rubber for Ireland having already qualified.

Meanwhile Dante Leverock captained Bermuda to a 3-1 win over Dominican Republic last night as his country qualified for the Gold Cup.

It was a wonderful achievement by Dante and his team-mates. He will be part of the squad in June in America for the major tournament.

Super Cup Approaching

IT’S not often we get the chance to host high-profile clubs such as Leeds United, Derby County or Aberdeen here at the Showgrounds – but that’s exactly what’s happening on the weekend of April 26/28th when we welcome the participating teams in the third annual Sligo Super Cup.

The Sligo Super Cup is an elite under-12 tournament which has generated huge interest in its first two years. Here at Sligo Rovers, we are delighted to be associated with the tournament and to make our facilities available for thee days of action-packed football.

This year, the eight teams involved are Leeds United, Derby County, Aberdeen, Glenavon, Dublin&District Schoolboys League, Mayo League, Donegal League and our own Sligo/Leitrim League.

Working closely with the Sligo/Leitrim Schoolboys/girls leagues in recent years, Sligo Rovers is a strong advocate of the development of youth football and we are delighted to see the tangible results of so many of our current first team squad having graduated through local youth football.

The Sligo Super Cup is an important early step on this ladder, affording local young players the chance to showcase their talent against the very best academy players from across Ireland and the UK.

In all, there will be 16 tournament games staged at the Showgrounds over the weekend of April 26th/28th, kicking off at 3 pm on the Friday and culminating in the final on Sunday morning.

The last two tournaments have highlighted the exceptionally high standard of football at this level, and we would encourage all our supporters to come along to see some of the games and to support our local youngsters. You will undoubtedly be getting an early glance at the stars of the future.

We will announce more details of this exciting youth tournament as the date draws closer.

2019 Easter Camps Launched

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce details of our upcoming Easter Camps, which will take place from Monday April 15th until Friday April 26th.  The camp runs from 10.30am until 3pm daily.

Prices remain capped from last year, with the cost of the camp €60 for one child, €100 for two children from the one family and €135 for three children from the one family.

Each child that participates in the 2019 Easter Camps will receive an official Sligo Rovers training top (different from last year), a picture with the Sligo Rovers players, a free ticket to the next Sligo Rovers home league game and a participation certificate.

The ever popular Breakfast Club returns yet again, which opens from 8.30am daily. The Breakfast Club runs until 10.30am (before the actual camp starts) and each child that attends is given a choice of cereal, toast and juice each morning. Members of the first team attend the Breakfast Club with a presentation on healthy eating taking place on one of the mornings. The cost of the Breakfast Club is an additional €25 per person. Places are limited to 25 each week with pre booking strongly advised. Any children that attend the Breakfast Club are walked down from the Breakfast Club to the camp at 10.30am each morning by a camp coach.

To book your child/children on the 2019 Sligo Rovers Easter Camps, you can contact Shane at the club on 071-9171212 or email him at shane@sligorovers.com

Alternatively, you can book your child/children on the 2019 Sligo Rovers Easter Camps online here

Fixtures rearranged

Three matches have been altered in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division

Our home game with Dundalk FC has been moved to Friday 12th April.

The home game with Waterford FC has been arranged for Monday 15th April at 7:45pm.

Finally the away match with Cork City on Easter Monday 22nd April in Turner’s Cross will kick off at 5pm.

Bit O’ Red beaten in Tallaght

Sligo Rovers went down to a 3-0 defeat to Shamrock Rovers last Friday in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division

Goals from Dan Carr, Ronan Finn and Jack Byrne secured the win for the home side.

Rovers are back in action on Friday week away to Derry City

Preview: Rovers set for Tallaght visit

Sligo Rovers visit Shamrock Rovers on Friday night in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division.

The Bit O’ Red go into the game on the back of two wins – against Finn Harps and UCD – and a first clean sheet of the season in that game against the Students.

In team news, Regan Donelon, Kyle Callan-McFadden and Dante Leverock have returned to training throughout this week.

Ed McGinty is out with a finger problem.

Liam Buckley said: “It is good to get some of the injured lads back in training at least. We’ll have to make a call on whether they are ready to start. It’s not straight-forward in one or two cases.

“We’d like to improve on these two wins and get our performances better, which is happening in moments and has helped us get those victories. 

“It’ll take time to get it to where we’d like over the course of a game. That’s what we’re working towards.

“The opposition are the team top of the table with aspirations to stay there all year so it’s a challenge. 

“I’ve had some wins in Tallaght previously and it’s a great place to pick up a result if you can do so. 

“It’s certainly what we’re targeting and something we are looking forward to trying to do. We’ll give it a good go.”

Waterford game postponed

Sligo Rovers’ home league game with Waterford on Saturday 23 March has been postponed due to international call-ups. 

Two Waterford players, Aaron Drinan and Zach Elbouzedi, have been called up by Republic of Ireland. Waterford have requested a postponement which comes under league rules.

A new date will be set shortly.

Morahan and Leverock international recognition

Sligo Rovers teenager Niall Morahan has been called up the Republic of Ireland Under-19 squad for Elite Qualifying games.

Morahan will be part of Tom Mohan’s squad that travel to Russia to play matches against Romania, Azerbaijan and the host nation.

Those games take place on 20, 23 and 26 March.

The club would like to congratulate Niall on his call-up after some brilliant performances for Rovers this season. 

It is the second call-up for Rovers for the international window with Dante Leverock set to captain Bermuda against Dominican Republic in Gold Cup qualification on 24 March.

The match with Waterford has been postponed at their request following call-ups for two Under-21 internationals. 

Meanwhile Adam Lynch has been called up to the Ireland Under-18s schools game with Cabinteely Under-19s on Monday. 

LMS Round 4 Results

Round four of our Last Man Standing competition marked the end of the competition for 48 of our entrants, leaving just 155 people standing heading into Round five at the end of this month.

With a vastly reduced fixture list this coming weekend and an international break approaching next week, round five of the competition will not take place until Saturday March 30th.

Crystal Palace proved to be the heartbreak for most casualties in Round 4, with Tottenhams defeat to Southampton proving costly also.

All players who have qualified for Round five of the competition have been contacted directly and will be contacted once again for their selections for Round five on Wednesday March 27th.