Sligo Rovers host Shelbourne on Saturday night at The Showgrounds in our next SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division fixture.

Last time, Rovers were defeated away to Dundalk in a game where more points were probably deserved after a narrow 1-0 loss.

John Russell’s side had plenty of possession and opportunities in the final third in the game and Russell is eager to put those chances away on Saturday night:

‘’I felt our performance level was good against Dundalk in our last League game.

‘’It was a tight affair and we were disappointed we didn’t leave with a result as we had some good opportunities.

‘’It’s important we continue to work hard and believe in what we’re trying to do’’.

The game kicks off at 7.45pm and tickets are available on srfcdirect.com or of course, on the turnstiles from 6.30pm.

Tickets are €15 for Adults, €10 for Seniors/Over 12’s and €5 for Children who must be accompanied by an adult.

Russell wants a vocal home support to get behind the team as we look to make it 12 points from a possible 18 available at The Showgrounds since May:

‘’We now have some key players back in full training which will strengthen us for the last nine games.

‘’Our home form has been good in recent games so hopefully we can bring our attacking threat on Saturday night.

‘’I know the players are relishing playing in front of another vocal home support. Hopefully we can give them a big night in The Showgrounds’’.

In team news, Rovers are without Gary Boylan, Will Fitzgerald and Mark Byrne through injury while Daniel Lafferty serves one more game following on from his red card in July against Drogheda United. Lafferty will return next Friday night in Cork.

Reece Hutchinson, Fabrice Hartmann and Conor Walsh have all shaken off recent injuries and all are in contention for starting places however Karl O’ Sullivan is a doubt and Johan Brannefalk will miss the game through illness.

James Finnerty departed the Club earlier but Garry Buckley is back in the squad following his recent ACL injury and in turn not being risked away to Dundalk at Oriel Park.

Richard Brush is also available following a recent suspension.

New signing Robbie Burton is cleared to play and could feature at some point in the game.

Sligo Rovers can confirm the signing of midfielder Robbie Burton on a short-term deal until the end of the 2023 season.

Robbie played at The Showgrounds on loan from Dinamo Zagreb in 2022 and returned to his parent Club at the end of last season.

The former Welsh underage International arrives back at The Showgrounds to bolster John Russell’s options for the remainder of the season, with Rovers having an option to extend Burton’s contract for the 2024 season if desired.

Manager John Russell:

‘’I am delighted to bring Robbie back to the Club.

‘’Robbie is an intelligent footballer who will bring a lot of creativity to our team.

‘’He knows the Club and the League as well having spent the second half of last season here.

‘’He will go straight into the squad and we’re all excited to be working with him again’’.

Burton could go straight into Saturday’s squad for the home game against Shelbourne at The Showgrounds.

The game kicks off at 7.45pm and supporters can purchase tickets at srfcdirect.com or at the turnstiles from 6.30pm on the night.

Burton impressed last season with some good passing ability and with his ability to control games in midfield and we could see the Player playing higher up, in a more attacking position for the remainder of the season.

The former Arsenal youth player is delighted to return to Sligo:

‘’I am really happy to be back at Sligo Rovers.

‘’I can’t wait to put the Rovers kit back on and play again at The Showgrounds, hopefully from tomorrow night.

‘’I enjoyed my last spell here so, hopefully this time we can achieve bigger and better things at the Club’’.

Saturday’s Match Programme will be available to supporters inside the turnstiles from 6.30pm for our clash with Shelbourne at The Showgrounds.

You can also buy your programme online now and we’ll email you your copy before the game.

There is a huge 64-pages available with all the following content:

Match Sponsor: Applegreen, Mailcoach Road, Sligo

Ball Sponsors: Quay Fitness, Ballina

• Notes From Our Chairman Tommy Higgins

• Notes From Our Manager John Russell

• Academy Review

• It’s Always Further From Dublin Than To Dublin By Conall Collier

• 20 Questions with Pedro Martelo

• Quiz

• Sligo Rovers Pen Pics

• Interview With Niall Morahan by Conall Collier.

• Celebrate Your Birthday With Sligo Rovers

• Will Fitzgerald Poster

• Shelbourne Player Profiles

• Under 16 International – Kya McKenna

• Sligo Rovers v Shelbourne by Stephen McLaughlin

• Match Programme Memory Check

• New Red – Eimear Lafferty

• Charity Soccer Competition in aid of Sligo Cancer Services

• Photos: David Cawley Testimonial/Sligo Rovers Camps

• Benny The Bull storms to victory

• You Reds Photo Gallery

• Results and Fixtures

• Brexit and Ferguson give Irish football a much needed boost – Johnny Ward

BUY PROGRAMME:

https://srfcdirect.com/programmes/

Sligo Rovers can confirm that defender James Finnerty has departed the Club today by mutual agreement.

James made his Rovers’ debut back in April in a home win over UCD at The Showgrounds and suffered a heel injury in the game which saw him out of action until late July.

James returned to the squad in recent weeks and leaves Sligo Rovers today with the best wishes of everyone at the Club.

Manager John Russell:

‘’I would like to thank James for his commitment and effort over the last nine months or so.

‘’James was terribly unlucky after impressing on his debut to suffer an injury in the same game which kept him out for three months.

‘’James was a top professional and I wish him well in his future career’’.

There is history-in-the-making on Sunday with a first Senior Women’s FAI Cup tie at the Showgrounds when Sligo Rovers welcome Bonagee Utd with a place in the quarter-finals on offer for the winner, writes Conall Collier.

As the League of Ireland side, Sligo Rovers will be expected to win this encounter, but manager Steve Feeney is well aware of the threat that the Donegal women will pose.

“While Bonagee aren’t in the League of Ireland, they are a very successful team and were presented with the Donegal Women’s League trophy last week following another successful season,” suggested the Bit O’Red boss.

The Letterkenny side will bring plenty of support to the Showgrounds on Sunday as it is a relatively short 70-mile journey in comparison to the marathon trip last season when Bonagee Utd played Cork City in the Women’s FAI Cup at Turner’s Cross.

Cork City won that game by 7-0 and Bonagee conceded the first goal after only nine minutes, but they will approach Sunday’s encounter with a reasonable amount of confidence.

Central to the belief that they can win will be the fact that striker Bronagh Gallagher is in top form with some 26 goals to her credit for the season just finished.

“It’s another great opportunity to go out and test yourself against that type of opposition,” Gallagher told donegallive.ie earlier this week.

“We have to set the tempo, this is a step up, so you really have to be on guard for the initial 10 to 15 minutes.

“They’ll have their homework done on us, but we’re looking forward to going up there, it’s a great ground and the commute isn’t too far,” she added.

Bonagee clinched the Donegal Women’s League title with a 5-1 win against Drumbar Utd which left them nine points clear at the top with two games remaining. They scored eight goals against Letterkenny Rovers last week when they picked up the silverware.

The ingredients for an exciting encounter for the spectators are enhanced by the inclusion of the Bit O’Red trio of Emma Doherty, Jodie and Keri Loughrey, all from the Buncrana area.

That trio featured as Sligo Rovers returned to action last weekend in the Women’s Premier Division with a narrow defeat away to Athlone Town.

“The game against Athlone Town last week was encouraging and we finished strongly, hopefully that will stand us in good stead,” stated Sligo Rovers manager Steve Feeney.

“I also have to believe that we are good enough to progress to the next round, we are playing a higher standard of football and that has to count for something as well.

“Bonagee lost to Cork City in the FAI Cup last season at Turner’s Cross, but they will have learned from that experience so, as I said, we will have to produce our best form if we hope to get to the next round.

“Bonagee have already played in the FAI Women’s Amateur Cup final a few weeks ago in Galway against Dublin side Terenure Rangers.

“They lost that final, but then they won the League in Donegal quite comfortably and I am under no illusions that if we are not at our best then it won’t be an easy outing for us,” added the Bit O’Red boss.

Feeney’s claim that Sligo Rovers “finished strongly” against Athlone last weekend is valid and certainly offers signs of encouragement.

Two goals down at half-time and under incessant pressure for a large part of the second-half, the Bit O’Red players came more into the game in the final 10 minutes and, while they never looked like overhauling that two-goal deficit, they can take positives from the closing minutes.

However, Bonagee showed some good form to get to the FAI Amateur Cup final despite losing the decider (6-1) to Terenure Rangers in Galway.

The Donegal women achieved a notable victory in the semi-final when they defeated top Dublin side Killester/Donnycarney by 2-1 after extra-time.

A tight contest is on the cards for Sunday. Kick-off at the Showgrounds is at 2pm and the game is also on LOITV.

We host Shelbourne in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division tomorrow at The Showgrounds at 7.45pm.

We outline all our match-night information below:

Turnstiles:

Turnstiles open from 6.30pm.

Buy tickets in advance: https://srfcdirect.com/match-tickets/

Or pay on the turnstiles. Card payments accepted at certain turnstiles.

This is a Category 2 fixture meaning prices are €15, €10 or €5 depending on your Category.

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.

Flares:

Leave your flares at home. These are not wanted and anyone found with flares will be banned from attending future matches. These cause needless fines for the club, money which is raised by our volunteers and fellow supporters.

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.

We wish to thank all supporters for their support in recent weeks and for the atmosphere created both at home and away.

We thank you for your co-operation

Ever wish you could represent your favourite League of Ireland club?

Well now you can by starting a fitness journey with your favourite club and joining the race with fellow club supporters to become the fittest fans in Ireland.  

On 28th August 2023, the Healthy Football League competition will officially start to find out which LOI club has the fittest fans in Ireland. Almost three thousand people have already downloaded the Health Football League App free of charge and signed up to get active in the name of their club.

The competition is open to everyone with a mobile device no matter what age or fitness level. Just download the HEALTHY FOOTBALL LEAGUE app from the App store, sign up for your favourite club and start your journey to better physical fitness and well-being.

The app tracks your walking, running or cycling activity and transforms it into points for your favourite club. Every step counts to help move your club up the Bank of Ireland Healthy Football League of Ireland table. Download the App now (it’s free!) and start practising before the real competition begins on 28th August!

It promises to be an exciting competition over the following 8 weeks with significant cash prizes on offer to the most active League of Ireland clubs and their partner grassroots clubs and schools. Last year, Shamrock Rovers, Wexford FC and Sligo Rovers were among some of the clubs who won significant cash prizes.

You can encourage your friends and family to get active with you and be part of the fitness journey with your club! Even if you’re out walking the dog, you can log onto the app on your phone and use the opportunity to score points for your favourite LOI club!

So, download the app now from the app store and join thousands of fans across Ireland on a fitness and well-being journey to help their club to the title of Ireland’s fittest football fans!

You can get all the information you need at www.healthyfootballleague.com

The 500 Club members draw for July was made recently by the 500 Club Committee.

These monthly draws see ten members drawn each month for cash prizes, with the top prize being €500.

The 500 Club continues to be one of the club’s most important Fundraisers and we thank the 500 Club committee for their continued hard work.

The following are the winners for July:

1st: €500 – Padraig Cunningham, Lyndale, Sligo.

2nd: €100 – Mark Murphy, Calry, Co. Sligo.

3rd: €100 – Gerard Foley, Glencar, Co. Sligo.

4th: €100 – Edward Carroll, Montenotte, Co. Cork.

5th: €100 – Majella Byrne, Ballina, Co. Mayo.

6th: €100 – Brian Mulvihill, Killiney, Co. Dublin.

7th: €100 – Anna Handibode – Dunboyne, Co. Meath.

8th: €100 – Sinead Magee, Ballinful, Co. Sligo.

9th: €100 – Conor Gallagher, Charleville Mall, Dublin.

10th: €100 – Frank Clancy, Corofin, Co. Galway.

We wish to thank all our 500 Club members for their continued support and our 500 Club Committee.

Sligo Rovers Academy have an exciting weekend ahead as we play five important Cup games at various age levels.

First up, our Under 17 Men’s side host Shelbourne at 1pm at The Sean Fallon Centre in the Mark Farren Cup 1/4 Final.

The legendary former Derry City striker has had the competition named in his honour for the past number of years and Anthony Elding’s side will be eager to progress to the semi-final.

At the same time, against the same opposition, Colm Jinks’ Under 14 side face the Dubliners at the brand-new Summerhill College Astro.

This will be the first time we use the new facility and we look forward to playing here in the future where many of our players have attended school down the years.

Our Under 19 Men’s side face a tough tie away to Shamrock Rovers on Sunday at 3pm at Roadstone in the Enda McGuill Cup 1/4 final.

Declan Boyle’s side come into the game on the back of a 3-2 win over Longford Town last weekend. Top scorer Owen Elding bagged a brace and Bridel Bosakani scored his 9th goal of the season at Bishopsgate, a win which gives the squad confidence ahead of Sunday’s game.

Our Under 19 Women host Dundalk at 5pm, following our Women’s senior team cup match against Bonagee United on the main pitch, at The Sean Fallon Centre.

Darragh Healy’s side are yet to face the Lillywhites this year and an entertaining game is expected.

Our Under 15 side, managed by Darryl Keaney, host Bohemians at 1pm at Summerhill College on Sunday in the Under 15 Cup 1/4 final. The lads are unbeaten since mid-July and are full of confidence ahead of the game.

Sligo Rovers manager Steve Feeney took his team to Athlone last Saturday as the action resumed in the Women’s Premier Division after an almost two-month break for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, writes Conall Collier.

“Leading up to the break I didn’t actually realise how big an impact it would have, it was way too long, we were off from the League from early June until mid-August with the Avenir Sports Cup providing three games,” commented Steve after the 2-0 defeat in Athlone.

“That (Avenir Sports Cup) was useful and it was a good competition, but playing each week in the League is what will stand to a team in terms of development and progress.

“We have also picked up a few injuries in the last three weeks that we were going through a type of pre-season routine again.

“We have a very inexperienced team, we have a 19-year-old captain and we finished the game in Athlone with a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old playing in the centre-half positions.

“I thought we competed well, the plan was to let Athlone have more of the ball and stay in the game.

“We were disappointed with the two goals we conceded, they were preventable and from our side we really didn’t cause Athlone enough problems.

“Nevertheless, it was pleasing to see the attitude and the effort of the players and we need to build on that and make sure we are more of a threat going forward.

“Going in at the interval after conceding that second goal just on the stroke of half-time, I wasn’t convinced that it was a goal, but the assistant-referee gave it, I thought it might have been a bit of a guess.

“If we had gone in at 1-0 down, I felt that we would have had more of a chance in the second-half, but then to counter that, Athlone could claim that they created many other chances that they didn’t finish.

“We had to plan without Keela Scanlon and then we lost Sarah Kiernan in the first-half, hopefully her injury isn’t too serious, but Keela will be out for the remainder of the season.

“Keeva Flynn went in for Sarah and she did well and Jodi Loughrey also was playing out of position.

“Then we had Eimear Lafferty playing her first game in a back three that she wouldn’t be familiar with, all gave encouraging performances, but we need to start winning games.

“We finished the game well against Athlone, we pushed on a bit and created some chances, but at times we made the wrong choice.

“The players will benefit from the game and Athlone are one of the stronger teams, the League position for them at the moment is not a true reflection of what they can do.

“They have a strong squad, they are probably in a false position, it was a serious work out for us and that will stand to us in the next game, the FAI Cup against Bonagee Utd,” he concluded.