Sligo Rovers hosted Drogheda United at The Showgrounds on Saturday night in front of 2317 supporters.

The game was played in very poor conditions as the rain poured down all evening and a strong wind made football difficult in an evenly contested game.

John Russell made a couple of changes from Monday’s game against Shelbourne with Stefan Radosavljevic and Reece Hutchinson coming in for Bogdan Vastsuk and Daniel Lafferty.

Defender Johan Brannefalk came into the squad following a recent ankle injury and was fit enough to make the bench.

The opening period of the game had a fast pace to it with both sides looking to create some chances early on. Frank Liivak had a penalty appeal waved away be the referee and Freddie Draper went close to Drogheda but the half was ultimately an even game with little or no goalmouth action and the sides went in level at the break.

The visitors took an early lead in the second half through midfielder Ryan Brennan who reacted quickest in the area to poke home from close range on 53 minutes.

John Russell brought on Kailin Barlow and Niall Morahan for the last half hour in place of Radosavljevic and Lukas Browning and Rovers started to get on top and were level on 63 minutes through this season’s top goalscorer Max Mata.

Will Fitzgerald waited for Reece Hutchinson to go down the outside on the overlap and he teed him up to cross for Mata to power a header home from close range.

This lifted the home crowd and Rovers pushed for a winner but Drogheda also looked threatening on the counter attack.

Barlow went close with a couple of shots and Dylan Grimes shaved the crossbar late on.

Johan Brannefalk was introduced late on for his return to action and he couldn’t quite keep his cross down in the final moments for Mata who almost got on the end of it.

The referee blew for full-time and the points were shared.

Next up is UCD at home next Saturday night at 7.45pm.

Defeat for Steve Feeney’s Sligo Rovers side in the Women’s Premier Division as they lost to DLR Waves at the Belfield Bowl this evening, writes Conall Collier.

There was plenty of positives for the Bit O’Red in the opening half, but they failed to capitalise on a number of good chances and conceded in added time ahead of the break.

DLR dominated the second-half and scored twice in the closing stages to seal the victory.

Rovers controlled most of the opening half, but went in a goal down at the interval when the hosts found the net after a corner was conceded in the 46^th minute. Jess Gleeson finished well with an opportunist header.

Prior to that goal, DLR also went close through Katie Malone who was off target from close range.

Up to that stage, the Bit O’Red made most of the openings and Emma Doherty had a couple of chances while Casey Howe also went close when her shot from outside the penalty area in 38^th minute brought a smart save from Eve Badana.

Sligo Rovers resumed the second-half smartly and both Doherty and Emma Hansberry had good chances, but DLR dictated subsequently.

However, the hosts had to wait until the 76^th minute for a second goal which arrived from substitute Sarah McKevitt with a long-range effort and then another substitute, Michelle Doonan, added a third goal with eight minutes remaining.

DLR Waves – Eve Badana; Robyn Bolger, Oleta Griffin, Jess Gleeson, Aoife Brophy, Eve O’Brien, Neema Nyangasi, Rebecca McMahon, Amber Cosgrove, Katie Malone, Joy Ralph. Subs – Hannah Tobin-Jones for Griffin 20 mins, Sarah McKevitt for McMahon 68m, Freya Roche for Malone and Eve O’Brien for Ralph both 77m, Cliodhna Donnelly for O’Brien 85.

Sligo Rovers – Amy Mahon; Alice Lillie, Kate Nugent, Keela Scanlon, Sarah Kiernan, Leah Kelly, Emma |Hansberry, Lauren Boles, Casey Howe, Emma Doherty, Jodie Loughrey. Subs – Keri Loughrey for Kelly 58 mins, Aoife Brennan for Loughrey 68m, Amy Roddy for Lillie and Aife Haran for Hansberry both 86m, Orna O’Dowd for Scanlon 88m.

Sligo Rovers host Drogheda United on Saturday evening at The Showgrounds in our tenth game of the 2023 SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division season. The game kicks off at 7.45pm.

Rovers come into the game on the back of a narrow 2-1 defeat in Tolka Park on Monday night against Shelbourne and the Drogs come here after a 3-1 defeat at home to St. Patrick’s Athletic, also on Monday.

Both sides had important Good Friday wins away from home over Dundalk and Derry City respectively.

John Russell is expecting another tough game in what has proven to be a tight Division so far:

‘’Everyone can see how competitive the league is this year. We have now completed the first series of games and only a few points separate the teams.

‘’After two tough away fixtures, the players are ready for what will be a massive home game against Drogheda United. They have performed well this year so we know we will need to be at our best to get a result’’.

The game is expected to attract another large crowd with over 3,000 supporters at both of our previous home matches.

Tickets can be bought in advance online or at the turnstiles which open from 6.30pm.

Rovers boss John Russell is looking forward to being back in front of The Showgrounds supporters:

‘’We want to make The Showgrounds a fortress this season. You can’t underestimate the role the supporters play in making this happen. The players feed of the energy in the ground.

‘’We’re expecting a big performance tomorrow night’’.

In Bit O’ Red team news, Rovers continue without Garry Buckley, Gary Boylan, Mark Byrne and Karl O’ Sullivan who are all ruled out. Defender Johan Brannefalk is improving after his recent ankle injury.

Bogdan Vastsuk and Eanna Clancy are both set to miss the game after picking up injuries in Monday’s game in Dublin.

We host Drogheda United tomorrow night (Saturday) at 7.45pm at The Showgrounds in The SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division.

We outline all our Match Night information below:

Turnstiles:

Turnstiles open from 6.30pm.

Buy tickets in advance: https://srfcdirect.com/match-tickets/ (Home fans only)

Away tickets are on sale now via Drogheda United’s social media platforms.

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

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

Sligo Rovers are back at The Showgrounds tomorrow night in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division.

The game is the first in a fortnight at home for Rovers and another large crowd is expected.

Tickets are available to buy now online via the below link:

https://srfcdirect.com/match-tickets/

Supporters can also pay in on the night at the turnstiles.

Turnstiles open at 6.30pm and cash or card is accepted.

Despite sitting at the foot of the Women’s Premier Division (WPD) after four outings, Sligo Rovers can adopt a positive attitude towards Saturday’s trip to Dublin to tackle DLR Waves at The UCD Bowl, 4pm, writes Conall Collier.

Although the Bit O’Red failed to pick up any points in March, there was a boost for the team when Sarah Kiernan took the League of Ireland goal of the month award for her super strike at Ferrycarrig Park against Wexford.

There was also an encouraging display on the opening day of the season against Shamrock Rovers where an injury-time goal from Republic of Ireland player Áine O’Gorman secured a 92nd minute victory for the Dublin side.

Manager Steve Feeney will welcome back Jodie Loughrey and Alice Lillie who were both on Republic of Ireland duty over the last couple of weeks while Emma Doherty was also kept busy during the international break

Doherty featured for the Republic of Ireland 19s in UEFA qualifying games against Germany, Norway and Croatia.

She was captain of the team and scored in the 4-1 victory against Croatia while Loughrey and Lillie were in the panel for the UEFA 17s qualifiers in France where the Irish women lost to hosts France, but enjoyed wins against Italy and Kosovo.

Last time out in the WPD Sligo Rovers took the lead against Treaty Utd with Doherty showing her predatory instincts with an opportunist goal, but the Limerick side struck two second-half goals to secure a hard-earned victory.

DLR Waves also slumped to a disappointing defeat last time out as Bohemian FC picked up their first win at Dalymount this season with a 3-0 midweek victory against Graham Kelly’s side at the end of March on a night when Sligo Rovers was the idle team.

DLR Waves also finished with 10 players on that occasion as Isobel Finnegan was shown a red card five minutes before the break.

Both teams will be aiming to get back on the winning track at Belfield this weekend and that could produce an action-packed encounter with plenty of goal-scoring opportunities at each end of the pitch.


LAST TIME OUT

Sligo Rovers 1, Treaty Utd 2

Bohemian FC 3, DLR Waves 0

Former Sligo Rovers player Gary Hulmes donated to our ongoing 50KM Challenge this week.

Hulmes, from Manchester arrived in Sligo 46 years ago this week. after being signed by then Manager Billy Sinclair ahead of the 1977 season.

Rovers won the League the following season with Gary going on to score a total of 54 goals in 129 games for the Bit O’ Red.

Hulmes donated €46, one for every year since relocating to the West of Ireland, where he still lives.

You can donate to our Walk via the link below:

www.50kmchallenge.ie

A Rovers great, still with love for the club today.

Sligo Rovers 50KM Challenge is now almost at €40,000.

Over 200 supporters in Ireland and abroad are now completing the Challenge and raising money for the club.

Donations can be made by those not interested or not able to participate in the Challenge by clicking the below link:

www.50kmchallenge.ie

Just some of the stories include supporter Eamonn Maye taking part from Buenos Aires in Argentina and the McCallion Family, from Strandhill completing their Challenge both here and abroad with Mark McCallion getting kilometres in in Laos in South-East Asia.

The Kearins Family were shown their support when their relation Laura Kearins from New York sent a video message all the way from the American City over the weekend in her Sligo Rovers jersey.

Shane White is competing in the Leeds Marathon in May and is using the 50KM Challenge to train himself in ahead of the big race.

Niall Curneen completed the Carney half marathon at the weekend, taking him over his 50KM target already.

Shaun Dunne from The Bit O’ Red Supporters Trust walked to and from The Showgrounds on Easter Monday from his home in Ballisodare with around 16KM completed on his activity.

Gurteen native Michael Doddy completed a massive 50KM in less than 50 hours between Easter Sunday and Monday. A huge achievement for Michael and just one of the many ways people are using the Challenge to come up with fresh ideas around completing their 50 kilometres.

Gary and Saoirse Kilcullen from Oakfield are doing it their own way. The father and daughter combination are heading to the Sports Complex to complete 2,000 lengths of the swimming pool which equates to 50KM.

You can follow us on Facebook ‘Sligo Rovers 50KM Challenge’ for daily updates and stories from all our participants.

A huge thanks to all those involved and to everyone who has donated so far.

Sligo Rovers will now face two home games in the next two weeks as the Bit O’ Red welcome Drogheda United and UCD to The Showgrounds on Saturday April 15th and 22nd respectively.

This Saturday, the game against Drogheda United will see John Russell’s side face one of the teams that have defeated them so far this season after March’s 1-0 defeat at Weaver’s Park.

Tickets for the game can be purchased online now or at the turnstiles.

TICKETS: https://srfcdirect.com/match-tickets/

Gates open at 6.30pm on Saturday evening.

Rovers the host UCD at The Showgrounds a week later, again at 7.45pm