It was a disappointing end to what started off as a good Easter Weekend with the Bit O’ Red beaten 2-1 in Tolka Park by Shelbourne on Monday night.

The side were on the back of a good win over Dundalk three days previous and Manager John Russell made two changes to the team from that game with Greg Bolger returning in place of Niall Morahan and Daniel Lafferty handed his first start of the season in place of Reece Hutchinson at left back.

The game started on a sour note for Rovers as Estonian midfielder Bogdan Vastsuk barely had a touch of the ball and was forced off after four minutes with a groin injury. Stefan Radosavljevic, scorer of Friday’s winning goal, came on in his place.

Shelbourne started brightly and inside the opening seven minutes had a couple of chances. Tyreke Wilson found himself inside the area on the left but opted to cross instead of shoot, and his cross was cleared.

Jack Moylan found space in the area and shot straight at Luke McNicholas moments later in a frantic opening period.

Rovers went straight down the other end and Will Fitzgerald got in down the left hand side and squared for Radosavljevic who couldn’t divert his shot on target from close range with the goalkeeper Conor Kearns beaten.

Fitzgerald was threatening again, this time Radosavljevic slipped him in down the left and the Limerick man’s shot came crashing off the Shelbourne crossbar and away to safety.

Rovers were well on top at this stage and forced a number of corners, one of which brought the opening goal of the game on 36 minutes.

Fabrice Hartmann’s set piece was met by Daniel Lafferty to score a closer range header to get his first goal for the club, much to the delighted of the 400 Bit O’ Red supporters on Richmond Road who saw their side go in 1-0 up at the break.

Damien Duff made three changes at half-time as he looked to inject some life into his Shelbourne team.

One of those subs, Shane Farrell found himself in the penalty area on 53 minutes but Fitzgerald won possession back and dribbled toward safety. Farrell looked to have pulled him down then but the referee waved play on and the Dubliner crossed to the back post for Matty Smith to control and fire into the roof of the net to level matters.

Five minutes later, Farrell’s long range diagonal pass was intercepted by John Mahon but his header, aimed toward goalkeeper Luke McNicholas ended up in his own net as McNicholas lost his footing and Shelbourne were in front.

Frank Liivak had a shot saved up the other end after the restart and Russell made three changes on 67 minutes with Kailin Barlow, Reece Hutchinson and Eanna Clancy coming on for Lukas Browning, Daniel Lafferty and John Mahon.

Barlow tested goalkeeper Kearns on 74 minutes with a strike from the edge of the area and Fabrice Hartmann’s cross from the right was too high for Max Mata soon after as Rovers pushed for an equaliser.

As Rovers pushed forward the hosts looked to threaten on the counter attack through the likes of Jack Moylan, goalscorer Smith and substitute Jad Hakiki. Greg Bolger was booked for stopping one attack in particular and Eanna Clancy was forced off with a hamstring injury picked up when running back toward his own goal chasing a Shelbourne attacker, Niall Morahan replaced him in the back four.

There were four minutes added on at the end of the game but to no avail as Rovers ended up losing 2-1 in a tight and lively encounter in Dublin.

Next up is a home game with Drogheda United this Saturday at The Showgrounds, with a 7.45pm kick off.

Sligo Rovers will now provide all our female teams at the club with free sanitary products at all training sessions and games on an ongoing basis.

The club have a duty of care to all players and staff and this important step for our Women’s teams at the club will see sanitary products included as part of each team’s equipment which will be placed in a private location for players and staff to access if and when required.

Sligo Rovers currently have around seventy female players and staff within the club and today’s announcement will see products initially sponsored by Healthwise Pharmacy on Holburn Hill in Sligo Town and then provided by the club for the remainder of this season and beyond. New partners may come on board in the future and any interested parties can contact the club.

The Bit O’ Red recently appointed Elaine Crossan as Senior Women’s team Player Liaison Officer and Crossan speaks of the importance of today’s announcement.

‘’First of all, we would like to thank Healthwise Pharmacy for partnering with us by providing essential products for all the Womens teams at the club from Senior to Academy.

‘’This is a great initiative setup to provide extra support to all female players. As a club we have a duty of care to all female players and feel this is a massive step going forward’’.

Products will be provided to our Senior Women’s team and both our Under 17 & 19 Women’s teams as part of this initiative.

Aisling Watters is a coach with our Under 17 team for the past couple of seasons:

‘’I am delighted to hear Healthwise Pharmacy has come on board to supply such important products for not only all female players at Sligo Rovers but also female staff and supporters.

‘’From all at the Under 17 Sligo Rovers Womens team, we really appreciate this initiative and we thank the club and Healthwise for organising it’’.

As a club, Sligo Rovers believe Period products should be available to all female players, staff and supporters (sanitary products have been located in the club’s female toilets for the past number of seasons) at no extra cost to them, just like toilet rolls and soap.

We are grateful to Healthwise Pharmacy for helping us with this and we thank them for sponsoring the initial delivery of products for the club.

Jason Duffy from Healthwise Pharmacy:

“We are delighted to be involved in this wonderful new initiative for all the female players at Sligo Rovers.

‘’We wish all the club all the best for the rest of the season”.

Sligo Rovers are keen to keep enhancing the Women’s game in the region and we want to offer all female players a safe and positive environment to come and play football at a national level.

Since the formation of our Senior Womens team in 2022, the North-West region has been extremely supportive and we look forward to our next Women’s home game on April 29th against Athlone Town at The Showgrounds, which kicks off at 5pm.

As part of our continued Awareness Programme, our Senior Women’s team Away Kit for 2023 will see the team use Black shorts instead of the usual White shorts and no Women’s team at the club will use white shorts going forward.

Sligo Rovers take on Shelbourne on Monday night at 7.45pm in Tolka Park in both team’s second game of a busy Easter Weekend.

Rovers defeated Dundalk at Oriel Park on Friday thanks to goals from Max Mata and Stefan Radosavljevic and Shelbourne drew 0-0 away to fellow Dubliners UCD at The UCD Bowl.

Going into the game, The Bit O’ Red are in third place in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division with Damien Duff’s Shelbourne in 8^th but just three points behind the Bit O’ Red in what is proving to be an extremely tight division so far this season.

Manager John Russell was thrilled with his side’s performance in Friday’s win:

”Oriel Park is always a tough venue to play at so to come away with three points was important.

”I felt we managed the game really well. Our team shape and organisation was good, and we were clinical with both of our goals”.

The sides were evenly matched in 2022, with two wins each out of the four games against each other. Rovers won last time out at Tolka Park thanks to goals from Frank Liivak and Aidan Keena in a 2-0 win last September.

Russell is fully aware of the threat the hosts will bring tomorrow night:

”Shelbourne are a well organised side with some good young players. They have been unlucky not to pick up more points in their games so far.

”The league is so tight and the players know you have to bring the right mentality into every game.

”We’re hoping for another big performance tomorrow night”.

Rovers continue without five first team players with Garry Buckley, Mark Byrne, Gary Boylan, Karl O’ Sullivan and Johan Brannefalk all out with knee or ankle injuries.

Sean McAteer is also out long-term and goalkeeper Conor Walsh is close to a return from a recent ankle injury.

The game is Live on LOI TV from 7.45pm and you can hear commentary on Ocean FM.

Rovers are back at home next Saturday night against Drogheda United at The Showgrounds. The game kicks off at 7.45pm and tickets can be bought online now via the link below:

Rovers were back to winning ways on Good Friday thanks to a 2-1 victory at Oriel Park against Dundalk.

John Russell made one change to the side that lost to Bohemians last weekend with Greg Bolger being replaced in midfield by Lukas Browning. Owen Elding came onto the bench instead of Cillian Heaney in the youngsters first appearance in the First-Team match day squad.

The game started with a fast tempo with both sides trying to get the ball down on a quick playing surface.

On 16 minutes, Rovers took the lead. Fabrice Hartmann found space in the middle and slipped in Will Fitzgerald down the left. The Limerick man’s touch was perfect and it set himself up for a low drilled cross into the six yard box and Max Mata was on hand to score from close range.

The hosts came back into the game soon after, forcing a couple of corners which were well dealt with by the Bit O’ Red.

On 43 minutes, Dundalk were awarded a penalty. Rayhaan Tulloch showed some great skill on the left to go by Frank Liivak and he ended up in the penalty area with his back to goal. John Mahon was behind him and the referee Damien MacGraith pointed to the spot, adjudging Mahon to have clipped the winger.

Tulloch picked himself up and his penalty was initially saved by Luke McNicholas but the former West Brom man scored from the rebound and it was level at half time.

The second half was a tight and tense game with both teams looking for an all important second goal.

Conor Malley done well for the hosts, getting into the area but shooting well wide. Max Mata scuffed at a chance after a cross from Fitzgerald again and Frank Liivak couldn’t quite keep his cross down when he was in a good position inside the Dundalk area.

Greg Bolger, Stefan Radosavljevic and Kailin Barlow were all brought on for the last 25 minutes or so and this proved an inspired decision from Russell as both Bolger and Radosavljevic combined in the 89th minute.

Dundalk’s goal kick went short to Alfie Lewis who was disposessed by Bolger who teed up Radosavljevic and the Faroese attacker dribbled into the area past two defenders and shot into the corner past Nathan Shepperd to give Rovers the win and a valuable three points.

Next up is a trip to Shelbourne on Monday night at Tolka Park before two home games against Drogheda United and UCD next Saturday and Saturday April 22nd respectively.

Sligo Rovers are delighted to receive a brand-new Club Kit Van, powered by Porter Ford in Castlebaldwin, Sligo.

The van, which will be used across the club for our Kit & Equipment needs is a welcome addition and will see the Bit O’ Red brand seen nationwide throughout the 2023 season.

Chairman Tommy Higgins says the van is an important part of our logistics and operations:

‘’This is a welcome addition to the club and we are very grateful to everyone at Porter Ford for helping us bring it to fruition.

‘’The van looks great and it will be brilliant to see it travelling around the country with the team and around the region for promotional activity or community work and school visits.

‘’It is something we have been trying for for a while now so, we are delighted to get it’’.

The new 2023 Ford Custom Transit is consistently the best selling van in Ireland and Europe and is the perfect partner for us in our pursuit of points.

David and Ray Porter from Porter Ford are happy to come on board to provide the club with the kit van:

‘’We would like to thank everyone from Sligo Rovers for giving us this opportunity and welcoming us to their family. We are inspired by the club ethos and real feeling of positivity within the club which has made the decision to support the club an easy one to make. The timing is perfect for us as we embark on a new era of commercial vehicles with the Ford Pro service and the beginning of our electrification journey for vans.  

The van will be on the road for the first time tonight as the Bit O’ Red take on Dundalk at Oriel Park.

On Saturday at 3pm, the club are holding a Walk and Talk event as part of our 50KM Challenge.

Supporters are asked to meet at The Showgrounds and the group will leave at 3pm and walk as a group towards Mitchell Curley Park at Kevinsfort.

Participants will be encouraged to walk around the park and make their way back to The Showgrounds which will add around 3 kilometres to their totals so far.

Car parking is available at The Showgrounds for all participants.

Слайго Роверс запрошує українські сім’ї, що живуть у Слайго Таун/Стрендхілл, на нашу домашню гру чемпіонату проти UCD у Суботу, 22 квітня, початок о 19:45.

Цей захід є безкоштовним, але потрібно, як найшвидше, подати заявку, щоб взяти участь.Будуть надані транспорт зі Стрендхіллу та квитки на матч, також ми приготували подарунки для українських дітей, які відвідають захід.Sligo Rovers раді організувати цей вечір для наших друзів з України.

Лінк для реєстрації на участь у цьому особливому вечорі: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N7KYP9H

Заявки приймаються до 12:00 Вівторка, 11 Квітня¹ 

Кількість місць обмежена²” 

Sligo Rovers make the journey East to take on Dundalk at Oriel Park on Friday night in the 8th game of the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division season.

Rovers are currently in fourth, a place behind tomorrow’s opponents who are in third spot.

Both sides suffered defeat last weekend, John Russell’s side lost 1-0 at home to Bohemians and Stephen O’ Donnell’s Dundalk were beaten 4-0 by Shamrock Rovers, also at home.

John Russell looks ahead to Friday’s game:

”We are all set for a massive game tomorrow night in Dundalk.

”The players have trained really well this week, and everyone is fully focused on bouncing back after last weekend’s defeat against Bohemians”.

This is the first meeting of the teams this season and the last encounter saw the points shared in a six goal thriller last October at the same venue.

Russell is aware of the test that awaits his side:

”I know Dundalk took a heavy defeat in their last game against Shamrock Rovers but the sending off had a big impact on that result.

”We’ve shown good signs so far this season. There is a lot of belief within the group and I feel there is a big performance in us”.

In team news, Rovers are without Garry Buckley, Mark Byrne and Gary Boylan with ACL injuries while Johan Brannefalk and Karl O’ Sullivan remain sidelined with ankle injuries. Goalkeeper Conor Walsh is set for a return from an ankle injury soon also however this game might come too soon for the Westport man. Sean McAteer remains out also.

The game is live on LOI TV from 7.45pm.

Tickets for our game against Dundalk at Oriel Park on Friday night and Shelbourne in Tolka Park on Monday are now on sale for Bit O’ Red supporters.

Away supporters are asked to buy their tickets online in advance of travelling.

You can buy your tickets via the links below:

Dundalk: https://embed.futureticketing.ie/c/dundalk-fc/

Shelbourne: https://shelbournefc.ie/away-tickets-xbfcy/

Safe travels to all Sligo Rovers supporters.

KARL O’SULLIVAN TOLD CONALL COLLIER ABOUT HIS  JOURNEY FROM LIMERICK TO SLIGO VIA BALLYBOFEY, HOW HE WAS ON THE VERGE OF TURNING HIS BACK ON THE LEAGUE OF IRELAND AND HOW HE IS ADJUSTING TO RECOVERING FROM THE INJURY HE SUSTAINED AGAINST DERRY CITY ON ST PATRICK’S DAY. THIS INTERVIEW WAS IN THE MATCH PROGRAMME FOR LAST SATURDAY NIGHT’S GAME.

Karl O’Sullivan took the long road from Limerick to get to Sligo as he travelled via Ballybofey.

Once the Donegal town is mentioned in relation to the League of Ireland, it’s safe to suggest that a certain individual by the name of Ollie Horgan can’t be too far removed from the equation.

And Karl certainly credits the legendary figure that is Ollie Horgan with rescuing his, what could only be described as fledgling, League of Ireland career.

That career in the League of Ireland began with the now defunct Limerick FC and it was there that Karl relished the opportunities handed to him by manager Tommy Barrett before the demise of what then was the latest incarnation of the club.

“When I started with Limerick FC, I made my debut in 2017, I was only 17 and the manager at the time, Neil McDonald, had just left, but that was of no real concern to me, I just wanted to play football and what was going on sort of worked in my favour in as much as I got to play,” said Karl.

“The cracks just started to appear, Tommy Barrett took over as manager and it was probably a blessing in disguise for me in one sense, I got the opportunity to play in the League of Ireland.

“Tommy had been the manager of the u-19 team I had played on for Limerick, so he knew me, he was always willing to give young players a chance and he gave myself and Will (Fitzgerald) a chance – we both made it into the first team at the same time,

“I didn’t mind too much playing with a ‘Townie’ like Will as he wasn’t a bad footballer, I suppose I have to say that anyway, but he wasn’t as good as me,” added Karl.

Taking him back to his early days in Glin, his home town, Karl has great appreciation for the efforts his parents made to get him involved in sport.

“My parents, Joe and Jackie, gave me tremendous support when I was growing up in Glin,” said Karl.

 “I can certainly say that I wouldn’t have achieved as much as I have so far without that backing.

“Glin is a small town on the border of west Limerick and north Kerry, my family would have been steeped in the GAA for starters, Glin GAA club and Limerick GAA as well.

“My uncles would have played football and hurling for Limerick over the years, my mother also played football for Limerick.

“She is a real sports enthusiast and also played some camogie, she was a very good player and she’ll probably ‘kill me’ for mentioning that,” suggested Karl as he tried to adjust to the current circumstances where he is supposed to use the crutches for the injury he picked up in Derry two weeks ago.

“I have two brothers and two sisters, Gerardine is the eldest, then there is David, Shane and Jane, I’m the second youngest in the family.

“I suppose it was a typical family in relation to sport, the GAA with the local club and soccer with the local club (Glin Rovers) in the Limerick Desmond League.

“We would have been regarded as the ‘culchies’ by the more ‘refined’ players in the Limerick & District League, at least that’s what Will Fitzgerald tells me, he claims that he is a real Limerick man, but I won’t say too much more about that,” he added.

Getting back to the turmoil in Limerick and how he was resigned to giving up League of Ireland football.

“It was a bit all over the place in the club (Limerick), no one knew what was going to happen, but at least now there is a team (Treaty Utd) and it seems to be going well.

“It’s also great to see a team now from Kerry, that’s good for the League of Ireland in the long-term.

“However, to get back to your question,  my time at Limerick, the way things worked out in 2019, it wasn’t very encouraging,  I was kind of fed up with football by the end of that season and was ready to pack it in, not bother anymore with the League of Ireland.

“I was after dropping out of college also and wasn’t getting paid at Limerick either.

“I was doing business and sports management in LIT (Limerick), but after a year or so I realised that it wasn’t really for me, I had just picked it as an option after the Leaving Certificate, I really hadn’t a clue what I wanted to do at the time.

“I found out that it wasn’t what I wanted so I can take a positive of some sort out of that, what I really wanted was to play football and that’s what I’ve done now for a few years and I want to continue that for the moment anyway.

 “But at that time, back in 2019, I was finished with football, frustrated with everything I suppose, I was determined to pack it in and then one evening I got a phone call.

“It was from a number that I didn’t recognise, I thought it might be one of those scam calls, but I answered it anyway.

“It was Ollie Horgan, he was looking for me, he had driven all the way down to Glin from Ballybofey, that’s a long journey and that got my attention straight away, he wanted to sign me for Finn Harps.

“It was what I really wanted, to play football and I didn’t mind where it was so I decided that I wouldn’t pack in the football just yet and for 2020 was on my way to Finn Park.

“Ollie did a great job at Finn Harps, he didn’t get the credit he deserves, when you go out to play for Ollie at Finn Harps you know exactly what you have to do.

“I lived in Ballybofey for two years, Covid made it difficult in 2020 but the people running the club are great people and made sure that the players were well looked after.

“One thing is certain, there were no egos in Finn Harps, it’s a fan-owned club and I can say at this stage that Ollie Horgan revived my interest in playing in the League of Ireland, if it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be with Sligo Rovers now.

“I suppose my time at Harps was successful in as much as Premier Division status was secured each season and it’s a club I have great time for.

“Not unlike Sligo Rovers in a sense, great people, great supporters, great determination to keep the flag flying and it’s not easy, but it’s important that the players are aware of that,” he added.

And what about the journey back down the road from Ballybofey that was brought to a halt at the Showgrounds. How did that materialise?

“I arrived in Sligo after another random phone call at the end of the 2021 season, this time it was Liam Buckley,” said Karl.

“I was out of contract with Finn Harps and was delighted to get the chance to join Sligo Rovers, the prospects of playing in Europe in 2022 was too good of an opportunity to miss out on and as it turned out it was a brilliant experience.

“There was a downside though, I think the exertions in Europe had an impact on our finishing position last season, we just missed out on fourth place, but our goal this year is to achieve better than fourth and get back into Europe.

“Liam was a bit unlucky in the way that results panned out. For me, his man-management skills were top class.

“It was another new manager, it seems to be the way in the League of Ireland, constant change, John Russell is the boss now and I’m really enjoying my football, well I was until last week anyway.

“The injury I picked up against Derry City, it’s an ankle problem and it will keep me out for for a while.

“I had a boot and crutches, myself and Johan (Brannefalk), we looked like twins going around with the same injury.

“We could nearly pick a team of injured players at this stage, a lot of the injuries appear to be related to playing on the Astro pitches.

“My own opinion is that all games in the League of Ireland should be on grass pitches, but I’m not going to get into that debate, it’s for other people to resolve.

The immediate goal is to recover from the injury and get back playing, I love it here in Sligo, playing full-time football is what I want and when you have people like Greg Bolger around the place, it’s a great bonus.

“Greg brings a competitive edge, that’s the best way I can describe it, I’ll leave it at that, probably the safest thing to do,” concluded Karl.