Sligo Rovers are back in action tomorrow (Friday) night at Tolka Park at 7.45pm in The SSE Airtricity Premier Division.

There is a mixed record between the sides so far in 2022 with Shels winning twice back in April and May and Rovers earning a 3-1 win at The Showgrounds at the start of July.

Rovers are currently fifth in the League table with Shelbourne five points and two positions back in seventh.

Manager John Russell expects another tough encounter in Drumcondra:

‘’Shelbourne will be a tough test on Friday night.

‘’They are well organised and they have picked up some good results this year.

‘’We come into the game on the back of a win against Drogheda Utd. It’s important for us to keep improving each week and pick up as many points as possible between now and the end of the season.

‘’The players have been brilliant in training this week and everyone is eager to put in a top performance’’.

In team news, Colm Horgan returned to action last week against Drogheda after a long spell out with a hamstring injury. David Cawley returned to the squad also and is back in contention for a place tomorrow night.

Shane Blaney missed the game last weekend having limped off against Dundalk the previous week, but is expected to recover in time for one of the upcoming games this weekend against Shelbourne or Derry City on Tuesday.

Adam McDonnell also returns and is available for selection.

Garry Buckley and Seamas Keogh remain out.

The game is Live on LOI TV from 7.45pm.

Travelling supporters are advised that there will be increased traffic in the area with a concert taking place at Croke Park, which is close to Tolka Park.

We advise supporters to keep this in mind and make appropriate plans on travel.

Sligo Rovers are disappointed with the outcome of the FAI Disciplinary Control Unit hearing which results in an overturning of the recent win against Dundalk at The Showgrounds.

While we understand and admit that an error was made on the club’s behalf, the issue was contributed to by the omission of the player’s name from two weekly suspension lists issued by the FAI to all clubs, which lead to confusion.

As a club, we will move on from this while considering our options. Ambitious ground development plans which are progressing, we have had 200 new members in the past month, our community ethos remains at the forefront of the club with two fantastic Senior teams and six Academy teams which we are proud of and which will help overcome this disappointment.

The club will take further legal advice on the outcome.

Sligo Rovers wish to inform supporters and sponsors of a notice received this afternoon to appear before the FAI disciplinary control unit (DCU) later this week.

The charge arises out of Adam McDonnell’s appearance against Dundalk on Monday August 29th, when allegedly suspended. The potential sanction in the event of an adverse finding is an overturning of the result.

The club received contradictory communications from the FAI on Adam’s possible suspension. Legal advice has been taken and the club will be represented at the FAI hearing.

A further update will issue later in the week

Sligo Rovers had five academy games over the weekend with only our Under 15’s having no fixture.

It started on Saturday afternoon with our Under 14’s making the journey to Dublin to take on Bohemians. It was a tough day for the lads as the hosts ran out 6-1 winners, Mark Nolan scored his first club goal as a consolation.

Our Under 17 Men’s side hosted Waterford at The Sean Fallon Centre. Michael Clifford scored for Rovers but the visitors won 5-1 in a clinical display in front of goal.

Our Under 17 Women’s team had a long journey to Wexford Youths at 2pm. It looked like the girls were going to come away with a well earned point but the hosts scored with the last kick of the game to take three points. A cruel ending after a strong Rovers’ display.

On Sunday our Under 19 teams were both in action.

Our Women’s side had an impressive win away to Bray at The Carlisle Grounds. The game ended 3-0 to Rovers with Katie McGuire on target for 14th time this season. A goal each from Aine Gorman and Rebecca Doddy sealed an important win.

Our Under 19 Men’s side lost 4-0 to Waterford away from home.

Sligo Rovers won at home for the third straight league game on Saturday night with goals from Frank Liivak and Aidan Keena sealing three points for John Russell’s side.

A miserable evening made for a quick playing surface and this helped Rovers early on as Lewis Banks picked up possession from Paddy Kirk’s excellent cross field pass. Banks found Frank Liivak on the right hand side and the Estonian dribbled toward the penalty area and played a wonderful one-two with Max Mata before finishing into the bottom corner to give Rovers an early lead.

Both sides looked to score the second goal and both had half chances as the half went on but neither ‘keeper had any major saves to make and the game remained 1-0 at half time.

The visitors came out the slightly better team at the start of the second half and created one or two more half chances, most notably through Dean Williams who couldn’t convert from inside the penalty area, shooting straight at the impressive Luke McNicholas.

Kailin Barlow and Niall Morahan were introduced by John Russell on the hour mark as Rovers looked to get a foot hold in the game. The Bit O’ Red had long periods of possession and looked to attack at every opportunity but the final ball was sometimes lacking. Aidan Keena and Will Fitzgerald were potent in attack with Fitzgerald going close with a shot from the left and Keena testing goalkeeper Colin McCabe.

Colm Horgan returned from injury on 65 minutes in place of Cameron Evans, a welcome return for the Galway man who has missed out since injuring his hamstring against Bala Town back in July.

It was in the 75th minute that Rovers had the chance to double their lead. A Rovers’ free kick from the right was heading toward the head of Nando Pijnaker but the New Zealander was shoved in the back and referee Alan Patchell pointed to the penalty spot. Aidan Keena blasted home from twelve yards much to the delight of the home supporters.

Drogheda kept going and tried their best to get back into the game but The Bit O’ Red saw it out well in the closing stages and earned an important three points.

Next up is a trip to Tolka Park on Friday night to take on Shelbourne at 7.45pm.

We host Drogheda United tonight at 7.45pm at The Showgrounds in The SSE Airtricity League 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/

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 Annual Draw is now 4 weeks away with €25,000 raised so far in a magnificent response from our loyal Bit O’ Red supporters and general public around the region.

The draw was launched back on July 10^th and since then, sales have been increasing online and through physical sales door to door or by our ticket sellers within the community.

Volunteers have been out and about in the county selling door to door and the response to this has been as generous as ever with those we visit being courteous and welcoming to our dedicated sellers.

The top prize of €5,000 is just one of a number of special prizes up for grabs this year when the draw takes place on October 1^st at our home game with Shamrock Rovers at The Showgrounds.

We have a €1,000 PetStop voucher with thanks to John McKeon and his team. There are two separate hotel stays up for grabs at both Clayton Hotel, Liffey Valley and the 5 Star Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin City.

Music fans will be delighted to see four Westlife tickets for their Wild Dreams tour in Belfast in December available as well as 2 Rod Stewart tickets for Dublin in November.

There is a trip to Anfield to see Liverpool at a home game also there to be won not to mention €200 Kate’s Kitchen and Intersport Elverys vouchers (2 x €100).

With just 4 weeks to go until the draw, we encourage supporters who have not entered to do so soon to be in with a chance of winning.

All proceeds from this year’s draw will go directly towards our Stadium development plans for The Showgrounds with the club continuously working on our Masterplan which will see The Showgrounds transformed into a modern sporting venue for the North-West region.

There is also a special Business draw which allows businesses to enter a draw by purchasing a book of tickets. Each company will then be placed into a draw to win a pitch-side advertising sign at The Showgrounds for the entire 2023 season, worth over €1,200.

Buy online:

One ticket: https://srfcdirect.com/annual-draw-ticket-2022/

One book of tickets: https://srfcdirect.com/annual-draw-book-of-ten-2022/

How can you help?

Take a book of tickets to sell to your friends, family or work colleagues. Books have ten tickets and can be got by emailing administrator@sligorovers.com or by contacting someone from the club at tonight’s match.

Five of our Academy teams are in action this weekend between Saturday and Sunday with only one home game and four teams playing away from home.

Our Under 14’s travel to Bohs on Saturday afternoon. The game kicks off at 2pm in Shanowen, Dublin.

Our Under 17 Men are hosting Waterford at 2.30pm at Sean Fallon Centre. The lads are in good form after picking up 7 points in their last four games.

Our Under 17 Women are in Ferrycarrig Park at 2pm to play Wexford Youths. It’s the second long away trip in succession after last week’s game away to Treaty.

Sunday sees three games down for decision.

Our Under 19 Men’s side travel to Waterford for a 2pm kick off. The lads defeated Derry City in the Cup on Wednesday and will be looking to get back to winning ways in the league.

Our Under 19 Women take on Bray Wanderers at 3pm in Greystones. The side lost to Bohs last weekend at home and will be looking for a result here.

Our Under 15’s have a free weekend.

#bitored

With no games scheduled in the Women’s National League this weekend due to international fixtures, ConallCollier spoke to Sligo Rovers manager Steve Feeney about the performance against Athlone Town last Saturday and the remaining six games in the club’s debut season, starting with the visit of Galway on Saturday 10th September.

The Bit O’Red go into the mini-break in eighth position, seven points clear of Cork City and eight adrift of seventh-placed Bohemian FC.

The target for the remaining games is to collect as many points as possible and close the gap on Bohemian FC.

Feeney was positive about many aspects of last Saturday’s performance, although he also suggested that there are key areas in which the team can find some improvement.

“I know I’ve said this a few times, but it’s the truth, the girls always keep going, always keep trying to play football and it was the same against Athlone Town,” he commented.

“Even when we were 3-1 down, for the start of the second-half, they kept focused and deservedly got back into the game with a superb goal from Paula (McGrory) with about 12 or 13 minutes remaining.

“Then we had a couple of chances for an equaliser and we just couldn’t get level.

“That’s probably the difference in a lot of the games this season where we were edged out by a goal, when you get a chance at this level, you have to be able to take it.

“It was disappointing that we didn’t get something out of the game in Athlone, but they’re in the top three and we are in our first season.

“They were able to bring a player of the calibre of Emily Corbet off the bench in that second-half and she got that fourth goal when we were pushing forward,” he added.

Regarding the overall performance against Athlone, and other displays this season, Feeney maintained that a bit more consistency over 90 minutes is one area that he is focused on.

“Our second-half display against Athlone was very pleasing, I suppose it all comes down to more consistency,” he stated.

“We struggled to deal with the threat Athlone posed in the first-half, especially after we took the lead.

“It was all a bit frantic and we just needed a bit more composure, but the players are learning all the time.

“I can identify areas where we have to improve, we have conceded too many easy goals this season and if we can address that, then we will start picking up points again.

“We had a good training game on Tuesday and everyone will come back next week and prepare for the visit of Galway.

“That will be another tough one for us, but we can use it as a gauge to measure our levels of improvement.

“We have six games left, starting with the visit of Galway, and we have to try to start picking up some points.

“We know how good we can be, it’s a matter of bringing that form into our remaining games,” he concluded.

Our SSE Airtricity League Premier Division game with Derry City, originally scheduled for July 22nd, will now be played on Tuesday September 13th at 7.45pm at The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.

The Bit O’ Red were in European action against Motherwell at the time of the original game meaning it was postponed.

It will see Rovers on the road against Shelbourne and Derry City within four days of each other in another busy couple of weeks for John Russell and his squad.