Category: Rovers Article

Sligo Rovers controlled proceedings but were wasteful in their second leg tie against FH Hafnarfjörður, condemning the Bit O’Red to a 3-1 aggregate defeat. All the goals in the Showgrounds came from set-pieces, with carnage in Rovers’ box from a wide free-kick and a penalty for each side providing the action on Thursday evening.

Rovers made 3 changes from the first leg with Regan Donelon, David Cawley and Walter Figueira replacing Colm Horgan, Greg Bolger and Mark Byrne for a game where attack was necessary considering our first leg deficit. FH made one change from the previous clash, with Vuk Dimitrijevic replacing Helgason.

The first half was dominated by Sligo Rovers and their continued presence in Hafnarfjörður’s box led to a number of chances and corners, but no goals. The most jarring miss came in the middle of the half when Romeo Parkes controlled a long ball and drove into the box but the chance from his cutback was put wide. FH’s timewasting would prove to be beneficial. A fairly innocuous tackle from Lewis Banks led to a free-kick and pinball in the box, which ultimately resulted in the opening goal of the match for Hafnarfjörður, against the run of play and on the stroke of half time.

It went from bad to worse for Rovers after the break as Regan Donelon was caught in possession and gave away a penalty, pulling down Jónsson in the box. Lennon made no mistake in converting past McNicholas’ dive to make it 2-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate. There was hope after a bout of substitutions with a fresh and a familiar face coming on with Adam McDonnell and Seamas Keogh making club debuts. It was another substitute who brought Rovers a faint glint of hope with a late penalty but in the end, it wasn’t to be.

This one was hard to write, folks. We’ll be back again with Waterford away on Sunday.

Teams

SLIGO ROVERS:  L McNicholas, L Banks, G Buckley, S Blaney, R Donelon (D Kane 70), J Gibson (S Keogh 78), D Cawley (C Horgan 70), N Morahan (A McDonnell 78), W Figueira, R De Vries (J Kenny 58), R Parkes.

FH HAFNARFJÖRÐUR: G Nielsen, G Kristjánsson, P Vidarsson, G Þórisson, H Gunnarsson, B Sverrisson (Róbertsson 80), E Jonsson, J Jónsson (Arnarsson 90), V Dimitrijevic (Guðlaugsson 73), S Lennon (Hreidarsson 90), M Vilhjálmsson.

REF: Luis Teixeira

Rovers Ratings

Luke McNicholas: 6 – Was helpless for both goals.

Lewis Banks: 6 – Was productive in the first half.

Garry Buckley: 6 – Shuttled the ball well when in possession.

Shane Blaney: 6 – Solid despite the goals.

Regan Donelon: 5 – Was sloppy in giving away the penalty. Taken off for Kane.

David Cawley: 6 – His playmaking efforts helped us in the first half but once the second goal went in and heads dropped, he couldn’t make his mark on the game. Hooked for Horgan.

Niall Morahan: 6 – Wasn’t troubled by FH’s midfielders. Replaced by McDonnell late on.

Walter Figueira: 6 – Did well in the first half but as FH sat deeper he couldn’t work his magic.

Jordan Gibson: 6 – Didn’t stamp his authority on the game in the way he would’ve wanted. Subbed off for Keogh.

Ryan De Vries: 6 – Didn’t get much of the ball on the left. Kenny came on in his place on the hour mark.

Romeo Parkes: 6 – Alone up top at times.

Johnny Kenny: 7 – It’s hard to justify him starting with only one day’s training before the game but come on, we looked a different side with him on the pitch.

Danny Kane: 6 – Did decent in a somewhat new role to him.

Colm Horgan: 6 – Grabbed the ball and brought it back to the centre circle after the consolation so the mentality is there!

Seamas Keogh: N/A – Probably wasn’t the most enjoyable debut for the local lad but he now has more European appearances than Pelé so… every cloud?

Adam McDonnell: N/A – Didn’t get enough time on his debut to warrant a rating.

The Gypsies head to The Showgrounds tomorrow, Saturday 25th June to take on the Bit O’Red. Bohs lie in 4th place with Sligo Rovers just above them in 3rd. Bohs are only 5 points behind, but across their last 5 games, have remained undefeated. Sligo Rovers on the other hand have had a few disappointing results recently, with 2 losses and a draw after sitting top of the table by the mid-season break. Both teams are certaintly driving to win this game and retain positions in the top 4.

Recent Games

Bohs come to Sligo having bet last seaons’ champions Shamrock Rovers 1-0 earlier this week. Days earlier they defeated Drogs 5-0, which is a substantial win considering Drogheda are seriously impressing this season, and were one of our toughest opponents so far. This is one of the highest scorelines across the League this season. Bohs also managed to net 5 goals against a struggling Dundalk last month. The Dublin side are clearly a high goal-scroing side.

Although Sligo Rovers were defeated by St Pats, who sit top of the table, and Drogheda in recent weeks, form, play and results were consistently impressive since the season opened. Despite drawing to Derry on Monday, our tempo, pace and drive are improving as we dictated the pace and were the better side for large periods of the game. A win would be a brilliant result and prove that we are back out of this short slump.

Who to watch out for

The main man to be wary of for this game is Georgie Kelly, without a doubt. Kelly is the League’s top goals scorer this season, having scored 11 goals so far. Looking at recent games alone, Kelly netted 4 goals against Drogheda, including a hat-trick, and scored the winning goal against Shamrock Rovers. A lot of clubs across the League are lacking a go-to- goal scorer, but Bohs seem to have found this through Kelly. The forward also has speed, brilliant footwork and brings an extremely high drive and tempo with him. Discussing this game Kelly stated

‘Sligo have had a couple of disappointing results so they’ll be all guns blazing looking for the win but we feel like we can beat anyone in this league’.

Our defense needs to remain extremely solid to close in on his pace and press his continous attack. Quick strong clearances will be essential to prevent conceding. Kelly tends to press very high as a centre forward so will most likely have chances one on one with Mahon. Another player to keep an eye on is left- winger Ali Coote who has scored 4 goals this season, and provided 2 essential assists.

Our Squad

We are nothing short of impressive players and signees this season either. Greg Bolger will again prove pivotal with his experience and leadership skills, which will be needed in a high pressure tight game like this. Bolger commands the squad each game and is essential in retaining the ball across the midfield. Jordan Gibson and Romeo Parkes are potential goal scorers for this game, depending on link-up play coming through the midfield. Gibson is known for his ‘wonder’ goals and is a brilliant striker from distance. Parkes has the ability to work the ball up field and score, and is very good with set pieces. Parkes has been an ‘on and off’ player in recent games and often takes some time to get into the game, but if this is one of his good nights, he is a possible goal scorer.

Johnny Kenny may or may not be part of the starting 11. Most supporters agree that he should start, bringing enthusiasm, pace and drive. Having Kenny start dictates the tempo from the opening minutes. Mahon will remain essential for long clearances on the back line and will likely be put under a lot of pressure throughout the game. Although Kelly is a top goal scorer, Mc Ginty is one of the Leagues’ top goalkeepers. Mc Ginty has managed some brilliant saves in recent games and can hold the same pressure this fixture. He also plays very cleverly often coming off the line as a sweeper keeper.

A Prediction

Boh’s are in the middle of a very impressive spell notably thanks to Georgie Kelly, while Sligo Rovers are battling a disappointing couple of weeks in the season. The Bit O’ Red will probably have a higher drive to win than they did in recent weeks, in order to prove themselves as a top of the table club. On the other hand, Bohs will push the same in order to further prove they are able to retain this good spell and remain unbeatable.

Given this, it will probably be an extremely fast paced and tight game. Depending who dictates the tempo, the game could really go either way. Neither club is an outright dominant side going into this fixture. If goals are scored by either club it is likely they will come from set pieces. If the game is as tight as imagined, injuries, cards, free kicks and penalties are likely, which both teams need to be wary of.

A predicted score is very difficult for this particular fixture, however most neutral LOI supporters and pundits are backing a tight draw. If Sligo Rovers pick up the tempo and retain the drive they had in the opening games of the season, a win is very doable!

 

Sligo Rovers lost 2-1 to Drogheda United in our first game with spectators for quite some time, with 100 season ticket holders allowed to enter the Showgrounds to witness an admittedly poor performance. We return to 2^nd in the table after Chris Lyons’ brace and Shane Blaney’s late header, behind Shamrock Rovers on goal difference.

Rovers made 2 changes from our last match, with Ryan De Vries and Shane Blaney coming in for Romeo Parkes (after his red card against Finn Harps) and Garry Buckley (he’s injured). 17-year-old Sean McAteer made his first appearance in a Sligo Rovers senior squad when he was named on the bench for Saturday’s game. Drogheda made 3 switches of their own from our visit to Head in the Game Park in goals, defence and midfield.

The Bit O’Red started the first half in control but were quickly shocked by a dagger though Chris Lyons when Greg Bolger gave away possession. The ball was collected by Lyons who spotted Ed McGinty off his line and found the net with an audacious lob from close to 25 yards out. Rovers had to fend off the incessant Drogheda press throughout the half with the visitors’ style of play showing why they lie 4^th in the table. This isn’t to say we didn’t have chances though, with Figueira coming close midway through the half.

The second half proved to be a lot more fruitful for Liam Buckley’s boys in terms of creating chances, with Ryan De Vries, Jordan Gibson, Robbie McCourt and Lewis Banks all coming close, but it would prove to be Lyons again who struck a hammer blow on the hour mark by striking well above McGinty’s dive after beating Shane Blaney to the ball. Ironically, it would be Blaney who brought hope back into the contest late on from a corner to head the ball and loop over Odumosu’s dive, but in the end, it wasn’t to be as Drogheda saw out an important 2-1 win.

Thanks for reading despite the loss. Our next game is Pat’s away next Friday. Join us here for another report, and on YouTube for post-match analysis.

Teams

SLIGO ROVERS:  E McGinty, L Banks, J Mahon, G Buckley, R McCourt, W Figueira, G Bolger, N Morahan, J Gibson, M Byrne (J Kenny 46), R De Vries (C Heaney 88).

DROGHEDA UNITED: D Odumosu, J Brown, D Massey, C Kane, D O’Reilly, G Deegan, D Markey (J Clarke 79), R Murray (K Phillips 62), M Doyle, J Hyland, C Lyons (D Corcoran 70).

REF: Robert Hennessy

Rovers Ratings

Ed McGinty: 5 – Should’ve done better on the second goal – limited himself by not standing tall but there’s a reason I play for my local team and he plays for a professional club.

Lewis Banks: 6 – Wasn’t at too much on the right.

John Mahon: 6 – Suffered without Buckley beside him.

Shane Blaney: 5 – Questionable for both goals but he saved his skin somewhat with the goal.

Robbie McCourt: 6 – Nearly scored in the second half, did well as a wingback.

Greg Bolger: 6 – Lost the ball for the first goal and struggled from there.

Niall Morahan: 6 – Taken off at half time for Horgan in a change of system.

Walter Figueira: 6 – Had some moments but didn’t threaten overall.

Jordan Gibson: 6 – Tried to take the game by the scruff of the neck later on but couldn’t create chances.

Ryan De Vries: 5 – Unless his game is modelled around Roberto Firmino I don’t know what he was doing so far down the pitch. Hooked for Heaney with 2 minutes left.

Johnny Kenny: 6 – Didn’t get much service when he came on.

Colm Horgan: 6 – Anonymous at times after coming on.

Cillian Heaney: N/A – Showed fight in the little time he was on.