League Preview: Sligo Rovers -v- Shelbourne

Sligo Rovers

Sligo Rovers come into Friday’s clash with Shelbourne in the Showgrounds (kick off at 7.45) on a fine run of form. The Bit O’Red are sitting in second place in the table, two points off leaders Derry City, and are still unbeaten, following a 2-2 draw away to Shamrock Rovers before the international break.

Will Fitzgerald and recently crowned Player of the Month, Aidan Keena, grabbed the goals in Tallaght for Sligo, but a Graham Burke penalty and an unfortunate own goal from Adam McDonnell pegged the visitors back.

Speaking to the club website, manager Liam Buckley praised his squad’s efforts ahead of what will be a busy week for the Bit O’Red.

“We are happy with the start of the season in terms of being unbeaten so far. We have played well at times and there is a bit of strength in depth which has helped us and the lads are all eager to take part and play and do well which is great,” said Buckley. “We know that there is room for improvement also and we have worked on a few things in the last couple of weeks to help with that.

“The lads have all gelled well as a group and the new lads have settled into the town fairly well and that helps them perform on the pitch. We have an honest group who all want to do well for each other and the club and with the fans behind us Friday night we hope to get a positive result. It will be a tough week or so with three games but we’ll use the full squad and see how we go.”

In team news, centre back Nando Pijnaker has rejoined the squad after helping his native New Zealand get to the World Cup Intercontinental playoff finals. There are no new injury concerns or suspensions for Liam Buckley to worry about.

Shelbourne

Shelbourne’s form since their return to the Premier Division has been patchy at best. They will be searching for their first win in three, as Finn Harps took all three points in Tolka Park in a 3-0 win last time out.

Ethan Boyle, Conor Tourish and Eric McWoods scored for Harps, in what was an extremely underwhelming performance for Damien Duff’s men. They currently sit seventh in the table, with six points from seven games played.

Despite a tricky start to the season, Duff was full of praise for the fans. “The fans have been amazing since day one,” he said.

“I’d like to think the fans know how fond I am of them as you see with the jerseys being given away in Dalymount but it’s always so much appreciated whether it be home or away.” 

He also touched on the poor performance against Finn Harps and is hopeful that his charges have turned a corner since.

“It was disappointing as it was not reflective of how we train but I’m sure it was just an outlier and sometimes those results act as a wake-up call. It was frustrating because before that against Bohs we looked a proper team but hopefully we can get back to that tomorrow,” he added. 

“The Harps game has been parked now. We’ve looked at it at length and the lads know they need to show that edge in every single game.”

In team news, Jack Moylan has returned to training, but Shels will be without Adam Thomas, Sean McSweeney, JJ Lunney and Shane Griffin, with Lunney and Griffin expected to return to training next week. Shelbourne have no suspensions for Friday night’s fixture.

Referee: Ray Matthews

Match Stats

The last time these two faced each other was in the condensed, 18-game season of 2020. In the first game, Sligo hosted Shelbourne, and moved off the bottom of the table with a 2-1 win. Jesse Devers opened the scoring for the Bit O’Red after just 30 seconds, with David Cawley adding a second on 51 minutes. Gary Deegan grabbed a consolation goal for Shelbourne deep in injury time.

Shels had better luck in the return fixture, as they won 1-0 in Tolka Park. Gary Deegan got his name on the scoresheet again, in what was a crucial win for Shelbourne as they fought to stay in the Premier Division. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, as they were relegated via the playoffs weeks later.

Aidan Keena will be looking to round off a good week after being awarded Player of the Month for March, with his five goals for Sligo Rovers contributing massively to their unbeaten run so far this season.

Shelbourne, meanwhile, will be hoping to bounce back after the loss to Finn Harps, having won just one game so far this season.

Prediction

Sligo Rovers 3-0 Shelbourne

Sligo Rovers

Injured: None

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

Shelbourne

Injured: Adam Thomas, Sean McSweeney, JJ Lunney, Shane Griffin

Doubtful: Jack Moylan

Suspended: None