Ventre thrilled as Sligo edge closer

Sligo Rovers’ 4-1 defeat of Derry City on Saturday night edged them closer to their first Airtricity Premier Division title since 1977 and captain Danny Ventre was in buoyant form following the victory.

Ventre, a stalwart in the Sligo team, has been an important player for the league leaders this season. Speaking to Extratime.ie, the Liverpudlian was thrilled with the performance. “That was a great win against a Derry side who always come here and close us down. And that’s what they did in the first twenty minutes and then we got to grips with the game. Our quality shone through in the end.”

Rovers were dominating play from the early stages and opened the scoring on 14 minutes. The midfielder felt that the early goal was important. “It helped a lot. It helped us calm down and then even better when we got the second goal. We started passing it a bit better then and came to the end of the half. We came out then in the second half and the third goal was a big advantage to us and we could control the game from then on.”

Despite their dominance, the bit o’red leaked a goal late in the second half. Ventre added. “It’s not nice to concede a goal. Big Jay McGuinness and Peersy (Gavin Peers) weren’t happy but these things happen in football. We can learn from that. Derry are a good side and they can pick you off and score goals.”

Ian Baraclough’s side can win the league on Friday, should other results go their way, but the 26-year-old said the team will be concentrating on three points on in Cork. “All we can do is win and keep the lads’ heads right. There are young lads in there getting excited and there are lads in there like Jason McGuinness and Joseph (Ndo) who have won the league before and they’re keeping the young lads’ heads on. All we can do is win Friday.”