Feehily praises hardworking Sligo U19 squad

Sligo Rovers Under-19's face the trip east to Dundalk this Saturday [January 19th]. The Bit O'Red currently sit top of the U-19 Northern Division table on eighteen points with just three games remaining, while Dundalk are close behind on equal points but with one game less to play. A win for Sligo Rovers would all but guarantee them the title, needing just one more point from the final two games, and seal their promotion to next season's Elite Division. Sligo Rovers U-19 coach Colin Feehily feels it's no more than Rovers deserve.

"Things have been going nicely for us, but it's all down to the hard work the squad has put in all season so far. We are top for a reason but there's a long way to go, everyone's just focusing on the Dundalk game now. Gavin [Dykes] and Ciaran [Kelly] put in a lot of hard work and its showing with the results we have had, hopefully we'll continue that on Saturday."

Rovers have been unable to beat Dundalk this season, drawing 1-1 in Oriel Park last September and 2-2 in Sligo earlier this month. Feehily is expecting another tough game in Oriel Park on Saturday.

"Dundalk are a good side, they played some good football against us recently but we dug deep and I thought it was near enough the best we have played this season. I thought a draw was the least we deserved. All you can ask of them is to do their best and if they do that on Saturday hopefully we'll come away with a positive result."

Rovers welcome back Shane McGinty from suspension this weekend but top scorer Ruairi Keating went off injured early on in last Sunday's victory over Derry City, this was followed by an injury to Jake Dykes in the second half. It is not yet known if they'll make it back in time for the trip to Oriel Park.

"We won't know until later on in the week, both of them got knocks on their calves. They've both played a lot of football recently having been involved with the Irish schoolboys squad and we hope to have them fit as they are important members of the squad."

With the first team securing their first title in 35 years and the U-19 team close to securing their first title, the future of football in Sligo looks bright. Feehily feels that the U-19 set-up is of great benefit to the club and it doesn't go unnoticed by first team manager Ian Baraclough.

"It's a good stepping stone for young lads to progress in the game and one day break into our first team. Ian takes a keen interest in how we get on and how the players are coming along, so for them it's great to know that the interest from first team management is there and if they do well they'll get a chance of moving up. They're all enjoying themselves and Gavin, Ciaran and myself are enjoying it too.

"With pre-season coming up now I'm sure a lot of the young lads will be used in some of the games, and if so it'll be a great experience for them. We had 3 or 4 in last year's league winning squad that came from the U-19 set up and there'll be a couple more this year I'm sure. Rovers winning the league in October created a buzz around Sligo Town and it was great for the town and for local football and the whole lot. The young lads took some belief from that and I believe that's helped us this year."

Saturday's top of the table clash kicks off at 2pm in Dundalk's Oriel Park.

Sligo Rovers remaining fixtures

Dundalk A

Letterkenny Rovers H

Fanad United H

Dundalk remaining fixtures

Sligo Rovers H

Derry City A