Sporting Fingal -v- Sligo Rovers

• Gareth Penrose
• Sun, May 17 2009


Sligo Rovers travel to Dublin for the second time in four days on Monday evening in a bid to reach the semi final of the EA Sports Cup as they take on Sporting Fingal in Morton Stadium. Fingal come into the game on the back of a two nil win over Athlone Town, whilst Sligo came from behind twice against St. Patrick’s Athletic to earn a point.

Liam Buckley believes the opportunity of reaching the semi finals is motivation enough for his players.

“Sligo Rovers will pose a different type of challenge to what we’re used to but the players are really looking forward to this tie. The incentive of reaching the semi-final of the national cup is huge for us and we’ll be doing our utmost to win the game.

The Fingal manager is happy with the performances of his team this season, where they have only been defeated on one occasion, that coming in early March against First Division league leaders UCD.

“It was pleasing to win our first game in three outings on Friday against Athlone Town and I’ve seen steady progress in the performances since the start of the campaign, despite the loss of key players due to injuries. Just one defeat in 13 matches so far is a statistic we can take confidence from.”

Buckley will be without many of his regulars for this clash. Defenders Stephen Paisley (ankle) and Shaun Maher (foot), as well as strikers Gary O’Neill (groin) and Daniel Corcoran (hamstring), are all on the injured list. Midfielder Shaun Williams returns after missing Friday night’s win due to a one-match suspension.

Sligo manager Paul Cook also has a number of injury worries for the game. Owen Morrison (pulled muscle), Rafael Cretaro (ankle injury in game against St.Pats), Sean Doherty (hamstring) are all doubtful whilst Mauro Almeida did play against St.Pats but has managed to aggravate his injury and could miss out.

In an effort to draw a crowd for the Monday night game, a specially reduced entry price of €10 for adults will be in operation. The game kicks off at 19:45.

Extratime.ie Prediction: Sligo Rovers to win out over the First Division side, but only just. 2-1.