Victory over Shams reminds us all why we love Rovers

THERE were times this season when I had no interest in Sligo Rovers. Forcing myself out the door to go watch games felt laborious at times. I wasn’t the only one. Several die-hards didn’t renew season tickets, some who did, were not bothered about going to games.

They felt Rovers weren’t giving them any reason or encouragement to come out and watch them play each week, only to be left annoyed about a lack of effort and nine times out of ten, a dreadful result.

When Chairman Martin Heraghty appealed for fans to support the annual draw, he alluded to the fact that there was a re- newed energy about the place since the arrival of Gerard Lyttle.

He was right. Although things were not exactly going to plan on the pitch, everyone could appreciate the difficulty of the task at hand for Gerard.

The ingredients were there, we could see the progress but results just weren’t going our way. One big night was needed. And we got that on Sunday evening when Shamrock Rovers came to town.

There is something about playing that crowd at home - players step up, there’s always needle on and off the pitch, and it still draws a huge crowd even though neither teams are as good as they once were.

Our squad may not be world beaters. There are some incredibly average players there, and they haven’t been putting in the required effort on the field at all times, but they are better than the league table suggests.

Should Rovers avoid relegation, they will have to pull off shock wins against bigger teams. Sunday evening’s win was everything we needed.

Obviously, to use a lame cliche, the three points are what matters most but it felt like the old days again at The Showgrounds.

Much like when we beat Shams at home under Dave Robertson last year, it felt like we had won something. That victory last season was one of the highlights of the Robertson era.

That victory doesn’t just bring us up to 8th spot, it will make people remember why they go to The Showgrounds every second week.

Even the handbags at the end of the game will have been enjoyed by fans, that shows there is fight and commitment there. And despite people accusing them of not caring, that shows that they do.

I can’t help but feel that two months ago Rovers would not have won that game.

Going ahead on four minutes, reduced to ten early in the second-half, you were almost waiting for Stephen Bradley’s men to get back into the game. It didn’t happen.

And it didn’t happen because of the sheer grit and determination from Rovers.

Gary Boylan was outstanding on the night. We’ve been beating this drum for a long time but he should never be fighting for his place in that starting eleven, he should be there automatically each week.

People have questioned

whether or not he is good enough but having been messed around previously, stuck at left back for periods, he finally has a manager who believes he is good enough to be in that defensive midfield position every week.

Micheal Schlingermann, too, deserves credit. Having endured two difficult games in which he was at fault for goals, he showed no signs of someone who is struggling for confidence.

He was much more assured, composed, cleared the ball every time he went to do so - more like himself than in previous weeks.

Tobi looks more like himself, and Raff as ever put in an outstanding shift.

It was fitting, then, that Rovers would secure such a result with a performance like that, on a night when we learned that over €60,000 was raised in the annual draw.

Seamus Sharkey, too, in his debut for the club was solid and assured.

It can’t be said enough how important volunteers are to the club.

Mark Cummins, the main driving force behind the draw, and his team of extremely dedicated volunteers never crave praise or attention.

But they absolutely deserve every bit of it. Each year they devote countless hours to the annual draw and various other fundraisers. Without those people, we would not be able to sustain a full-time set-up.

To raise €60,000 in a year when the team is struggling on the pitch says a lot about this club. Everyone is in this together.

Special nights at The Showgrounds are to be cherished, and while we will all enjoy that for the next week, a defeat in Derry would bring us all back to earth extremely quickly.