“We were the better team for 75 minutes”
HAVING witnessed his side reach 410 minutes without scoring a league goal in front of their own support, Sligo Rovers manager Ger Lyttle has bemoaned his team’s lack of fortune in the final third, following Saturday’s defeat to Cork City.
The Bit O’Red boss watched from the dugout as Rovers, who have now failed to find the target in a league game at the Showgrounds since the end of April, fell to their eleventh defeat of the season.
Although Cork continued to create after Kieran Sadlier’s opener on just 53 seconds, Rovers weathered and matched the Rebel’s yell, going on to dominate large parts of the second period.
The Connacht men just couldn’t find that killer touch, with Tubbercurry’s Liam Kerrigan almost finding an equaliser on just his second appearance, only to be denied by City goalkeeper Mark McNulty who pushed the youngster’s effort on to his crossbar. This, shortly before Graham Cummins settled the game against the run of play ten minutes from time.
Rovers were also left frustrated when they fell foul to the controversial decision to disallow a seemingly legitimate Ali Roy goal on 36 minutes.
“For me, we were the better team for 75 minutes”, Lyttle sighed. “We played the right way but didn’t get anything so that’s the disappointing thing. We didn’t get the breaks.
“But we’ve absolutely hammered their 18 yard box. Young Liam’s come on and their keeper’s made a good save to tip it onto the crossbar and two minutes later they go and put the final nail in the coffin.”
Cork’s opener came with it a touch of fortune on the Leesiders’ behalf when Kyle Callan-McFadden, going to clear a ball, seemed to be blinded by the falling sun behind the Treacy Avenue stand. The Rovers skipper hesitating as the ball made its way to the talented Sadlier courtesy of Garry Buckley.
“I think maybe the sun is in Kyle’s eyes”, Ger concedes. “But we’ve given them the goal and it’s backs against the walls for ten minutes or so. But once we got ourselves going I thought we were on top.”
The 1700 supporters thought they’d witnessed a deserved equaliser for the Bit O’Red but the referee’s assistant on the Jinks Avenue side ruled that the ball had run over the end line before David Cawley squared for Roy who swept the ball to the net.
“We didn’t get the break there”, Lyttle reflected. “You see with Ali’s goal which David says the ball wasn’t over the line. We’ll look at it again.”
Rovers came into this game having kept three clean sheets on the bounce,including an impressive win over Derry at the Brandywell eight nights previous. Lyttle praised his team’s recent run but also noted how Cork, regarded as title favourites by many, showed the sign of champions to emerge unscathed.
“The boys are very disappointed obviously, but they’ve got to take a lot of credit because their performance levels have been super recently. You try to drive that belief in to them because we know they’re good players. For me, we gave Cork a football lesson and came away with nothing.
“But that’s the difference. That’s why they’re league champions, top of the league. They get the job done. We need to try and get there.
“But we haven’t scored again and that’s the killer, our lack of goals. If we could just get the ball in the net! We’ve been unlucky in hitting the crossbar and we threatened them for fifteen, twenty minutes in second half. It just hasn’t fallen for us.”
Rovers travel to Inchicore for the second time in the space of exactly one month this Friday.
Their last trip to St Pat’s saw the beaten by two goals to nil but Lyttle says that Sligo can take some heart from what was a frustrating night on Saturday.
“All I can ask these lads is to go out and perform and play for the badge.
“We got that the last few weeks. I thought we were the better team against Limerick and Shams. We’ve had a few draws.
“Tonight we’ve been the better team. We’ll take confidence from this one going into the Pat’s game.” SLIGO Rovers have announced Off The Ball, Ireland’s biggest sports media brand, as official media partner to the club.
The announcement was made last week, when Raffaele Cretaro and Adam Morgan joined Ger Gilroy and Eoin Sheahan on Off The Ball’s weekday breakfast show, Off The Ball AM.
The partnership will see the Off The Ball logo featured on the shorts of all of Sligo Rovers kits, along with advertising in The Showgrounds.
All of which is part of a significant agreement, which Sligo Rovers chairman, Martin Heraghty, described as “a great boost to the club”.
He said: “Today is a very positive day for the club. In the dynamic and changing methods that media is now consumed, Off The Ball has set trends, offering the most comprehensive coverage of sport in the country, across multiple media platforms and they continue to innovate, as the launch of OTBAM has shown.
“I would like to acknowledge all those who made this partnership possible. We are trying to build a bright future for Sligo Rovers and this partnership with Off The Ball is an extremely positive step, in that direction.”
Also commenting on the new partnership, Off The Ball, Managing Director, Ger Gilroy, said: “This is a super partnership for Off The Ball and one we are very proud to announce.
“Everyone at Off The Ball is an avid League of Ireland fan, so we are delighted to now be associated with this great club.”
Sligo Rovers striker Raffaele Cretaro added: “This club has always been ambitious and determined to succeed on the pitch.
When you have partners like Off The Ball, a brand we all recognise on such a huge national scale and a brand that is so respected for their analysis and depth of coverage of the game, I think it’s absolutely brilliant for Sligo Rovers to partner with them.”
Striker Adam Morgan also added: “We’re really pleased to be here today and to see the club welcome a brand like Off The Ball on board. I see the media interest in Sligo Rovers on a local level every day, but to secure a sponsor with such a strong national reach, is great for the club.”