Dorrian predicts bright future for Rovers’ underage stars after U-19s earn Shield title
IF THEIR SSE Airtricity Under-19 National Shield success was anything to go by, the kids are definitely alright at Sligo Rovers.
The Brian Dorrian-managed side were 5-3 winners over
UCD in last week’s final at Athlone, with Riverstown’s Johnny Kenny scoring four and Tubbercurry teenager Sean Kerrigan, Kenny’s first cousin, also getting on the scoresheet. At 2-2 however, this final could have taken a different direction in what Donegal native Dorrian described as the game-changing moment.
“In the first 15 minutes we were in control, but UCD created a couple of chances and hit the post with one of them.” “We stayed on top and eventually scored two quick, brilliant goals through Johnny Kenny and Sean Kerrigan.” “They responded twice but the big game changer for me was [goalkeeper] Killian Gaffey stepping up to save a UCD penalty on the stroke of halftime. This gave the boys a huge lift and they pushed on to score another three quality goals to run out winners.”
Riverstown native Johnny Kenny’s haul is all the more impressive when you consider he is primarily an U-17 player. For Dorrian, Kenny is a prime example of the mentality among players across all age groups, with him being one of a number of U-17 players to feature prominently in the U-19 Shield final.
“Johnny has done very well to offer a great return in front of goal for the U-17s and U-19s in a short space of time.”
“He [Kenny] stepped up and showed no fear, as did the likes of Peter Maguire and Kailin Barlow, who are also U-17 players.
“There is a great mentality among young players at the club and for this group they were able to head into Christmas with national medals for their hard work.” Dorrian said not all the credit for the calibre and mentality of players can go to Rovers, he also praised the Youth soccer teams at local level for the early development of these young stars whose success last week was the culmination of many years of effort.
“The work for us is done from U-13s up and we are also seeing how the Girls U-17 team has progressed – they are looking at having an U-19 team – but all these players across the board are a massive credit to the clubs that they come from as well, they laid the foundations for these guys and it is up to us to progress them as far as we can.
“The Shield win is the reward for that kind of long-term work when you are beating what was a good UCD side in a final.”
For many years, the benchmark for prospective youngsters at The
Showgrounds was Raffaele Cretaro and Conor O’Grady. The tireless work of the academy, which O’Grady is now overseeing, has now given young players a clear pathway to Sligo Rovers first-team which is already populated by several graduates.
The future certainly appears to be bright for players from Sligo and surrounding counties and Brian said the desire to represent the Bit O’Red at the highest level is clear to see across all age groups.
“The challenges of playing in the first team are very different, but you are seeing more and more players stepping up here like John Mahon, Ed McGinty and Niall Morahan.”
“You also have the likes of Jack Keaney, Liam Kerrigan and Paul Doyle all doing very well with UCD after initially making the breakthrough here.”
Dorrian added: “This is a soccer-mad county and everyone wants to see the club’s own players doing well and we have determined young players here who want to play for this club.” Meanwhile, Aaron Perry was chosen as the Rovers U-19 Player of the
Year for 2020.
SLIGO Rovers centre-back John Mahon suffers a leg break in a pre-season friendly against Athlone Town.
Rovers boss Liam Buckley is confident that the Collooney native will return. He said: “He [Mahon] is the type of person that will get over it.” Merville United win the Connacht Region final of the SFAI Boys U-15 National Cup. Provincial honours are secured thanks to a 4-0 hammering of Galway’s Mervue United at Roscommon venue Lecarrow. Among the winners’ scorers are Zak Gilligan, Gary Farren and Gavin Lynch. Ronan Niland is the Merville United captain. St Attracta’s Community School exit the Connacht GAA Post Primary Schools Senior ‘A’ Football Championship – they lose by eight points, 2-11 to 0-9, to Ballinrobe Community School. Women’s rugby international Aoife McDermott, the subject of an iconic mural in her native Riverstown, plays for Ireland in their Women’s Six Nations Championship opener against Scotland. Ireland win 18-14. Boxer Patrick Myers, a member of Sligo City Boxing Club, wins the Men’s 91kg+ category at the IABA National U-18 Championships. Professional boxer Aaron Gethins clocks a fourth career victory in the welterweight ranks.
The Cloonacool 5k is won by Sligo AC’s Brian Kinsella, who is first home with a time of 16:11 – just seconds off a new course record.
Tommy Higgins is selected as the new chairman of Sligo Rovers FC – taking over from Martin Heraghty – at the club’s annual general meeting. Sligo youngsters Ciara Schmidtmeier and Glen Carty compete in the ‘Fastest Kid in the World’ event at the NYRR Millrose Games, New York. Sligo RFC’s Boys U-15 team take silverware in the Connacht Boys
guided the south Sligo Ladies Football club to county and provincial honours – they were the first Sligo club to win a Connacht LGFA Club Intermediate title since 2007 – and were All-Ireland semi-finalists.
Grange swimmer Mona McSharry wins five medals (two gold, three silver) at the McCullagh International meet in County Down.
At the Connacht Athletics Indoor Championships, 53 of the individual medals are won by Sligo competitors and nine medals are secured by Sligo relay teams.
at Milebush. Sharper finishing gets the job done for Summerhill, who score through Niall McDermott, Sean McAteer and Conor McKeon.
Three days later Summerhill compete in the All-Ireland semi-final but lose 3-0 to Cork’s Douglas Community School on Athlone Town’s all-weather pitch.
The Senior Gaelic footballers of Summerhill College also make progress – they reach the Connacht GAA Post Primary Schools Senior ‘A’ Football Championship final. Sligo U-20 player Eoghan Smith lands the winning point, a stoppage time free, in the 1-10 to 2-6 defeat of St Colman’s College in the provincial semi-final. But the Connacht decider doesn’t go Summerhill’s way – they are beaten by six points by St Gerald’s College, 1-13 to 0-10. Eoghan Smith notches six points for Summerhill, who are reduced to 14 players in the 49th minute when Oran McDonagh picks up a second booking.
Hubert Gilvarry scores an impressive 22 points for Sligo Grammar School – three tries, two conversions and a penalty – in their Connacht Schools Senior ‘A’ Cup semi-final defeat of Roscommon CBS, 22-14, at The Mall.
But they are unable to complete the season’s double as they lose 14-12 to Ballinasloe’s Garbally College in the Senior ‘A’ Cup decider. Sligo Grammar won the Connacht Schools Senior ‘A’ League title for the 2019-20 campaign the previous December.
Sligo AC runner Michael Morgan, a student at Summerhill College, wins the Senior Boys race at the All-Ireland Schools Cross Country Championships. He clocks 18:53 for the 6,000 metres distance.
THE postponement of the Tokyo Olympics until 2021 means the plans of three potential Olympians with Sligo connections, karate star Caradh O’Donovan, runner John Travers and swimmer Mona McSharry are put on hold.
McSharry will head to America in August to take up a sports scholarship at the University of Tennessee.
Sligo GAA’s Competitions Control Committee won’t punish clubs that supposedly broke the GAA’s ban on activities, including training sessions. At national level, the GAA postpones its Senior inter-county championships.
Sligo rower Brian Colsh is left disappointed with the news that the World Rowing Championships, originally planned for Slovenia in August, are to be cancelled. Colsh was due to represent Ireland in the Junior category. Cliona Walsh, a member of Sligo Tennis Club, is currently ranked number one in the Tennis Ireland
THE Fight For Survival fundraiser for Sligo Rovers, an initiative driven by members of the Bit O’Red Supporters Trust (BORST) raises over €80,000 for the club’s return to action.
Calry’s Zola Flynn launches the KBC Virtual Dublin Marathon which will take place on the October Bank Holiday weekend. In a normal year the Dublin Marathon would have attracted thousands of participants, including a vibrant Sligo cohort.