Rovers fans give poignant hint of what is missing from the season
Alan Finn says the Bit O’Red supporters that stood outside Finn Park’s fence created a special atmosphere and made us realise that crowds have been missed SLIGOROVERS
LEAGUE of Ireland supporters can avail of a new streaming service to watch live games – LOITV – when the SSE Airtricity Premier Division campaign resumes after the mid-season break on the weekend after next.
WATCHLOI, the platform enjoyed by fans from July of last year up to now, concluded last weekend. But even though the coming months could see a return of fans, albeit restricted numbers, there will still be an online means for LOI followers not to miss any action.
Also available on LOITV will be SSE Airtricity First Division games and the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League.
Starting tomorrow, Friday, supporters can purchase a Premier Division Pass which covers all matches from now until the end of the season – this package costs €79. The First Division Pass is priced at €49. All Women’s National League games remain free. Go to loitv.ie for details.
“We’re delighted to be able to secure a streaming service for our supporters for the rest of the season as this has been an important tool in keeping them engaged with how the team are doing and it allows them to also check out the other teams in the Premier Division,” said Rovers chairman Tommy Higgins. Rovers fans who have already purchased match packs for the 2021 season (those fans who are holders of adult, OAP or concession match packs) will receive a free streaming pass in exchange for posting five passes from their match pack to the club before next Wednesday.
ATTENDING League of Ireland matches over the past year, following Sligo Rovers, has been a bittersweet experience.
It’s a luxury I am extremely fortunate to have in my position as a “newspaper man”, to borrow a phrase used by a reporter from Molde to describe my good colleague Liam Maloney in 2013.
I get to be close to the action, but there is a hollow feeling without the roar of thousands of supporters behind you. I think of the dead silence when Walter Figueira scored against Shamrock Rovers and the bumper crowds we no doubt missed out on when Finn Harps and Derry City rolled into town.
We have had fleeting experiences of it – those rare occasions when 50 lucky season ticket holders were allowed to attend a game when health guidelines allowed.
It is a small number, but a vocal few can pack a punch – anybody who watched Alex Cooper’s last-minute winner at home to Waterford last season will tell you that the roar this fans at most – made the short trek to Ballybofey to cheer on the SSE Airtricity Premier Division leaders, heroes they have been deprived of seeing in the flesh so far this season. It was an almost alien experience to hear the cheers and jeers again as though it was a new element of the sport.
You don’t know how much you miss the colour supporters bring to a game until you hear them, ahem, acknowledging Finn Harps defender Dave Webster’s career lineage which included a spell at Shamrock Rovers. “Once a Hoop, Always a Hoop” is a phrase they live by at Tallaght Stadium. Sligo Rovers supporters also agree with the sentiment, but not necessarily as a term of endearment as we were reminded last week!
While fans may feel disconnected from the club in a traditional sense, the aftermath of Lewis Banks’ goal
commented.
Rovers currently have the best defence in the top flight – with eight goals conceded in 14 games – but that record could easily have been closer to double figures had Babatunde Owolabi made the most of his chances in front of goal.
Buckley said it was frustrating that the majority of Harps’ goal chances came from his own team’s mistakes. “The bulk of their chances came from us. We put ourselves under pressure and that’s where we need to be better. I can’t fault the pitch, that’s the best I have seen in years.”
“They were going to have more of the play when we were down to 10 men so we were set up not to lose.”
“We tried to pass and play, we were giving it away and threw up a few chances which alarmed me.”
The players are now enjoying a few well-earned days off after a hectic start to the season. They are understood to be back in training today, Thursday. “Nobody is off to Tenerife, they will get a few extra days recovery and then we move onto Drogheda next.”
The rumour mill has already begun to churn in terms of what players could arrive in the coming weeks.
But Buckley is keeping his cards close to his chest in relation to recruitment, while also alluding to the fact he has squad players competing for minutes at the moment.
“If there is an area [in the team] we can strengthen up I will look into it. The bulk of our squad is well capable of playing and we are only a third of the season gone, it is important we have a fully equipped squad to achieve our dreams.”