Hewitt focuses on the positives after Connacht contest
ON A COLD night in March at The Showgrounds, with some nasty hail showers for good measure, Sligo Rovers’ senior women’s team lost 2-0 to their Connacht rivals, Galway United, in the opening round of the Avenir Sports All-Island Cup.
Despite last Saturday’s outcome in this Group ‘D’ fixture, with tough games to come against Athlone Town (April 21, away) and Glentoran (May 18, home), Rovers boss Tommy Hewitt was enthused by the home side’s gutsy performance.
Hewitt stated: “There were loads of positives – I told the players that the positives outweigh the negatives,” said the Athlone native afterwards.
“Their two goals came from mistakes – two well-taken goals by them but both were preventable, things that can be rectified.
“The players were brilliant, they put in a massive shift. We are on the right track but it is going to take time, it isn’t a matter of weeks – it will take months for them to get used to my style.
“Nobody likes losing – Galway are a very good team, they are well-drilled. We are only a few months in existence in terms of my tenure.” The manager continued: “Anyone at this game could see how hard the players worked. They probably just need to relax a little bit in the final third but that will come. “The players showed tenacity and a willingness to get back into the game. They’ve been working hard on their fitness in recent months.
“Even when they got a second goal I still felt that we could get back into it but they had composure.”
Rovers had the ball in the net – following a 70th minute error from Galway goalkeeper Maria O’Sullivan – but the
‘goal’ was chalked off by referee Ryan Maher after a foul was signalled.
“My view was that the goalkeeper did drop the ball [over the goal-line]. I know there was contact after the ball was in the net and I thought that the official was flagging for a goal.
“It was given as a free for Galway and these things happen. I felt if we got a goal then we could have gone on to get a draw.
“Did we deserve to win it? Definitely not – but I think we deserved a draw.”
Hewitt is adamant that Galway will find it just as difficult at
The Showgrounds when the sides meet against this Saturday is an SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division fixture (kickoff 7pm). He added: “We’re looking forward to playing them again. We are a work in progress. Hopefully the effort shown will encourage people to come out and watch the team.
RESULTS
AVENIR SPORTS ALL-ISLAND CUP 2024 – ROUND ONE
(Games played on Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24)
Peamount United 2, Linfield 2; Bohemians 4, Lisburn 0
Cork City 2, Wexford FC 2; Cliftonville 1, Shelbourne 1
DLR Waves 0, Crusader Strikers 1; Treaty United 1, Shamrock Rovers 1
Sligo Rovers 0, Galway United 2; Glentoran 2, Athlone Town 5