A corner for Rovers
finds them, but it is even more infuriating when far too many of these corners fail to beat the first defender at the near post.
Opposition teams need to dread the concession of corners. We have all been there as fans, watching your team barely hang on when a corner is awarded in the 95th minute.
Opposition teams don’t have that fear when they play Rovers as the Bit O’Red fateful watch on more in hope that the ball actually finds a player in red and white than the ball will end up in the back of the net.
Players who make good set-pieces look easy are in demand and therefore hard to get. The bar is low for someone
ROVERS’ SCORERS
(Five goalscorers so far)
FOUR GOALS: Max Mata (4 PD);
THREE GOALS: Ellis Chapman (3 PD); Fabrice Hartmann (3 PD);
Reece Hutchinson (1 PD), Wilson Waweru (1 PD). to the minimum, with centre-backs Ollie Denham and Charlie Wiggett both putting in strong performances.
On-loan goalkeeper Ed McGinty also had to be on top form once again, twice denying David Hurley in the space of a few minutes to keep his clean sheet intact. Eight minutes were added on at the end and weren’t without their moments as each side conjured up promising late chances.
Al-Amin Kazeem rounded off his fine performance when he ghosted in to deny Wilson Waweru a sight on goal in a dangerous position. to reinvigorate Rovers slumber as an effective side from set-pieces.
The pinpoint accuracy of Kevin De Bruyne isn’t required, nor are any absurd, radical ideas needed such as the time a former Dundalk owner suggested that Gary Rogers should take corners because of how cleanly he kicked the ball.
There should be no secret formula required to make these set-pieces more productive. A player of Fabrice Hartmann’s quality should be capable of better deliveries. Indeed, another player capable of these deliveries could only dream of having those big targets to aim for in the heart of the box.
David Hurley also found himself with another glimpse of goal in the 98th minute but he saw yet another effort gathered up by reliable McGinty.
Best for Rovers: Ollie Denham
Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty, JR Wilson, Charlie Wiggett, Ollie Denham, Reece Hutchinson, Niall Morahan, Connor Malley, Simon Power (Stefan Radosavljevic 57), Ellis Chapman (Rein Smit 79), Fabrice Hartmann (Will Fitzgerald 46), Max Mata (Wilson Waweru 73)
Subs not used: Richard Brush (gk), Conor Reynolds, Kyle McDonagh, Kailin Barlow, Owen Elding
Brendan Clarke; Rob Slevin, Killian Brouder, Maurice Nugent (Conor O’Keeffe 76); Jeannot Esua, Al-Amin Kazeem, David Hurley, Ed McCarthy (Aodh Dervan 67), Karl O’Sullivan (Francely Lomboto 83); Stephen Walsh, Wassim Aouachria (Vincent Borden h-t)
Subs not used: Joe Wright (gk), Patrick Hickey, Regan Donelon, Tom Costello, Leo Gaxha
Referee: Eoghan O’Shea
Attendance: 2,627
Drogheda United away represents a game where you should be prepared to have to find a way through them from a set-piece.
This tight pitch has often been the undoing of Rovers. They can’t afford to be going up against a team well capable of being resolute against opponents who don’t have the freescoring confidence they had when they last met at The Showgrounds in March – this was a 3-1 win for Rovers – without the ace up their sleeves of potentially winning the game from a corner.
The number of draws recorded so far by Rovers in 11 Men’s Premier Division fixtures this year.