Replacing Sadlier is the next challenge for Lyttle
A first win in eight games takes Sligo Rovers top of the mini-relegation table on 20 points and finally some breathing space for one week at least. It was tense and at times uncertain, but a win - any kind of win - was all that was required.
Recently, Rovers were unable to make the most of any slip ups from the teams around them. Last week, Galway and Pat’s picked up a point off each other, moving the Saints ahead of the Bit O’Red while Galway stood within just one point ahead of Sunday’s game. Rovers have been guilty of not making the most of other’s poor results. But that did not happen on Sunday.
As I said last week, I was not confident going into this game. Shams have improved somewhat in recent weeks, taking seven points from games against Pat’s, Harps and Drogheda. They seemed to struggle to take anything from the ‘weaker’ teams at the start of the season but now seem more capable of turning sides over and grinding out results. Plus their win away in Iceland three days previous was not going to harm them.
It wasn’t a vintage (Sligo) Rovers performance that will be recalled down the years. But it was gritty, determined and was exactly what the players needed to produce.
It was also what management and supporters needed to see. The manner of the victory meant little. It was just dragging ourselves across the line and what it did to the league table that was important.
Central to the win, were a number of solid performances. Gary Boylan was magnificent. Particularly when things looked like they could get messy towards the end. There were brave challenges on Gary Shaw, Ronan Finn and Ryan Connolly that were necessary to halt Shams’ march. One or two were borderline legal but there was a decisiveness to them and a determination to frustrate and deny the opposition.
Behind Boylan, there were more impressive displays. Namely central pairing of Mick Leahy and Seamus Sharkey who was given his first game since signing on at the Showgrounds. Leahy was solid for the most while Sharkey looked like he’d been playing in that position all season, keeping the impact of Gary Shaw to a minimum.
Beside them, Tobi Adebayo-Rowling enjoyed his best game for a while. Tobi’s found it hard to reach the heights he hit last year during the current campaign but Sunday’s display was probably his best all season.
The journey towards three points wasn’t helped by the dismissal of John Russell thirteen minutes into the second half, his second red card against Shams this season.
The tackle on Simon Madden that saw him sent off may have been little more than a tangle, but the way in which he went about flying into tackles didn’t help his cause.
As club captain there’s now an onus on Russell to lead by example. With nine yellow cards and two reds already picked up this season, John will miss out not only on Sunday’s game with Derry but potentially a number of crucial games between now and the end of the season should he continue to pick up the cards. We cannot afford our better players missing out.
One positive for this weekend’s trip to Buncrana is that new signings Benny Igiehon and Rhys McCabe will become available. Sunday’s display felt like it had Ger Lyttle’s stamp on it more than other recent outings. Hopefully the two new boys can add to what Ger is trying to do here.
On the flip side, it looks as if the manager will have to prepare for life without Kieran Sadlier who looks likely to become the next name in a what is an ever lengthening list of former Rovers players to move to Cork City. It seems as this stage that Cork’s scouting network is solely based in Sligo town at this stage.
It’s wrenching to lose your best players, but it was extremely unlikely Kieran was ever going to stay on past the end of this season.
Sadlier is a gem of a player and we have a lot to thank him for this season. He is still raw and requires quite a bit of coaching on certain areas of his game but there’s no reason why he won’t become a regular at Turner’s Cross. Replacing him with a player who can have a similar impact is the next challenge.