Relegation battle could be over tonight with anything less than a win

SLIGO Rovers’ interest in this year’s Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup campaign ended in depressing circumstances for the second year running on Saturday night as a clueless Bit O’Red were out-fought and out-thought by a less than ordinary Longford Town side.

Last year’s exit to Wexford Youths at Ferrycarrig Park was a huge surprise given that Rovers had hammered Youths by five goals to nil just two weeks previous. But the club’s latest embarrassment really sticks in the craw given the comparisons.

Shocks happen in football and indeed in every sport, but it doesn’t excuse what happened.

The gulf in the talent available to either side should have seen Rovers more than comfortably across the line. especially with a full squad to choose from. Sligo, a full-time outfit, pampered, with training facilities which out-do even some Championship clubs in England, peppered with experience, were simply out-worked by a team of part-timers who train twice a week.

Many of whom travel from their different bases around the country for games.

Longford were hungrier from the start. Rovers’ looked uneven, tactically unsure and seemed to chop and change their approach several times. Gary Boylan didn’t seem to know whether he was a screening midfielder or a defensive full back on the left side. Daniel Kearns played behind Benny Igiehon and the largely anonymous Greg Moorhouse for the first 15 minutes before switching out the left side. While Moorhouse himself, gliding in and out of the game, didn’t settle in his position.

We were sloppy in midfield with skipper John Russell the only creative spark.

Both Boylan and Rhys McCabe were inaccurate in much of their passing and gifted Longford possession on a few occasion, kick-starting counter attacks and offering them a way in.

The midfield stood off Dean Zambra, allowing him to thread the ball through to Karl Chambers who was allowed skip past two challenges much too easily before slipping the ball past Micheál Schlingermann.

Town’s opener seemed to jolt a lacklustre Bit O’Red into life and to be fair, the last third of the first half saw Rovers put together a few nice passages of play eventually leading to both Kearns’ and Igie- hon’s goals.

Once again though and this is something we’ve seen far to often under Ger Lyttle, we failed to start the second half with the gusto with which we ended the second half. In fact, once John Russell was withdrawn on 72 minutes, there ended any sort of creativity in the Rovers ranks.

Longford’s 83rd minute leveller was deserved while a winner from the home side within normal time wouldn’t have raised any arguments on this page.

Rovers looked tired, spoiled and at times simply disinterested.

Lyttle showed his frustration on several occasions from the bench, remonstrating with his players as if to question whether anything they’ve worked on in training during the week was actually listened to.

You can see by his actions and hear by his words that the players simply aren’t matching what he requires, nor what supporters expect from them.

A shame really, as we have a squad of individuals more than good enough to meet and surpass the club’s targets from here until the end of the year. What’s questionable now is whether a lot of the players care enough.

A handful made their way over to the Rovers support including skipper Russell who you can genuinely tell is upset by what’s happening. You have to admire his courage to do so.

But there are also another bunch who I really don’t think have the interest nor the required fight to keep this club at the level where it needs to be.

And so with an embarrassing whimper, our association with the FAI Cup ends for another year.

Luckily, we have the joys of what’s left of a relegation battle left to contend with.

A battle which will be pretty much lost tonight (Tuesday) if we cannot take all three points from Bray Wanderers.

Again, we have a squad capable of getting themselves out of the predicament they’ve found themselves in. As supporters, all we can do is continue to stay behind the manager and players and hope for the best.

Saturday’s shambles didn’t do much in the way of bolstering belief.