Enchanting night at Finn Park, but Rovers still have work to do

BACK-TO-BACK league victories for Sligo Rovers for the first time since the back end of last season certainly gives the table a much more healthy complexion from a Bit O’Red viewpoint. It seemed like an eternity since that unlikely win in Turner’s Cross. It seemed even longer between Vinny Faherty’s knock-on in to the path of Rhys McCabe and his steady finish past Ciaran Gallagher. Not to be overshadowed by what Paddy McCourt had come up with some nine minutes earlier, the mercurial Scot initiated quite the ruckus amongst the couple of hundred Rovers supporters on the gantry side of Finn Park just short of 10pm on Saturday night.

Now seven league outings unbeaten and although just the one point above the relegation zone, those three crucial points puts the club in good stead for Friday’s trip to Galway. If last week’s game was pivotal, how do you describe the magnitude of this one? It turned out to be one of the those enchanting nights. One that seems to delete the slog of the previous few months for a few hours at least. But it didn’t look good at times. The loss of the experience of Raff Cretaro and John Russell along with the much improved Craig Roddan each through suspension was exacerbated by McCourt passing the latest in a long line of fitness tests the Derry man has come through this season. Mick Leahy was another absentee, but Seamus Sharkey was a more than capable replacement. In fact Sharkey seems to be a more reliable fit beside Kyle Callan-McFadden.

Injuries to Tobi Adebayo-Rowling and Micheál Schlingermann, who could miss the rest of the season due to a neck injury, deteriorated the pre-match mood further. Although given Tobi’s irregular form this season, Gary Boylan’s selection at right back only complimented what was a decent defensive performance. Harps started the brighter but struggled to smuggle a way past a Rovers defence who continue to look a lot more assured these days. McCabe was forced to sit deep in midfield which impacted on our ability to link the middle four with Greg Moorhouse and Vinny Faherty up top.

There was a purpose and speed to Rovers’ attacks when they came off. Boylan’s contribution was highlighted for the opener. While Harps were restricted to shots from distance. Yet again this year, we were slow to start in the second half and laboured under heavy Harps fire for much of the second period, sitting back and allowing them plenty of ball time on a heavy surface. Shaun Patton hadn’t convinced in his previous six appearances for the club but bar one mis-hap in the second half where he was caught in two minds between both catching and parrying Caolan McAleer’s cross, he had a fine game. His acrobatic stop at full-stretch to keep out the same player mid-way through the second period was as good a save as you’ll see at any level.

Ollie Horgan was banned from this one, but made his presence felt from the top floor of the gantry box - almost coming through the floor at one stage when referee Tomas Connolly decided against awarding a decision in his team’s favour. Although our inability to retain possession and instead lash the ball straight back to the Harps defence was both worrying and frustrating. It was always going to take something special to break Rovers’ resolve and it was only ever going to come from one individual. McCourt doesn’t tend to see out more than one hour of any game but with upcoming games against Shams, Dundalk and Derry, Horgan would have been desperate to win the game and keep his playmaker on the pitch for as long as at all possible.

All the defender standing in McCourt’s way could do really was get as close as possible and try and nick a touch on the ball. Any contact on McCourt and he was likely to go down. But once he had the first half of the team by-passed, there was only ever going to be one outcome. Fortunately for Rovers, we possess a player just as capable of making his mark. There was mark of fortune about his winner in Cork, but there was no such luck about the determined run and expert finish for the winner from McCabe who is becoming Ger Lyttle’s key to surviving this dog fight. The last few minutes of that game were euphoric, up there with recent cup finals but will only become great memories if we stay up. Harps could easily fail to pick up any points over the next three games, while Galway face ourselves Bray and Pat’s before going up against Limerick - each a game that could go any way at this stage of the year. Of the remaining five games for the Bit O’Red, this one offers a huge opportunity for three points given the returning faces and the fact that at their best, Rovers are the better of the two teams. Friday’s late show was all the superlatives. But it’s just another step towards where we want to be. There’s a lot more work to do.