Rovers defeat Bohs
SLIGO Rovers’ hopes of beating the drop were given a huge boost as they recorded a vital 1-0 victory over Keith Long’s Bohemians at The Showgrounds on Saturday evening.
Vinny Faherty’s 9th minute goal was enough for the Bit O’Red to move into 9th place on the night, just one point ahead of Galway United who occupy the third relegation spot.
The hosts were sitting in tenth place prior to the game on Saturday evening , and with none of their fellow relegation candidates winning earlier that day, the Bit O’Red knew that three points would be precious as the end of the season draws even closer.
Having not played a home league game in 53 days, Rovers were desperate to get back to form on their own patch - they hadn’t won at The Showgrounds since the 2nd of July. And being back on their own patch certainly looked to have given them the boost they badly needed as they got off to a dream start in front of a crowd of over 2,000.
With just nine minutes on the clock, former Galway man Faherty got on the end of a Regan Donelon corner, nodding the ball past Supple to give Rovers a crucial lead.
John Russell almost made it 2-0 minutes later, before Daniel Kearns capitalised on a Faud Sule mistake to get himself into a great position to extend Rovers’ lead, but he could not shake off Derek Pender in time to get away a decent shot at goal.
Bohs’ task got even tougher on 24 minutes when they were reduced to ten men. Keith Ward, who was on the books at The Showgrounds in 2015, stupidly hit out at Craig Roddan following the Liverpudlian’s tackle, and referee Graham Kelly brandished a straight red for the Dubliner. The momentum was with Ger Lyttle’s side in the second half, and they really should have went further ahead when Greg Moorhouse and Faherty failed to make the most of their chances.
Georgie Poynton’s curled effort just missed the target, while Dinny Corcoran’s long range effort just stung the palms of Shaun Patton in the Rovers goal as Bohs went on in search of an equaliser.
The ever dangerous Ismahil Akinade worked his way into the Rovers box with just minutes left on the clock, but an excellent interception from Regan Donelon prevented him from pulling the trigger - that Donelon tackle could have proved to be as important as Faherty’s goal, as Akinade looked through on goal.
Former Dunfermline man Rhys McCabe should have sealed all three points in injury time, but with just Shane Supple to beat, his shot was well off target.
Rovers will now travel to Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening where they face Shamrock Rovers, a huge game.
Sligo Rovers: Shaun Patton, Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, Seamus Sharkey, Kyle Callan McFadden, Regan Donelon, John Russell (Benny Igiehon, 82), Rhys McCabe, Craig Roddan, Jack Keaney, Daniel Kearns (Greg Moorhouse, 55), Vinny Faherty (Raff Cretaro, 71).
Subs: Edward McGinty, Omar Haughton, Mick Leahy, Chris Kenny.
Bohemians: Shane Supple, Derek Pender, Robert Cornwall, Daniel Byrne, Ian Morris, Faud Sule, Oscar Brennan, Keith Ward, Georgie Poynton, Ismahil Akinade, Dinny Corcoran.
Subs: Colin McCabe, Dan Casey, Philip Gannon, Eoghan Morgan, Dylan Hayes, Ciaran O’Connor, Jamie Hamilton.
Referee: Graham Kelly