Rovers net four against Ballisodare
SLIGO Rovers manager Ger Lyttle says he is hopeful of further adding to his squad in the coming days. The Bit O’Red begin their Premier Division campaign against Limerick in just over two weeks’ time with last week’s signature of Lewis Morrison and Eduardo Pincelli bringing to eighteen the total number of players signed up.
Lyttle attended Clyde’s win over Peterhead in Scotland on Saturday, running the rule over a player from either side.
While that journey doesn’t seem to have bore any fruit, it is understood Rovers are close to agreeing deals with two other players over the coming days with at least one of these coming in on loan.
Meanwhile, it is also understood that Lyttle has ended his interest in former Scunthorpe striker Jack Dyche who played against both Ballisodare and Galway United.
Speaking after seeing his experimental side beat Sligo/Leitrim side Ballisodare United at Young’s Quarry on Sunday, Lyttle explained: “There were two players recommended to me and fortunately the teams the lads play for happened to be playing each other in Scotland.
“It was good to get over and see what was there because you get sent video clips all the time and it’s so much better when you get the chance to go over and see the players for yourself.
“We won’t be looking at those options any further just for now but we do have a couple of options over the next day or two that we’re trying to get over the line.”
Greg Moorhouse, Raffaele Cretaro, Rhys McCabe and 17-year-old Darren Collins were on the score sheet for Rovers, while Darragh Healy netted Ballisodare’s only goal of the game with a stunning set-piece effort from distance in the first half.
Rovers started the game with just four senior players having taken on Galway United just two days previous.
Lyttle said this was the deciding factor when resting players such as Kyle Callan-McFadden and Seamus Sharkey who both picked up knocks on Friday.
“All our boys wanted to play but with Friday’s game and the pitch (in Ballisodare) being heavy, we didn’t want to take risks”, he continued.
“At the same time, we did not want to be disrespectful to Ballisodare and we wanted the likes of Raff Cretaro, and Greg Moorhouse to be involved and get game time.
“We’re not far away in terms of fitness. We’ve a couple of wee niggles from the last few games that we’ll keep an eye on but that’s pre-season.
“The weather doesn’t always hold up and ideally, we wanted to play Galway on a grass pitch. It’s disappointing but the important things is that the boys got minutes.”
The Rovers boss also paid tribute to Ballisodare, outlining the importance of games against junior teams from the local area.
“It’s all about Ballisodare today really and it’s important for a club like us to be able to play these games as we always stress about how Sligo Rovers is a community and family club. Especially during pre-season where we can afford to do it. It’s also important that we give the younger players a taste of the first team environment.”
Rovers’ next assignment is this Thursday with the visit of Finn Harps to the Showgrounds before a trip to Athlone Town seven days later.
Looking ahead, Lyttle says his team are looking forward to the challenge of playing two competitive ties.
“We want tough tests in pre-season”, he repeated. “Galway gave us that, as will Harps. You know what you’re going to get from them and it’s important that we prepare correctly for the season against teams like these.”
Ballisodare United: Jason Farrell (Keelan Dunleavy 73); Kevin O’Hara, Johnny Kenny (Oisin Geraghty 51), Gary Cavanagh (Darragh Mahon 66), Roland Anderson; Darren Somers (Odhran Mahon 73), Darragh Healy, Dermot McLoughlin (Peter Murray 35), Adam McGoldrick (Dylan Martin 30); Conor Davey, Stephen Fallon.
Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty (Luke McNicholas 72); Liam White, Jack Keaney, John Mahon, Ryan Smith; Jack Dyche (Niall Morahan 51), Rhys McCabe (Gearoid Mulligan 68), Raffaele Cretaro (Darren Collins 72), Lewis Morrison, Liam Kerrigan; Greg Moorhouse.
Referee: John McLoughlin. Greg Moorhouse gets away from Johnny Kenny.