Squad will be given time but results haven’t been good enough

A stale 2-0 defeat to Dundalk on Saturday night saw Sligo Rovers continue their stuttered start to what has been a disappointing season to date.

A fourth defeat, all of which have come at the Showgrounds equals the number of losses the Bit O’Red have suffered on their own patch over the past two season.

A fortress no more, Rovers have only taken three points from a possible fifteen while on Church Hill as again, we were the architects of our own downfall.

The start was positive against a Dundalk side who are yet to concede this term. Calum Waters pulled a great save out of Gary Rogers while Adam Morgan’s awkwardly struck effort had the former Sligo net minder worried shortly after.

We rushed Dundalk which didn’t sit well with them. Familiar with having time on the ball and being allowed dictate, I thought things looked good for the first quarter of an hour as Ger Lyttle’s charges showed some willingness to go at the Lilywhites.

But slowly, our newly found old habits came back to haunt us. Caolan McAleer’s speed brought him away from his marker but his finish, not for the first time on Saturday, was wayward.

We sat back and foolishly allowed the liked of Michael Duffy, Jamie McGrath and Robbie Benson time to craft and create.

Reds have been full of praise for the industrious David Cawley since his return but even his best efforts to cover three positions at once weren’t enough to stop Dundalk charging through.

While the decision to play Waters on the left instead of the more forthright Ali Roy back-fired early on. Sean Gannon, arguably the best roaming full-back in the country was under no obligation to stay in his own half such was Waters’ insistence on sitting in.

Along with the three boys in the engine room, Waters’ absence in midfield essentially added to Dundalk’s invitation to drive forward.

Hindsight is always kind when commenting on a football match but Roy’s inclusion would have been more beneficial on the wing. He was quite poor against Bohs and only had a say in the game before the Bray full-back got tight to his keenness to turn inside every time.

Ger’s decision to drop the Hearts loanee was maybe a way of doubling up between Waters and Patrick McClean and combating Gannon’s forward runs.

It’s up for debate to say whether that worked or not.

It was one of those quick drives forward that lead to the calamity which heralded the opener.

This time, on Rovers’ right side, Duffy, who after a quiet first season is quick becoming one of the league’s stand-out stars, came inside before sending what was an innocuous looking ball across the face of the box. Seamus Sharkey was withdrawn at half-time against Cork and subsequently dropped against Waterford following a poor first half against the league leaders.

I wouldn’t bank against the defender sitting out Shams on Friday considering his mistake that lead to Pat Hoban’s goal. I would count Sharkey’s contributions last season as one of the contributing factors to Rovers’ survival.

But this year, he’s been really been below par and failing to clear the ball at first sight, played a role in the goal that really sealed the game for Dundalk before the hour.

The strong partnership himself and Kyle Callan-McFadden built up from last summer onwards was key. But silly mishaps and lapses of concentration from Sharkey have been one of the contributing factors to our poor start.

There is still of course plenty of time to set things right. But it’s nonetheless worrying. We all heard about the first few weeks of this season has represented the best start to a Sligo Rovers season in five years.

But the starts to the seasons of 2014 to 2017 weren’t anything to be impressed by. Rovers were on the brink of sacking Dave Robertson at this stage of the fixture calendar last year having accumulated two fewer points than we have now.

Of course the threat of three teams going down played a role in that decision and the fact that we’re just three points off fifth place this year makes things more reasonable. But to only take seven points from as many opening games, given five of them have been at home just isn’t good enough.

The fans have backed the club, the management and the players from the very start this season.

2,500 people turned up on Saturday night.

Many of whom would have given their own hard earned money to the recent fundraiser. They deserve better than what they saw at the weekend.