Just the pleasure of a relegation battle left after FAI Cup dumping

I spoke with a long time Sligo Rovers supporter at the weekend about Saturday’s defeat. He’s a lot longer following the fortunes of the club than many of us.

This man is in his seventies and although he isn’t in a position to travel to away games these days, he gets behind the Bit O’Red at every possible opportunity. Be it promising or lean times, he makes sure he hands over his cash for his season ticket at the beginning of every season. He positions himself at the same vantage point at the Showgrounds any given Saturday night to get behind his team.

The same man wouldn’t be the most vocal, but it was hard not be drawn in by his upset on Sunday in the aftermath Rovers’ latest result.

He remembers the infamous 1969 FAI Cup defeat to Longford Town back when they were just a junior side. The two goal defeat was met with the burning of a Rovers flag at the away end of Longford Park.

There were jeers aimed at players and management in particular on Saturday night, but nothing on that scale. But you could tell the weekend’s defeat hurt him just as much as that loss almost 50 years ago.

There’s really not that much explaining needed to comprehend the embarrassment of what happened at the weekend. We all know the gulf between the two clubs, full-time, part time etc. Going through that is just repetition from the numerous previous disappointments this season.

Again, and as it was just one day short of a year previous, Longford just wanted it more. Rovers were unfortunate to hit the woodwork twice, but senior pros should be able to muster more than four shots on target against a mid-table First Division side.

So in the space of just six days, an already less than mediocre season is now over with Rovers dumped out of both cups and just the pleasure of a relegation battle to look forward to.

From the current view, you’ll do well to find even a handful of Rovers supporters who are content to give Ger Lyttle next season. While a lot want him gone now.

Today, it’s difficult to see the advantages of changing the manager with nine games to go unless you have a proven replacement ready to come in. Which is not likely.

But with a paltry eight wins from 31 games so far this year and just three wins from sixteen games at the Showgrounds, it seems like the writing is on the wall. And maybe it has been for a while. Another relegation fight, severe inconsistency and a first round exit from the cup represents no progression whatsoever from the previous season.

If we had managed to stay well away from the bottom two and maybe fought past two rounds of the cup, there may have been an argument to give Lyttle another year.

I have no idea what the management committee’s plans are, but supporters are close to the last thread of patience which has grown slowly thin since the late spring. Defeat to Longford Town plucked that final fibre for more than a few.

Last week’s EA Sports Cup semi-final defeat was another catalogue of chances not taken.

A combination of a goalkeeping master-class from Derry’s Ger Doherty coupled with instances of wayward finishing from Rovers represented a glaring missed opportunity for this young team.

We all remember what the league cup success of 2010 did for Paul Cook’s team and what it lead to.

There are of course the obvious, notable differences between the styles and situations of both the 2010 and current squad, but that win over Monaghan eight years ago acted as a coming of age for that team.

Who knows? Lightning may have struck twice and Cobh might have overturned a Premier Division team for a second time. We will never know.

But with the Showgrounds reportedly ready to host the final had Rovers managed to get by Derry, the chance to play a First Division team, in a final, on your own patch would have presented us with such a great opportunity.

The gate receipts along with the paltry winners’ fee the FAI offer might have covered the wages for the week or two. But the invaluable experience it would have provided the players - many of whom would have never played in a semi-final before last Monday - with worthwhile experience.

It’s been said too many times in 2018 that it’s almost lost its meaning, but management and players owe the weary supporters and themselves a performance on Friday. But this time it’s like never before.