Shels Prepared for Sligo Showdown | OneFootball

With only five league games remaining, Sean Russell knows that his Shels side must remain laser-focused ahead of their trip to Sligo Rovers this Saturday. The women’s first-team manager sat down with ShelsTV ahead of the trip west.

“We are aware of the dangers that Sligo Rovers pose. We drew two-all with them in Tolka earlier this season, and they are a team that never give up and are always a threat. We paid the price for some errors in Tolka Park, and we will need to take lessons from that ahead of Saturday’s game. But if we can apply ourselves like I know we can, we should be able to get the result we want.”

The match at The Showgrounds will be broadcast live on TG4, an occurrence that is becoming increasingly frequent for Sean Russell’s team. The manager spoke about the later kick-off time (7:35pm) and the positives of the coverage provided by TG4. “It’s not the kick-off time that we’re used to, but The Showgrounds is a fantastic pitch, playing under the lights is special and we are a group that looks forward to occasions like this. When the opposition are on national TV there’s probably an extra pep in their step too, so we have to be prepared for that, but ultimately, we know that this is going to be a great occasion and we are eager to show the best version of ourselves.”

Speaking on the exposure that TG4 have given the league more broadly, Russell was full of praise: “I think it’s been brilliant – it’s definitely something that will help to accelerate the growth of the league. The more eyes that are on these games the better. Anecdotally, I know many people who have told me that they have watched our games that otherwise would not have done, had they not been on national television. So we are very thankful for all that TG4 have done and continue to do for the league, and we are very appreciative of the platform.”

Shels were forced to shuffle the pack somewhat against DLR last week, and the manager gave ShelsTV an update on the squad’s fitness ahead of Saturday’s game: “Halle (Harcourt) is away with the Ireland U17s at the moment, so we’re missing Halle this week. Outside of that, Maeve (Wollmer) went off with a bang to the knee last week that was precautionary, so we’re hopeful of having Maeve available again. Keeva (Keenan) is back training with the squad this week and Becky (Watkins) is out on the grass now too which is great to see. Regarding Mya (Sanchez), she’s fine. Last week was a little soon for her, and we’re grateful to the job that Jenna (Willoughby) did on Saturday in Mya’s absence. But Mya is training fully now, and we aren’t worried about her.”

Reds’ fans welcomed the return from injury of Jess Gargan last Saturday against DLR. The seasoned defender came on as a second half substitute and really affected the game in a positive way. Russell spoke about the role that she might play during the run-in for his team: “Jess has a presence about her, and she makes other players around her lift their levels when she plays. She gives us high energy and a real attacking threat down that (right-hand) side. She has a great sense of calmness within a game that comes from the experience that she has at this level, and we’re delighted to have her back.”

With Sligo Rovers on course for their best ever season in women’s senior football, Russell signed off by musing on what Shels will have to do to overcome them on Saturday: “Sligo Rovers are having a brilliant season. They’ve added to their core group of players that they’ve had there and it’s really paying dividends for them. They are a very disciplined defensive unit, and they’ve been really successful on transitions this year – so we know that we will have to be mindful of that. For us, if we can bring the best version of ourselves, we know that we can win any game, but we will have to be alert in dangerous moments and have good tempo to our play when we have the ball. If we manage that, I think we can win the game.”

Kick-off at The Showgrounds is 7:35pm and the game is live on TG4.