Sligo Rovers: Meet Bala Town’s Europa Conference League opponents

Sligo Rovers of Ireland will face off against Bala in the first qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.

Bala fans will face a trip across the Irish Sea in their first European encounter of the season, as they face Sligo Rovers.

After facing off against Larne in the first round of last season’s competition, the Lakesiders will travel south of the border as they look to progress in this season’s edition of the tournament.

History

Sligo Rovers were formed in September 1928, after a merger between two junior sides, Sligo Town and Sligo Blues.

The club enjoyed early success after their formation, but in 1939 they acquired the services of one of their most famous players, Dixie Dean.

Although the Everton legend only played seven times for Sligo, he did score ten goals.

As a result of the Second World War, Sligo decided to pull out of the Irish topflight. The club tried to re-apply back into the league numerous times and were eventually re-admitted back in 1948.

The club did suffer a baron, trophyless spell of 40 years. But the late 70s-early 80s provided Sligo with an Irish title and their first FAI cup.

After that run, Sligo spent many years in the Irish First Division, but since 2011 have been mainstays in the Premier League. While they have flirted with relegation in recent years, the club appear to be in a good state of stability today.

The Stadium

Sligo play their home matches at The Showgrounds.

The stadium holds a total of 5500 fans. 4000 of those are seated.

Manager

The current Sligo manager is John Russell.

Russell has had three separate spells as a player at Sligo and was part of the squad that won two FAI Cups in 2010 and 2011. He was appointed as manager in June 2022.

Russell is also a Republic of Ireland U19s international.

Players to Watch

In terms of a player who’s seen it and done it all with Sligo, look no further than David Cawley. The 30-year-old midfielder is playing his second spell with the club and has made, to date, a total of 215 appearances.

They also have in their ranks defender Nando Pijanker. The New Zealand international is currently on loan from the Portuguese Rio Ave and has made a total of seven appearances for his country so far.

Current Season

We are currently just over 20 games into the Irish season, and Sligo find themselves in fifth place.

They’ve won eight, drawn eight and lost six.

European Pedigree

While Sligo have not appeared in the group stages of any European competitions, they have played some notable teams, including Club Brugge, Nantes, and Red Star Belgrade.

The furthest they have gotten in any European competition was the third qualifying round of the Europa League in the 2011-12 season, where they were defeated 2-0 on aggregate by Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava.

Last season they entered the Conference League but were knocked out in the first qualifying round by the Icelandic team FH.

They will certainly be hoping to go further in this season’s competition.

(Photo: Sean Ryan | sportsphoto.ie)