Euro First Round Tie Vs Vllaznia Home Leg (Match thread)

[gustavo]

The overall feeling I have is that it was a great opportunity lost by our team. Everything was in place for them: full house, great atmosphere and the showgrounds in great nick (sincere congrats to all of you who pitched in to help) but we left it behind us. With all the criticism of Morrison, at least he's not afraid to get on the ball and try to create something. Brush had so little to do it was amazing we ended up losing.
Great crowd. An awful lot of whingers though, constantly criticising fellas during the game and it's totally unnecessary and unhelpful. These boys have spent too much time watching Barcelona V Man Utd games on television. Fair enough, we were poor at times but the level of abuse was uncalled for. I wonder how many of them we'll see in the gate for Drogheda.

That's the disappointing thing for me , lots of guys around me who didn't speak a word only to criticise the lads .People walking out when the 2nd goal went in disappointed me too.

I still think we have a chance , There's no reason we can't go there and score twice , We offered more than them going forward and they'll be without their first choice goalie. With hopefully Gavin back too that'll make us stronger at the back.Fair play to all involved with the progamme and with the upkeep on the stadium,Both looked fantastic

[CarrickFan]

The overall feeling I have is that it was a great opportunity lost by our team. Everything was in place for them: full house, great atmosphere and the showgrounds in great nick (sincere congrats to all of you who pitched in to help) but we left it behind us. With all the criticism of Morrison, at least he's not afraid to get on the ball and try to create something. Brush had so little to do it was amazing we ended up losing.
Great crowd. An awful lot of whingers though, constantly criticising fellas during the game and it's totally unnecessary and unhelpful. These boys have spent too much time watching Barcelona V Man Utd games on television. Fair enough, we were poor at times but the level of abuse was uncalled for. I wonder how many of them we'll see in the gate for Drogheda.

You got it spot on Dong...while it was great that the Showgrounds was full and great credit to the Forza lads for the atmosphere in the 'blue' stand as it was called!!...i couldnt get over the attitude and abuse by some of the fairweather fans..they never backed the team and bitched and moaned all evening about players they obviously had never seen play before..i was in the main stand and cant say these people added any atmosphere...that to me was as disappointing as the result..fans back their teams NO MATTER WHAT and especially on big nites for the club...ur right none of them will be back Sunday night and only for we need the revenue i'd say good riddance to them...the Club and the players deserve better from the People of Sligo and surrounding areas...personally i cant wait to get back down on Sunday to get behind the lads for what is a MASSIVE game.........

Also Just want to say that great credit must go to all involved in having The Showgrounds looking so well last nite..well done folks.

[sligofan4ever]

That's the disappointing thing for me , lots of guys around me who didn't speak a word only to criticise the lads .People walking out when the 2nd goal went in disappointed me too.

I still think we have a chance , There's no reason we can't go there and score twice , We offered more than them going forward and they'll be without their first choice goalie. With hopefully Gavin back too that'll make us stronger at the back.Fair play to all involved with the progamme and with the upkeep on the stadium,Both looked fantastic


Couldnt agree more with the first paragraph, Rovers dominated the first half and still fought to try and get a goal at 2-0 down but just couldnt pull it off in open play because we couldnt deliver enough dangerous crosses. I know alot of people were dissapointed that keane missed the penalty, its just stupid to give out about it, he was under pressure after scoring an own goal early on. Vllaznia came here with a game plan, and so should we, there defense were nervous for alot of the game and now there 1st choice keeper is out so lets hope his replacement is sh*te :).

[sligoman]

Nobody seems to have mentioned about the stupid substitution Cook made in taking Feeney off for Noctor...who was one of the players at fault for the 2nd goal. Feeney was doing grand so unless he was injured I didn't see the point in taking him off.

I was looking forward to this night for months and the whole thing was a big let down. The players just didn't do good enough, Vllaznia were useless yet somehow came away with a 2-1 victory. The players really need to look at themselves and see if they are professional footballers or not because if you can't motivate yourself for a game like last night in front of a packed crowd then take off our jersey and walk out the gate.

[SligoBrewer]

Peers being out was a killer. Leadership in the centre of defence was few and far between and imo it was the difference between the sides.

[roversforever]

Nobody seems to have mentioned about the stupid substitution Cook made in taking Feeney off for Noctor...who was one of the players at fault for the 2nd goal. Feeney was doing grand so unless he was injured I didn't see the point in taking him off.

I was looking forward to this night for months and the whole thing was a big let down. The players just didn't do good enough, Vllaznia were useless yet somehow came away with a 2-1 victory. The players really need to look at themselves and see if they are professional footballers or not because if you can't motivate yourself for a game like last night in front of a packed crowd then take off our jersey and walk out the gate.

Spot on sligoman,feeney wasn't having too many problems and i think there was a few of us a bit puzzled by it at the time,its not just us saying it now after the event.I don't think the albanians are half as bad as some people here seem to think,we should have beaten them last night but i thought they showed in the second half that they can play and that would worry me ahead of the 2nd leg,especially if peers is out again.
Holmes was terrible,particularly in the second half. He didn't seem tuned in at all and could have cost us at least one more goal.
Anyway i don't like being to negative,lets forget about it now and hopefully see a backlash against drogheda on sunday.

[sligofan4ever]

With Matthew Blinkhorn and Dean Marshall looking likely to be Rovers players, will they be eligible to play in the 2nd leg if they are signed in time ?

[Martinho II]

I was gutted for ye lads last night. But dont forget that Vllaznia have played a lot more times in Europe than Sligo Rovers and were cute enough to play the game.

It was a pleasure being amongst the forza crew.. pity about the muppets at the back that were mouthy and roarin non appropriate abuse. The ground was immaculate and the program A1. I will be thinking of ye when ye are in Albania next week.

[sligoman]

I hate cocky fans...

[showgies]

Hey guys, tough luck! From what I hear Vllaznia played defensive and were lucky to get the win... Guess what, the plan all along was to draw. Vllaznia's coach went to Ireland to secure a draw and finish you guys in Albania. The win was very unexpected from out perspective but hey, you know what they say.. the better team always finds a way to win even when they play like crap!

In Albania.. I'm sorry to say, but you'll have no chance in hell. The atmosphere of the stadium/city alone will be enough to mentally break your players apart and I'm pretty sure the Irish are not really fond of really hot weather. Add that with 20,000 crazy fans and the REAL VLLAZNIA team which will actually play football this time around.

The only downside Vllaznia has is that the goalkeeper will be missing and quite frankly, I have no idea how good the reserve keeper is

Thank you for your contribution.....please call again next Thursday night :cool::rolleyes:

[Rovers1]

The only downside Vllaznia has is that the goalkeeper will be missing and quite frankly, I have no idea how good the reserve keeper is

If he's worse than yer over-weight first choice one, we'll have no problem;)

[forza rovers]

Hey guys, tough luck! From what I hear Vllaznia played defensive and were lucky to get the win... Guess what, the plan all along was to draw. Vllaznia's coach went to Ireland to secure a draw and finish you guys in Albania. The win was very unexpected from out perspective but hey, you know what they say.. the better team always finds a way to win even when they play like crap!

In Albania.. I'm sorry to say, but you'll have no chance in hell. The atmosphere of the stadium/city alone will be enough to mentally break your players apart and I'm pretty sure the Irish are not really fond of really hot weather. Add that with 20,000 crazy fans and the REAL VLLAZNIA team which will actually play football this time around.

The only downside Vllaznia has is that the goalkeeper will be missing and quite frankly, I have no idea how good the reserve keeper is:Dit says the most ye got last season was 4k

[Brian Boru]

I agree with Martinho. They were more experienced in European football. We were a but innocent like Shamrock Rovers were consistently in European football in the eighties. We gifted them 2 away goals.

That said the converted penalty and goalie sending off has given us a lifeline which I believe we'll capitalize on. The lads attitude in the last 10 minutes was magnificent. We need to be more defensive out there. Peers return and improved tactics by Cooke will limit them to a goal at most.

With a dodgy keeper and some early crosses we'll score. Hopefully, we'll score a second and then VIENNA here we come.

Rafa will score at least one of our goals. The most important thing is concentration on defence. As the GAA lads would say the goals will come.

Rugairi na Shligigh abu!!

[redobit]

They had one shot on goal all game, from 25 yards, and they still came away with two goals. Sometimes there's no justice in football.

[dong]

The more I think about this the more I believe we can still make it through. It's a couple of days since the first game and I'm sure while most of us were disappointed by the performance there were positives. The main one being that Vllaznia are a mediocre outfit. They wouldn't be up there with Derry or Cork and definitely not Bohs so there's no reason we can't turn them over.
We need a bit of luck and to tear into them from the word go. I thought we lacked that bit of urgency that can make the difference. When we went at them with everything for just a few minutes they looked panicky. Of course they'll be more confident at home but they are no great shakes. It's up to Cookie and Gerry to get the right attitude out of the players. It's still possible in my eyes.
Best of luck to all making the trip.

[Boo_Boy]

I may be overconfident but i think that we will learn from the first game and put at least the 2 past them, if not more. They are absolutely rubbish.

If we sign new players in the next few days are they eligible to play?

[dublinred]

Does anyone want a flight to Dubrovik on Weds , its the Aer Lingus from Dublin , I can't use it now so if someone wants to pay for a name change €100 they can have it , pm if interested or give me a call.

[CarrickFan]

I may be overconfident but i think that we will learn from the first game and put at least the 2 past them, if not more. They are absolutely rubbish.

If we sign new players in the next few days are they eligible to play?

as far as i know the 2 new lads signed wouldnt be registered for this round of the Europa league.

[sligofan4ever]

as far as i know the 2 new lads signed wouldnt be registered for this round of the Europa league.


I tought it was the first leg they wouldnt have been eligible for ?

[red metal]

Nobody seems to have mentioned about the stupid substitution Cook made in taking Feeney off for Noctor...who was one of the players at fault for the 2nd goal. Feeney was doing grand so unless he was injured I didn't see the point in taking him off.

I was looking forward to this night for months and the whole thing was a big let down. The players just didn't do good enough, Vllaznia were useless yet somehow came away with a 2-1 victory. The players really need to look at themselves and see if they are professional footballers or not because if you can't motivate yourself for a game like last night in front of a packed crowd then take off our jersey and walk out the gate.

Well i glad you said it Sligoman!Young noctor was terrible for the second goal just let his man cut inside and cross into the box school boy stuff. instead of just show him down the line.When we were chasing the game at 2 nil down Danny kept giving the ball back to them putting us on the back foot every time we tried to go forward.Danny should have been taken off instead of Feeney he,s better on the ball.For a pro footballer Dannys passing is shocking.I counted about 10 times in the last 10 mins he gave the ball away needlessly,But i think if we go out to albania with the right attitude we can get the result!I just wish we had a bit more belief about ourselfs!

[Guts&Glory]

Well i glad you said it Sligoman!Young noctor was terrible for the second goal just let his man cut inside and cross into the box school boy stuff. instead of just show him down the line.When we were chasing the game at 2 nil down Danny kept giving the ball back to them putting us on the back foot every time we tried to go forward.Danny should have been taken off instead of Feeney he,s better on the ball.For a pro footballer Dannys passing is shocking.I counted about 10 times in the last 10 mins he gave the ball away needlessly,But i think if we go out to albania with the right attitude we can get the result!I just wish we had a bit more belief about ourselfs!


I hear you red metal....its not easy on the young lad though no one covered themselves in glory on the night for Rovers with the exception possibly of Conor O - having said that he let their lad run straight past him on the halfway line on the way to scoring the first.

Having said that however had Richie Ryan had a shot on the edge of their box when he had the chance, rather than try pass the parcel - again- when he gets into those situations, we could have had a shot on goal/possible corner/keep pressure on them, he didnt - he hesitated - tried to pass the responsibility and they broke away.......10 seconds later we were one nil down.

On the second goal even with a cross going in from Noctors side all the lads in the middle had to do was give a call and they could have sorted it out between them rather than panick.

What really frustrated me was the last corner of the game chasing an equalizer, players loaded in the box.........and we take a short corner to Richie Ryan who........yes refuses to cross and gives the ball away....why oh why do you do that when the box is overloded with Rovers players, defies belief.