Boylan, Donelon, McClean and Morgan all ruled out for Limerick tie



Sligo Rovers host Limerick on Friday in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division at The Showgrounds, kick-off 7:45pm.

It is the start of the third series of matches for both teams. The fixture has so far produced away wins, 1-0 for Limerick on the opening day and 2-1 for Rovers in the Markets Field later in the season.

In team news, Gary Boylan (hamstring), Regan Donelon (ankle ligament) and Adam Morgan (abdominal) are out. Patrick McClean has recovered from his hamstring problem but serves a suspension. Raffaele Cretaro is a doubt with a hip problem while Jack Keaney has recovered from a head injury.

Boylan sustained the injury in the Shamrock Rovers match, with Donelon receiving a kick in the Dundalk match resulting in the Grade 2 ligament injury and is still a week or two away. Morgan has been sent for a scan today (Thursday) on the problem with his abdominal.

The #bitored drew 0-0 with Shamrock Rovers in a game of a few chances for both sides.

Gerard Lyttle said: “Clean sheets are something we have been seeking. I thought we were very solid and tenacious in the tackle, aggressive and stood up to Shamrock Rovers. It didn’t surprise me to see them put three past Pat’s on Tuesday because they are a better team than the position they occupy. We restricted them, but it wasn’t our game plan to be defensive. They are a good side so we had to deal with that and they switched between three and five at the back, playing high up the pitch, so it wasn’t easy for us to get at them. We certainly need to create more in the upcoming games.

“After a tough run of games, I was really happy with the effort and endeavor given we went into the match on the back of a midweek defeat and we had to get ourselves back up. We would have liked to create more as I say but also remind ourselves that this is a young team, our centre-half is 18, central midfielder 19, number 10 is 19. The oldest player in the team was 25 that day. That doesn’t lower our expectations and we want to win games but I don’t think it’s a bad point in the circumstances. We need wins and this is a completely different game we take on.

“We went to Limerick and got the goal and took the game to them, and it was tight. It’s going to be a real battle again and our reports from the last two games show a team with talented players that can hurt teams as we saw in Waterford. They may be targeting this game after the tough match with Cork.

“We don’t dress it up as just another game, it’s massive in the battle for points in the position we are. We ask our fans to get behind us and help us on the way. It makes a difference to the players, I can guarantee you that, and the players will be ready after a good week. They are full of confidence.”



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