Ronan O’Flaherty

Their most recent result (again, from the time of writing) was a 3-1 win at home to UCD, while their other win came away to Dundalk. Securing a draw against Derry City must also be considered a good result for the Bit O’Red. By the time that you’re reading this issue of The Saint, Sligo will have played Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght on Friday night, the result of which should be somewhat telling of how our fixture tonight might go.

Sligo’s Max Mata is currently the top scorer in the league with eight goals to his name, and is likely to cause problems for the Saints backline tonight. This could prove to be a particularly troubling prospect given the injuries that Tim Clancy’s men have in defence. Pat’s and Sligo are similar enough in the sense that they both tend to concede their fair share of goals, but they also score enough to keep their goal difference positive. Although goal difference does not usually decide league positioning, logic would dictate that if you score goals more than you concede, you won’t go far wrong on the league table.

Both teams will see themselves as having what it takes to get the better of their opponents tonight. Taking this, as well as current form, into account, we could be in for a scrappy, hardfought game. As ever, here’s hoping that the Saints can get a win tonight and really kick on in our bid to secure European football for the 2024 season.

Saturday 02 May 1998