Sligo Rovers may have been ruthless in trouncing Glebe North in the FAI Cup on Friday night. But midfielder David Cawley feels it was necessary for the Bit O’Red to be as callous as possible as they look to improve their goal-scoring fortunes. Rov
Sligo Rovers may have been ruthless in trouncing Glebe North in the FAI Cup on Friday night. But midfielder David Cawley feels it was necessary for the Bit O’Red to be as callous as possible as they look to improve their goal-scoring fortunes. Rovers have scored 26 times in 27 league games to date, but were in killer mood when they put eight past the Leinster Senior League side without reply. The win was Sligo’s biggest victory in the competition, beating their previous 82-year-record. Both Cawley and Kris Twardek bagged hat-tricks, while Dante Leverock and Regan Donelon grabbed one each. “It’s not something I’ve ever really thought about," Cawley said of his first senior hat-trick. “I think I’ve only ever scored twice in one game for Rovers so it was nice to get three.” More importantly for the Mayo man, was the result, the big score and the boost it will give the players Rovers rely on in front of the nets. “Getting goals was important because it gives the lads confidence”, he continued. “Like Kris, who hasn’t scored many but that’s going to give him that bit of extra belief. Now hopefully if he gets a half chance, he’ll shoot whereas before he might have crossed it.” Rovers will come up against much stiffer opposition in the coming weeks with trips to St Pat’s and Cork City to come. Glebe managed just two shots on target against their full-time opponents who could have hit double figures, but Cawley had time to acknowledge the Balbriggan men’s efforts. “We probably just had that bit more quality on the ball and the fitness levels were different obviously. “They started alright, got around us and tried to be compact. I think if we’re playing a Premier Division club, they’ll be a bit more compact for longer spells and maybe harder to break down. In fairness to Glebe, I think we just stepped up the gears in the second half and our fitness just showed that bit more.” The Rovers midfielder also hopes Sligo carry on next Friday, where they left off seven nights previous when they go to Inchicore, hoping to beat the Saints at their fourth attempt. Both sides are in matching form with six points from their previous five outings, but Pat’s have twice beaten Liam Buckley’s side this term. “We should take from tonight’s game going into next week because they’ve had one over us overall this year”, Cawley says. “So it would be nice to go up there and get a win. “We go into every game trying to win. But if we can win, it’ll give us that bit more belief in ourselves. We’re looking for that snowball effect and to keep on winning.”
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