# 2012 Sligo Rovers F.C. season

The 2012 Sligo Rovers F.C. season was the club's 68th season competing in the League of Ireland and the team's first season under the management of Ian Baraclough. It was the team's seventh consecutive season in the Premier Division. Sligo Rovers won their first title in 35 years.

## Squad

| No. | Name | Position (s) | Date of Birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Club Apps. | Club Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Gary Rogers | GK | (1981-09-25) 25 September 1981 (age 43) | St Patrick's Athletic | 2012 | 35 | 0 |
| 12 | Richard Brush | GK | (1984-11-26) 26 November 1984 (age 40) | Shamrock Rovers | 2012 | 142 | 0 |
| 23 | Ciaran Kelly | GK | (1980-05-04) 4 May 1980 (age 44) | Athlone Town | 2009 | 93 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Alan Keane | RB | (1984-09-23) 23 September 1984 (age 40) | Galway United | 2009 | 156 | 17 |
| 3 | Iarfhlaith Davoren | LB | (1986-05-12) 12 May 1986 (age 38) | Galway United | 2010 | 99 | 1 |
| 4 | Gavin Peers | CB | (1985-11-10) 10 November 1985 (age 39) | Mansfield Town | 2006 | 249 | 20 |
| 6 | Jeff Henderson | CB | (1991-12-19) 19 December 1991 (age 33) | Newcastle United | 2012 | 6 | 0 |
| 11 | Ross Gaynor | LB | (1987-09-09) 9 September 1987 (age 37) | Dundalk | 2012 | 36 | 1 |
| 20 | Jason McGuinness | CB | (1982-08-12) 12 August 1982 (age 42) | Bohemians | 2011 | 73 | 7 |
| 24 | Jake Dykes | LB/CB | (1995-06-30) 30 June 1995 (age 29) | N/A | 2012 | 4 | 0 |
| 28 | Martin Owens | RB | (1993-02-12) 12 February 1993 (age 31) | N/A | 2012 | 6 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 5 | Danny Ventre (captain) | DM / CM | (1986-01-23) 23 January 1986 (age 38) | Accrington Stanley | 2007 | 194 | 7 |
| 7 | John Dillon | RW | (1988-08-02) 2 August 1988 (age 36) | Crewe Alexandra | 2010 | 97 | 12 |
| 14 | Pascal Millien | RW | (1986-05-03) 3 May 1986 (age 38) | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2012 | 26 | 2 |
| 15 | Joseph Ndo | CM | (1976-04-28) 28 April 1976 (age 48) | Bohemians | 2010 | 108 | 9 |
| 15 | Lee Lynch | CM | (1991-11-27) 27 November 1991 (age 33) | Drogheda United | 2012 | 36 | 4 |
| 22 | David Cawley | DM / CM | (1991-09-17) 17 September 1991 (age 33) | Ipswich Town | 2012 | 34 | 2 |
| 26 | Ryan Connolly | LW | (1992-01-13) 13 January 1992 (age 32) | Derby | 2012 | 8 | 0 |
| 29 | Seamus Conneely | CM / RW | (1988-07-09) 9 July 1988 (age 36) | Sheffield United | 2012 | 16 | 1 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 9 | Mark Quigley | ST | (1985-10-27) 27 October 1985 (age 39) | Dundalk | 2012 | 32 | 13 |
| 10 | Raffaele Cretaro | ST / RW | (1981-10-15) 15 October 1981 (age 43) | Bohemians | 2011 | 362 | 62 |
| 27 | Danny North | ST | (1987-09-07) 7 September 1987 (age 37) | St Patricks Athletic | 2012 | 23 | 17 |
| 39 | Liam Buchanan | ST | (1985-03-27) 27 March 1985 (age 39) | Dunfermline Athletic | 2012 | 10 | 2 |

### Transfers
#### In

| Player | Position | Signed From |
| Gary Rogers | Goalkeeper | St Patrick's Athletic |
| Lee Lynch | Midfielder | Drogheda United |
| Romauld Boco | Midfielder | Shanghai East Asia |
| Ross Gaynor | Midfielder | Dundalk |
| Mark Quigley | Forward | Dundalk |
| Danny North | Forward | St Patrick's Athletic |
| Richard Brush | Goalkeeper | Shamrock Rovers |
| David Cawley | Midfielder | Ipswich Town |
| Pascal Millien | Midfielder | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
| Ryan Connolly | Midfielder | Derby County |
| Seamus Conneely | Defender | Sheffield United |
| Jeff Henderson | Defender | Newcastle United |
| Liam Buchanan | Forward | Dunfermline |

#### Out

| Player | Position | Sold To |
| Brendan Clarke | Goalkeeper | St Patrick's Athletic |
| Conor Powell | Defender | Shamrock Rovers |
| Derek Foran | Defender | Dundalk |
| Richie Ryan | Midfielder | Dundee United |
| John Russell | Midfielder | St Patrick's Athletic |
| Matthew Blinkhorn | Forward | York City |
| Eoin Doyle | Forward | Hibernian |
| Daryl Horgan | Midfielder | Cork City |
| Aaron Greene | Midfielder | Shamrock Rovers |
| Romuald Boco | Midfielder | Accrinton Stanley |

### Squad statistics
#### Appearances, goals and cards

Last Updated – 30 October 2012
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FAI Cup | FAI Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Setanta Cup | Setanta Cup | Europa League | Europa League | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Gary Rogers | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Alan Keane | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | DF | Iarfhlaith Davoren | 11(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17(2) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Gavin Peers | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Danny Ventre | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | Jeff Henderson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 5(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | John Dillon | 8(10) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(13) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Romauld Boco | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3(1) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 29(1) | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Mark Quigley | 22(3) | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3(1) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 28(4) | 13 | 4 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | Raffaele Cretaro | 19(8) | 6 | 0(1) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24(11) | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Ross Gaynor | 25(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34(2) | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | Richard Brush | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Pascal Millien | 11(9) | 2 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 12(14) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Joseph Ndo | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29(2) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Lee Lynch | 17(10) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1(2) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 22(14) | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Mark McGoldrick | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | Liam Martin | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Jason McGuinness | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | DF | Colm McLoughlin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | David Cawley | 17(9) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23(11) | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | Ciaran Kelly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Jake Dykes | 0(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | Ryan Connolly | 1(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 2(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | Danny North | 16 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2(1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 22(1) | 18 | 4 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | Martin Owens | 0(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | Seamus Conneely | 11(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14(2) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | Liam Buchanan | 1(9) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(9) | 2 | 0 | 0 |

#### Top scorers

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal. Last updated 22 October 2012
| Position | Number | Name | Premier League | Setanta Cup | FAI Cup | League Cup | Europa League | Total |
| 1 | 27 | Danny North | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | 9 | Mark Quigley | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 3 | 10 | Raffaele Cretaro | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | Gavin Peers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | 8 | Romuald Boco | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | 16 | Lee Lynch | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | 20 | Jason McGuinness | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | 14 | Pascal Millien | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | 22 | David Cawley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | 39 | Liam Buchanan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 2 | Alan Keane | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 11 | Ross Gaynor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 15 | Joseph Ndo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 29 | Seamus Conneely | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

#### Top Assists

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total assists are equal. Last updated 22 October 2012
| Position | Number | Name | Premier League | Setanta Cup | FAI Cup | League Cup | Europa League | Total |
| 1 | 11 | Ross Gaynor | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | 15 | Joseph Ndo | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | 10 | Raffaele Cretaro | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | 16 | Lee Lynch | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | 2 | Alan Keane | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | 4 | Gavin Peers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | 8 | Romuald Boco | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | 9 | Mark Quigley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | 14 | Pascal Millien | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | 27 | Danny North | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 | 5 | Danny Ventre | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 7 | John Dillon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 20 | Jason McGuinness | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 26 | Ryan Connolly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 28 | Martin Owens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 29 | Seamus Conneely | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

#### Disciplinary record

| N | Pos. | Name | | | |
| 2 | DF | Keane | 2 | | 1 |
| 3 | DF | Davoren | 4 | | |
| 4 | DF | Peers | 7 | | |
| 5 | MF | Ventre | 6 | | 1 |
| 7 | MF | Dillon | 1 | | |
| 8 | MF | Boco | 3 | | |
| 9 | FW | Quigley | 2 | | 1 |
| 10 | FW | Cretaro | 2 | | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Gaynor | 5 | | |
| 15 | MF | Ndo | 1 | | |
| 16 | MF | Lynch | 2 | | |
| 20 | DF | McGuinness | 1 | 1 | |
| 22 | MF | Cawley | 4 | | |
| 24 | DF | Dykes | 1 | | |
| 27 | FW | North | 4 | | |
| 29 | MF | Conneely | 1 | | |
Last updated: 22 October 2012 Source: Only competitive matches = Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card. Notes: League only

## Technical staff

* Manager: Ian Baraclough
* Assistant Manager: Gerry Carr
* Coach: Maurice Monaghan

## Competitions
### League of Ireland
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sligo Rovers (C) | 30 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 53 | 23 | +30 | 61 | Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Drogheda United | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 57 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | St Patrick's Athletic | 30 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 44 | 22 | +22 | 55 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Shamrock Rovers | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 52 | |
| 5 | Derry City | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 39 | Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round |
| 6 | Cork City | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 36 | |
| 7 | Bohemians | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 36 | |
| 8 | Shelbourne | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 35 | |
| 9 | UCD | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 32 | 48 | −16 | 31 | |
| 10 | Bray Wanderers | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 33 | 54 | −21 | 25 | |
| 11 | Dundalk (O) | 30 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 23 | 63 | −40 | 20 | Qualification for relegation play-off |
| 12 | Monaghan United (R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew from league |
* ↑ Derry City qualified for the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round after winning the 2012 FAI Cup Final.
* ↑ Monaghan United withdrew after 14 games. Their record was expunged.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 30 October 2012. Source:

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Ground | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | W | W | W | W | D | W | D | W | W | W | L | D | W | D | W | D | W | D | W | W | D | W | W | D | W | D | W | L | L |
| Position | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss

### FAI Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

#### Third round
### Setanta Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

#### quarter-final

Sligo Rovers won 3–1 on aggregate

#### semi-final

Sligo Rovers lost 3–2 on aggregate

### EA Sports Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

#### semi-final
### Europa League

Win  Draw  Loss

#### 2nd qualifying round

Sligo Rovers lost 4–2 on aggregate

### Preseason friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss

## Records
### Overall

| | Total | Home | Away |
| Games played | 40 | 22 | 18 |
| Games won | 21 | 15 | 6 |
| Games drawn | 12 | 5 | 7 |
| Games lost | 7 | 1 | 6 |
| Biggest win | 4–0 vs Derry City | 4–0 vs Derry City | 3–1 vs Drogheda United & Shelbourne |
| Biggest loss | 0–2 vs Crusaders & Shamrock Rovers & 1–3 vs Monaghan United & 1–3 vs Spartak Trnava | 1–3 vs Monaghan United & 0–2 Shamrock Rovers | 0–2 vs Crusaders & 1–3 vs Spartak Trnava |
| Biggest win (League) | 3–0 vs Dundalk & Shamrock Rovers & Shelbourne & Dundalk & 4–1 vs Drogheda United & Derry City | 3–0 vs Dundalk & Shamrock Rovers & Shelbourne & Dundalk & 4–1 vs Drogheda United & Derry City | 3–1 vs Drogheda United & Shelbourne |
| Biggest win (Cup) | 4–0 vs Derry City | 4–0 vs Derry City | |
| Biggest loss (League) | 0–2 vs Shamrock Rovers | 0–2 vs Shamrock Rovers | 0–1 vs UCD & 1–2 vs Drogheda United |
| Biggest loss (Cup) | 0–2 vs Crusaders & 1–3 vs Monaghan United & 1–3 vs Spartak Trnava | 1–3 vs Monaghan United | 0–2 vs Crusaders & 1–3 vs Spartak Trnava |
| Biggest loss (Europe) | 1–3 vs Spartak Trnava | | 1–3 vs Spartak Trnava |
| Clean sheets | 13 | 8 | 5 |
| Goals scored | 69 | 50 | 19 |
| Goals conceded | 36 | 19 | 17 |
| Goal difference | +33 | +31 | +2 |
| Consecutive Victories | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Unbeaten run | 10 | 10 | 4 |
| Consecutive Defeats | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Winless Run | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Average GF per game | 1.73 | 2.27 | 1.06 |
| Average GA per game | 0.9 | 0.86 | 0.94 |
| Yellow cards | 64 | 28 | 36 |
| Red cards | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Most appearances | Gavin Peers & Lee Lynch & Ross Gaynor (36) | – | – |
| Most minutes played | Gary Rogers(3,150) | – | – |
| Top scorer | Danny North (17) |
| Top assists | Ross Gaynor(11) | – | – |
| Points | 61/90 (67.78%) | 37/48 (77.08%) | 24/42 (57.14%) |
| Winning rate | 56.67% | 68.75% | 42.86% |
Last updated: 30 October 2012 Source: Competitive matches