Sligo Rovers midfielder David Cawley says Tuesday's win over Waterford in the EA Sports Cup will only build confidence ahead of two important games for the Bit O'Red. Cawley netted Rovers' only goal of the game as Sligo progressed to the semi-final
Sligo Rovers midfielder David Cawley says Tuesday's win over Waterford in the EA Sports Cup will only build confidence ahead of two important games for the Bit O'Red.
Cawley netted Rovers' only goal of the game as Sligo progressed to the semi-final of the competition for the first time in six years. Next up for Ger Lyttle's men is Friday's league trip to Oriel Park to face Dundalk before their rescheduled game against St Patrick's Athletic in Dublin four days later.
Sligo may have edged out what was a second-string Waterford side who made nine changes from their win over the Lilywhites at the weekend, but Cawley says it was imperative that Rovers pick up a win so soon after their defeat to Bohemians.
"It gets rid of the disappointment of Saturday night", he explains. "We played a lot better football tonight and played to our strengths, creating a lot of chances. I thought we maybe could have been one or two up at half-time but we were patient and the goal came and I think we deserved that win.
"But we need to put more points on the board. Tonight was important because it gets the confidence back and now we can move on to the Dundalk game looking to get an upset. Nobody is going to give us a chance but hopefully we know we can get something from it."
Cawley found himself in the right place at the right time on 63 minutes when he glanced home John Mahon's flick-on from Regan Donelon's corner for his second goal of 2018. Both strikes have come from set-pieces, with his first arriving against Bohs at Dalymount in March. David says he's keen to bag a few more between now and the end of the season.
"I'd like to add a few more. Both of them came from set-pieces so now, any opportunity I can, I try to make it into the box. I'm usually the one who sits back and looks after things defensively and lets the lads push forward. But when we have that bit of bit of balance in the middle it lets me move on so hopefully I can get a couple more."
There's plenty of rivalry for midfield spots at the Showgrounds these days with Cawley, Rhys McCabe, Eduardo Pinceli and Jack Keaney all vying for starting berths in the Rovers engine room each week.
On this, Cawley points out: "It's healthy. There's always lads knocking on the door and we know that with one bad performance, you'll be out and one other will be in. But that's good to have that competition amongst us."
The EA Sports Cup is the only domestic trophy Cawley didn't pick up in his first stint at Sligo. However, he did go on to complete his full haul of medals in 2016 when he was part of the Pat's squad who beat Limerick in that year's decider. A second league cup medal is something which is very much on the agenda of this 26-year-old.
"It's the only one I haven't won here and it'd be a great stepping stone for a lot of the lads here who haven't won anything. Once you get the feeling of winning something you always want more. Especially here in Sligo. I won it with Pat's but it didn't really feel the same as anything I've won here at Rovers. Hopefully we'll get a home draw and on to a final."
Cawley was also glad to welcome back Rovers' top-scorer Adam Morgan on Tuesday. The striker was a second half substitute having missed the last few games due to a combination of suspension and injury.
Looking to kick on with Morgan leading the line, Cawley concluded: "I know myself sometimes when you're out with an injury, you can be a wee bit sluggish so tonight it was great for him to get the dust off. He's a huge player for us and hopefully he'll get back to scoring goals for us very soon."
