Lewis Banks described Sligo Rovers’ draw with Finn Harps as ‘two points dropped’. The full-back played the full 90 minutes of the Bit O’Red’s scrappy north west derby in which the Donegal side were well on top in the opening half. Sligo slowly reco
Lewis Banks described Sligo Rovers’ draw with Finn Harps as ‘two points dropped’. The full-back played the full 90 minutes of the Bit O’Red’s scrappy north west derby in which the Donegal side were well on top in the opening half. Sligo slowly recovered and had the better of their neighbours in the second period. But had to rely on a 91st minute Ronan Coughlan spot kick to rescue the draw. “I thought we deserved a point," Banks said. “We did start poorly but in the second half we probably could have scored a couple more because we've had a few decent chances. “We're disappointed because it's two points dropped. But credit to Harps who were good in the first half but we look at that game as two dropped because you want to get three points at the Showgrounds. Now we have to go to UCD and try and get all three there.” It took Rovers 35 minutes to fashion their first chance of the game. Coughlan sending his drive from the angle well over Peter Burke’s crossbar after Ronan Murray had guided Romeo Parkes’ pass to the feet of the Limerick native. Banks feels Rovers could have done more to help themselves in that first period and drew similarities between this result and Sligo’s EA Sports Cup defeat to the same opposition earlier in the month. “It's a derby, both teams are going to be up for it and it can go either way. I think tonight and the night they beat us in Finn Park, we started too slow and they've pounced on us so we've left ourselves with work to do.” Rovers’ season hasn’t all gone to plan so far, but Banks is one player who has been singled out for praise amongst the Sligo support. Chiefly a right back who is comfortable playing at centre half, the ex-Stoke and Stafford Rangers man has had to deputise at left back in recent weeks following injury to Regan Donelon. With plenty of cover for that right back role with the likes of Johnny Dunleavy, Kyle Callan-McFadden and even midfielders Jack Keaney and Niall Morahan to pick from, Banks’ versatility has stood to him since his move west. “I'm comfortable either side”, he says. “Regan got injured which meant I had a job to do on the left, but I'll play anywhere as long as I'm playing.” The 22-year-old enjoyed twelve years at Stoke, progressing to feature regularly as skipper of their under 23s side, before making the move to local non-league outfit Stafford Rangers. Now in his third month at Rovers, Lewis believes the League of Ireland is a better challenge for him. “It's a lot tougher here”, he acknowledged. “You play in the 23s in England and there's not really much at stake. You're playing in front of 400 fans who are just there to watch a game. They don't care about the result. “Here it's physical, it's men's football and fans care. They get behind you here if you're not doing well. So in that way I enjoy it far more over here than in England.” Sligo’s season to date has been blighted by inconsistency. They’ve picked up four points off champions Dundalk so far. Yet draws with the likes of Harps and defeats to Bohs, Pat’s and Derry are far off what’s expected from a Sligo Rovers team. “We've not done ourselves justice with results in home games particularity”, Banks adds. “But we showed against Dundalk what we can do and we need to replicate that more often and stock up wins and climb the table.” Rovers have the opportunity to improve their fortunes on Monday night when they visit UCD, their eighth game of the month. While a busy period continues next Saturday with the visit of Shamrock Rovers to Sligo. For now, Lewis is embracing the schedule. “At Stoke, it was Monday every two weeks but at Stafford, we did play Saturday/Tuesday/Saturday which is similar to here. “It's been quite tough the last month with all the games in April. But we enjoy it all you can do is keep going and keep fighting.” The Stoke native also took time to praise Rovers boss Liam Buckley, who Banks says excels when it comes to man management and gelling the squad. “He's great with me and all the players. If you're not playing he'll tell you why and you always agree with him. “The players here push each other on too. We've a lot of competition for those defensive spots and we've a lot of players who can easily play in other positions. If you're on the bench, you've got to take your chance here when you're given it.”
