Sligo Rovers striker Waweru lands SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Ireland Player of Month after goal run

Sligo Rovers striker Wilson Waweru has been named the SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Ireland Player of the Month for July, after a stellar month in which he hit five goals for the Bit O'Red.

Sligo won all four of their matches in July, a run which saw them climb as high as fourth in the Premier Division and progress in the FAI Cup.

The former Galway United striker played a crucial role in that sequence - netting five times in total, including a hat-trick against Cobh Wanderers in the cup. He also bagged the opening goals in victories over Bohemians and Galway.

His strike against the Tribesmen was a stunning right-foot volley from the edge of the area that left goalkeeper Brendan Clarke well beaten.

The 23-year-old forward has emerged as John Russell's preferred option at centre-forward over the summer after Max Mata left the club at the end of his loan spell.

Waweru won the vote of SWI members, narrowly holding off teammate Ollie Denham who finished second in the poll. Drogheda United striker Douglas James-Taylor came third.

He and Denham were the fourth and fifth Sligo players to be nominated for POTM this season, after Mata, Simon Power and Ed McGinty. Waweru is the first Sligo player to win the award in two years with Aidan Keena having claimed the prize in July 2022.

Speaking after receiving his award, he said: "It's a great achievement for me to get (the first) proper award I’ve ever gotten in my career, especially since I was in the Premier Division, so it’s just a great achievement for me.

"Last month, how many goals did score? Five goals I think, three of them – a hat-trick I got – was in the cup which was my first hat-trick ever in my whole career. I was happy with that. Obviously, I scored another goal against Bohs…