League of Ireland top striker Aidan Keena leaves Sligo Rovers for Cheltenham Town

Aidan Keena of Sligo Rovers celebrates scoring his side second goal in the 2-2 draw against Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght last March

Aidan Keena of Sligo Rovers celebrates scoring his side second goal in the 2-2 draw against Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght last March Credit: Peter Fitzpatrick (ETPhotos)

The Bit O’Red have suffered a bitter blow to their hopes for the upcoming season after confirmation on Sunday that their star striker Aidan Kenna has transferred to Cheltenham Town.

Sligo Rovers confirmed that Keena has gone to the League One side ‘for an undisclosed fee, plus substantial add-on payments’ which, Gloucestershire local media is reporting to fee to be above the £50,000 record fee paid out by the Robins previously.

The 23-year-old striker spent last season at the Showground where his 18 goals meant he became the first Sligo Rovers player to be top scorer in the League of Ireland since Johnny Brooks scored 15 goals in the 1966/67 season.

Cheltenham Town Director of Football, Micky Moore, speaking to his club’s website said: "Aidan was our number one target of the window. We've worked really hard to fight off a lot of competition, and I'm really happy we've been able to sign Aidan for Cheltenham."

Keena averaged 0.57 goals per 90 minutes and his 18 league goals included four penalty kicks. He scored 21 goals in all competitions including two in Sligo Rovers’ excellent European campaign.

The striker was second in the shot list in the league with 104 (3.5 per 90 minutes) only behind Jamie McGongle’s 118 shots (4.2 per 90 minutes).

He began his professional career with Shelbourne before he moved to St. Patrick’s Athletic where the Mullingar man made five appearances, scoring one goal. Moving to the UK, first to Heart of Midlothian before joining Hartlepool United he later played with Falkirk before returning to Ireland.

Sligo Rovers' statement noted that: 'The striker quickly became a fan’s favourite and leaves the club with our best wishes for the future having captured the hearts of everyone at the club with his hard work and his goal scoring contributions.'



About Macdara Ferris

Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile