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 Sligo Rovers fought hard to earn a point against Shelbourne at The Showgrounds on Saturday night. After falling behind to a Gary O'Neill goal after just 7 minutes, the Bit O'Red hit back through Conor O'Grady after 15 minutes.
The home side sprang out of the traps and were unlucky not to have gone in front early on. A Kudozovic corner from the right found McNamara but his attempt was cleared off the line. The ball broke to Paul McTiernan who shot for goal but his shot was also cleared off the line. The ball ran out to Foy who struck a powerful shot from 30 yards that cannoned back off the crossbar and away to safety. Neither team could believe a goal hadn’t been scored in that passage of play.  An encouraging start for Sligo Rovers was soon in vain as they fell behind to Shelbourne’s first attack of the game after 7 minutes. A Stuart Byrne free kick found the head of the unmarked Gary O’Neil who made no mistake from 12 yards, to give the away side an unmerited lead.
However the Bit O’Red did not drop their heads and they found reward for their pressure in the 15th minute. A Kudozovic corner again caused the away side problems, before the ball fell to Conor O’Grady who calmly side footed high into the net to restore parity. The home side continued to push forward for the rest of the half but could not build on their impressive possession.
If the first half belonged to the home side then equally the second belonged to the visitors, as Shelbourne heaped pressure on the home goal as the game wore on. Early in the half Jason Byrne latched onto a long clearance from his keeper Delaney, but the ace marksman could only drag his shot wide with O’Hara to beat.
Pat Fenlon introduced a trio of substitutions in a bid to try and get all three points from the game. The introductions of Glen Crowe, Alan Moore and Jim Crawford illustrating the quality within the Shelbourne squad. The changes seemed to have the desired effect as Shelbourne gradually gained the upper hand before going in search on the winner.
The home defence however was resolute in Shelbourne at bay, as Alan Moore’s influence created a host of attacks for the away side. Indeed in the final minutes of the game, a Moore cross found Jason Byrne who saw his header smack off the crossbar. Just minutes later, Moore himself almost popped up with a winner, as his drive from outside the area also hit the Rovers crossbar.
However a draw proved a fair result in the end and Sligo Rovers will travel to Cork on Tuesday in optimistic mood following this superb display. The draw moves the Bit O’Red to sixth in the table, having lost only once in the opening seven games of the Premier Division campaign. Go to the Gallery for more photos and videos of the goals.
Teams
Sligo Rovers: John O’Hara, Gavin Peers, Michael McNamara (c), Liam Burns, Keith Foy, Adam Hughes, Conor O’Grady, Gary Curran (Steve Feeney 78), Fahrudin Kudozovic (Jason McCartney 85), Paul McTiernan, Matthew Judge (Sean Flannery 63).
Subs not used: Richard Brush, Jamie McKenzie.
Shelbourne: Dean Delaney, Owen Heary (c), Sean Dillon, Dave Rogers, Jamie Harris, Alan Reynolds (Jim Crawford 67), Ollie Cahill (Alan Moore 72), Stuart Byrne, Liam Kearney, Jason Byrne, Gary O’Neill (Glen Crowe 76).
Subs not used: Steve Williams, Dave Crawley
By Gary Kelly
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