Sligo earn first capital point

Bohemians 0 Sligo Rovers 0:THE WIDTH of a post ensured Sligo's capital frustration continued as both sides finished with 10 men at Dalymount.

A point was an improvement on Sligo’s other three visits to Dublin this season, however, when they’d travelled home empty-handed.

But Eoin Doyle, crowned player of the month this week, came within inches of winning this tempestuous game on 77 minutes.

The striker eluded Bohemians’ captain Owen Heary only to see his side-foot shot hit an upright.

Bohemians might then have snatched it at the other end five minutes from time. Robert Bayly fed substitute Christy Fagan on the left, he skipped inside Alan Keane to bring the save of the game from Brendan Clarke low at his right post.

With the rain coming down in a torrent from the off, the game soon kicked up a storm as well as there were two red cards inside 20 minutes.

It was a disastrous full debut for defender Daniel Joyce, who turned 19 his week, as he was shown a straight red after seven minutes for a two-footed lunge on Sligo captain Richie Ryan.

Referee Damien Hancock was reaching for red again on 20 minutes when Sligo defender Gavin Peers, booked earlier for a foul on Killian Brennan, received a second yellow for a foul on Anto Flood.

Joyce and Flood weren’t the only ones to leave the field prematurely as Bohemians goalkeeper Chris O’Connor received a nasty facial injury when colliding with John Dillon near the interval.

Sligo took control on the resumption and Alan Kirby blasted over eight minutes in.

Minutes later Raffaele Cretaro was narrowly over the top with a header from Aaron Greene’s terrific cross from the left.

BOHEMIANS: O’Connor (Murphy, 45+4 mins); Joyce, Heary, Burns, Rossiter; Buckley, Bayly, Cronin, Brennan; Traynor; Flood (Fagan, 63 mins).

SLIGO ROVERS: Clarke; Keane, Peers, McGuinness, Davoren (Greene, 47 mins); Dillon (Russell, 63 mins), Ventre, Ryan, Cretaro; Kirby (Blinkhorn, 76 mins); Doyle.

Referee: Damien Hancock (Dublin).