Derry City boss Ruaidhri Higgins and Shelbourne manager Damien Duff came away with mixed feelings on the 1-1 draw between their respective clubs at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, but they were united in agreement on the difficulty of winning matches in this year's SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division.
City looked set to take three points in a hard-fought battle between two sides plotting a title challenge in the second portion of the season.
Paul McMullan’s goal was cancelled out by a brilliant Sean Boyd finish as the visitors stayed top of the table.
It would have been Derry hitting the summit had they hung on. Higgins was under pressure after a slack performance against Shamrock Rovers last month and has overseen a four-match unbeaten run since.
The late goal led to a subdued feeling at full-time last night, however.
"It definitely feels like two points dropped when you go to the 89th minute when 1-0 in front.
"It's obviously disappointing. We need to do more, to maybe not let the cross get in, and then defend the cross better when it's in there.I need to see the goal back before I decide."
Adam O’Reilly came close to a Derry second goal shortly after they took the lead, with Conor Kearns producing a magnificent stop.
Higgins explained: "It's a big moment in the game, it's a really good play from our end. We looked leggy in the first half, there's no doubt about it, we looked to reenergise for the first 30 minutes in the second half.
"Let’s not forget we're using the same bodies game after game, and you can kind of see it at times.
"It's an absolutely brilliant save in fairness, really good play from our end to get in there, and fine margins."
The Bank Holiday period produced some surprise results, no more so than promoted Waterford toppling the champions in Tallaght and another new player in the top flight Galway United taking the maximum return from Dalymount Park.
With the top three sides separated by three points, and the next four by the same total, the City boss explained his feelings on the unpredictable nature of the league so far this year.
"I think people can have a lazy view on the league in the sense that whenever you play a promoted team, for example, you should beat them, because they're only promoted.
"That's not the way it works. Galway and Waterford were Premier Division teams playing in the First Division with good resources.
"From the outset, I think if you spoke to every manager and the ones that I would speak to, they would have all said the same before a ball was kicked that it was going to be an extremely tight league.
"Everyone knew that the two promoted teams would add real value to the league and they've done that. You see the results throughout. It's extremely competitive and, to be honest, I'm not sure I see it changing at any time soon."
That view is shared by Duff who was much more satisfied with proceedings in Derry.
"Does it suit anyone [that no team is putting together a run of wins]? It's how tough the league is.
"There's a lot of good teams, full of good players and well set-up. If you're any way off your game, you'll get found out. Today highlighted the quality and the upsets that are possible in this league."
Looking at his own side’s outcome, Duff took a great deal from the satisfaction from the performance.
Victories are proving harder to come by in this hectic period for Shels, with just one in the last eight, yet they remain at the top.
Duff stated: "It feels good to get the draw, but it was deserved. We didn't deserve to lose the game, so I'm really pleased with lads. It's an amazing shift, amazing quality. That was a very brave performance and I was really pleased.
"We've come up here before and we've been dominated by Derry with the ball possession-wise and I’d like to think we had the lion's share of the ball tonight. I'm really pleased with that."
Will Jarvis and substitute Boyd combined for the Shels - something which also pleased Duff given he has been rotating his number nine.
Shels are unbeaten in five matches in Derry under the Republic of Ireland great, with the final game of the season to come at the venue later in the year.
"It was a brilliant cross for the goal and a brilliant dribble from Will Jarvis. Will was quiet all night, but it's those moments, a game-changer. Obviously Boydy, brilliant, really pleased for him. He's come on, he's changed the game, he was disappointed to not start the last few. But that's the reaction you want.
"It's an incredible record, it's a very difficult place to come. They’re a brilliant team, with brilliant players, it’s a big pitch and a difficult surface. It's obviously a great record, but it's important to keep it like that when we're back up here on 1 November."
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