Sligo Rovers are without a win in their last four and have now failed to find the net in three of those games after they could only manage a scoreless draw with Galway United at The Showgrounds.
The shared points will sit better with those from Galway than it will with those of the Bit O'Red persuasion, particularly after Rovers could only manage a draw with basement side Dundalk just three nights previous.
Both sides did have chances in this derby. Sligo's Ed McGinty was the busier of the two goalkeepers, with the home side struggling to create much, particularly in the second half.
A Rovers side in need of points having failed to win in any of their last three, welcomed back Simon Power following a recent suspension. The winger John Russell's only change from their draw with Dundalk. While both Max Mata and Fabrice Hartmann recovered in time to take to the field following respective knocks against the Lilywhites.
In good spirits travelling the relatively short journey up the N17, Galway boss John Caulfield made four personnel switches from Friday's win over league leaders Shelbourne. Wassim Aouacharia, Maurice Nugent, Jeannot Esue starting having missed the win over Shels, while winger Karl O'Sullivan who scored three times in his two years at Sligo, took his place in the starting XI.
Without a win at the Showgrounds since Spring 1996, it was the away side who carved out the better of the openings early on although United may have been lucky not to have conceded an early penalty when Al-Amin Kazeem connected with Ellis Chapman inside the Galway area.
McGinty had to parry away a curling effort from the inside of Ed McCarthy's right foot. The unmarked Killian Brouder then nodded a David Hurley cross from the right over the bar from just five yards out, 60 seconds later.
The returning Power made a real difference to what Sligo had to offer going forward although the Wicklow native was withdrawn early in the second half having sustained what looked like a knee injury. The former Shamrock Rovers attacker had struck the bottom of Brendan Clarke's far post on 25 minutes. Chapman wastefully blazing over on the follow up.
Both Rovers' Mata and Galway's Stephen Walsh spurned chances to open the scoring late in the half. Mata heading Hartmann's corner into the ground at the back post, while Walsh blasted his shot across the face of McGinty's goal. Both players should have done more with their respective efforts.
Rovers had lost the services of both Hartmann and Power by the time substitute Stefan Radosavljevic fired over from a Will Fitzgerald cross on 64 minutes during a second period in which the chances were at a premium.
McGinty had to react to keep out a Maurice Nugent header from a Hurley set-piece five minutes later. While the on-loan stopper was called upon again to tip another Hurley header over his crossbar with four to go as the Tribesmen threatened late on.
There were further chances in the eight added minutes. Al-Amin Kazeem blocking Wilson Waweru, while McGinty reached far into the bottom corner to get behind Hurley's strike on the 98th minute.
Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty; JR Wilson, Charlie Wiggett, Ollie Denham, Reece Hutchinson; Niall Morahan, Connor Malley; Simon Power (Stefan Radosavljevic 57), Ellis Chapman (Rein Smit 79), Fabrice Hartmann (Will Fitzgerald HT); Max Mata (Wilson Waweru 73)
Galway United: Brendan Clarke; Rob Slevin, Killian Brouder, Maurice Nugent (Conor O'Keefe 76); Jeannot Esua, Al-Amin Kazeem; David Hurley; Ed McCarthy (Aodh Dervan 67), Karl O'Sullivan (Francely Lomoboto 83); Stephen Walsh, Wassim Aouachria (Vincent Borden HT)
Referee: Eoghan O'Shea
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