Sligo Rovers (1) - St Patrick's Athletic (1)

Sligo Rovers 1 - St Patrick's Athletic 1

St Patrick's Athletic lost ground at the top of the Premier Division table to champions Shamrock Rovers as they could only take a point from a battling Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds.

Kian Leavy hit a stunning opener early, while the Bit O'Red levelled the game before the break when they were awarded a controversial penalty which Archie Meekison converted three minutes from the interval.

This result extends Sligo's unbeaten home run to four while Pat's now sit three points off the lead having dropped points in both Galway and in this one.

Unbeaten at home in three, Rovers came into this game without seven match day regulars including defender Sean McHale who sat this one out due to the terms of his loan from the Saints. Boss John Russell made two changes to the side who were narrowly overcome by Drogheda on May Day.

Alex Nolan and Shane Blaney, his first start in twelve games following a torn hamstring, replacing Daire Patton and the ineligible McHale respectively.

Seeking a return to the league summit, Stephen Kenny made two switches from the late drama in Galway on Friday with defenders Sean Hoare and Anto Breslin back in the starting eleven.

The visitors laid down a marker early on in this one and were ahead courtesy of the superb Leavy after just seven minutes.

The Ardee man found space by playing a neat one-two with skipper Joe Redmond, before peeling away from the pack and delivering a sublime left-footed finish from the edge of the Rovers area, which swerved around the reach of Sligo goalkeeper Sam Sargeant.

It was mostly one-way traffic in this opening period as Rovers struggled to get the ball forward early on.

Sargeant pulled off a wonderful reaction save to fist Jamie Lennon's thunderous first time volley onto his own crossbar on 32 minutes after Sean Stewart cleared a James Brown corner only as far as the Pat's midfielder. While the same player skied an effort from a similar position after Rovers failed to clear their lines.

The hosts found themselves level five minutes before the break in controversial circumstances. Rovers midfielder Carl McHugh looked like he had crashed into Luke Turner as the Saints defender tried to clear the ball. However, having spotted an infrigment on Turner's behalf, referee Marc Lynch awarded a penalty to Sligo to the surprise of even the home support.

Meekison didn't allow the brief Pat's protests to affect him as he slotted the ball beyond Joe Anang, sending the Ghanian the wrong way for his second goal in four outings.

The Dubliners were almost caught out by a Sligo counter on 55 when Meekison played the ball into the path of Cian Kavanagh who failed to spot the run of the unmarked Alex Nolan to his right. Running out of options, Kavanagh could only fire the ball against a defender's leg and the opportunity was gone.

Rovers' James McManus' effort at the first attempt from an Ollie Denham cross spun past Anang's post mid-way through the second period as Sligo looked much more comfortable in this game.

Alex Nolan should have done much better with Rovers' next chance twelve from time when Denham found the former Saint on his own at the edge of the area. But Nolan's resulting effort lacked conviction.

The Inchicore men did have two late opportunities to take the points. Substitute Glory Nzingo fired over from the angle eight from time after skipping past the flat-footed McHugh. While Max Mata, who spent two terms in Sligo, blazed over on the volley in the fifth minute of added time.

© rte.ie

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Sligo Rovers 1 - St Patrick's Athletic 1

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