Sligo equalise at the death against ten-man Shamrock Rovers
DOWN TO TEN: Referee Damien MacGraith shows a red card to Roberto Lopes of Shamrock Rovers during the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division match against Sligo Rovers at The Showgrounds in Sligo. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Defending champions Shamrock Rovers were held by a resilient Sligo Rovers at The Showgrounds as matters ended 1-1 in front of an attendance of over 4,000.
It looked as if Graham Burke’s first-half goal was enough to give Stephen Bradley’s men maximum points as they appeared to cope well despite a 67th minute red card for Roberto Lopes.
But Sligo maintained the pressure and twice forced saves from Alan Mannus in the closing stages before midfielder Lukas Browning popped up with a superb equaliser in the fifth minute of added time – a drilled shot from outside the box after a Sligo corner was only partially cleared.
The home side, who sold last season’s top scorer Aidan Keena to EFL League One side Cheltenham Town last month, were hoping that his loss wouldn’t be felt too much – with manager John Russell emphasising that the goal burden would fall on a variety of shoulders.
Sligo named three of their new signings in their starting XI.
Shamrock Rovers, on the hunt for a fourth successive Premier Division title, featured ex-Sligo attacker Johnny Kenny among their substitutes.
The 19-year-old became a Sligo hero during his breakthrough season two years ago. That earned him a move to Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic and now he’s back in the League of Ireland on a season-long loan with Rovers.
The Hoops had already one competitive game under their belts – the previous weekend’s 2-0 away loss to Derry City in the President’s Cup.
Rovers’ Graham Burke got the game’s first shot on target but it was a comfortable save for Sligo netminder Luke McNicholas.
Sligo then went close with a firm shot from Max Mata – the effort hit the side-netting – after a backheeled pass from Kailin Barlow.
Sligo were holding their own and created two good opportunities as efforts from Will Fitzgerald and Frank Liivak were saved by Alan Mannus.
Rovers went ahead in the 17th minute through a fine strike from Graham Burke, who surged through the centre before finding the bottom corner with a drilled effort.
Trevor Clarke fizzed an effort just over – after being found by a Markus Poom pass – as Rovers began to look comfortable.
But Sligo remained a threat and a slick exchange between Kailin Barlow and Frank Liivak set up Max Mata, whose effort was dealt with by Alan Mannus.
Rovers, 1-0 up at half-time, had a chance within minutes of the restart but Neil Farrugia blazed wide from a promising position.
The second period saw an improvement from Sligo but they were still unable to significantly hurt Rovers, who introduced Sligo native Johnny Kenny as part of a triple substitution in the 63rd minute.
Another Rovers replacement, Darragh Nugent, was narrowly wide with a shot from outside the box.
Sligo were given a potential boost when referee Damien MacGraith issued a straight red card to Rovers centre-back Roberto Lopes after an altercation with Sligo’s Kailin Barlow.
It was Barlow who almost provided an equaliser but in a crowded penalty area he hit the post with a close-range effort from a Greg Bolger pass after 72 minutes.
Will Fitzgerald’s goalbound shot was kept out by Alan Mannus in the 84th minute as Sligo kept the pressure on and, in the fifth minute of stoppage time, they were rewarded.
Meanwhile, Athlone Town had a 3-1 victory over Longford Town in the Airtricity League First Division.
McNicholas; Brannefalk, Pijnaker, Clancy, Hutchinson (O’Sullivan 90+2); Bolger (Radosavljevic 75), Browning; Liivak (Hartmann 60), Barlow (Lafferty 90+2), Fitzgerald; Mata.Â
Mannus; Cleary, Lopes, Grace; Farrugia, Poom, Watts (O’Neill 79), Clarke (Nugent 63); Byrne (Towell 79), Burke (Burt 63); Gaffney (Kenny 63).Â
Damien MacGraith.
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