Controversial penalty earns Sligo a point as St Pat's lose ground at the top

St Pat's trail Shamrock Rovers by three points at the top of the Premier Division

Sligo Rovers were awarded a controversial penalty against St Patrick's Athletic. Pic: Paul Phelan/Sportsfile

SSE Airtricity Premier Division: 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 an injury-hit 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 this one.

The visitors laid down a marker early on 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, who were without eight regulars, 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. 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 somewhat confusing 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 infringement by Turner, 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 Ghanaian the wrong way for his second goal in four outings.

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

The Inchicore men did have two late opportunities to take the points. Substitute Glory Nzingo fired over eight minutes 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.

SLIGO ROVERS: Sam Sargeant; Ollie Denham, Shane Blaney, Gareth McElroy; Will Fitzgerald, Sean Stewart (Kyle McDonagh 70); James McManus, Carl McHugh (Daire Patton 84), Archie Meekison; Alex Nolan; Cian Kavanagh.

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Joe Anang; Luke Turner, Sean Hoare, Joe Redmond; James Brown (Zach Elbouzedi 63), Anto Breslin (Jason McClelland 78); Jamie Lennon (Darragh Nugent 63), Barry Baggley; Kian Leavy, Chris Forrester (Glory Nzingo 63); Ryan Edmondson (Max Mata 78).

Referee: Marc Lynch.

Attendance: 3,163.