Shelbourne 0 Dundalk 0
Dundalk lost ground on champions Shamrock Rovers at the summit of the Airtricity League Premier Division table after playing out a scoreless draw with Shelbourne at Tolka Park on Friday night.
Five points adrift with a game in hand coming into this tie, the Lilywhites’ failure to break down a stubborn Shels side – coupled with the Hoops’ slender triumph over Bohemians in Tallaght – puts a dent in their title aspirations.
Although scoring opportunities were few and far between for the majority of the opening period, Shels had cause to breathe a massive sigh of relief just past the half-hour mark. Robbie Benson looked set to grab his second goal in as many games when a delicate flick by Daniel Kelly put him clean through on the target, but the Westmeath native’s shot was the wrong side of the left-hand post.
While the deadlock remained unbroken at the interval, Dundalk had another glorious chance to take the lead six minutes into the second half. David McMillan stretched to meet a superb delivery on the right-flank by marauding full-back Lewis Macari, only to see his strike drifting agonisingly wide of the mark.
Shels had their own moments of promise in attack, however, and Dundalk netminder Nathan Shepperd was called into action to deny Sean Boyd and Shane Farrell inside the final-quarter of an increasingly tense affair.
There was no shortage of intent in a frantic finale, but both sides ultimately had to settle for a share of the spoils in the end.
Shelbourne: Clarke; O’Driscoll, Byrne, Griffin; Farrell, Lunney, McManus (Ledwidge, 82 mins), Kane; Hakiki (Wilson, 73 mins); Boyd, Moylan (Dervin, 77 mins).
Dundalk: Shepperd; Macari, Connolly, Boyle, Leahy; Sloggett, Benson, Doyle (Ward, 67 mins); Bradley, McMillan (Martin, 59 mins), Kelly (O’Kane, 82 mins).
Referee: R Hennessy (Dublin).