BIT O’ BOTHER
McGuinness sent off as Sligo drop points
BOHEMIANS………………….. 0
SLIGO ROVERS……………….. 0
by DAIRE WALSH
Ten-man Sligo Rovers missed a glorious opportunity to increase their lead in the Airtricity Premier Division last night but had to be content with a share of the spoils.
Bohs looked the more comfortable of the two sides in the opening moments, as Karl Moore shot just past Gary Rogers’ goal after four minutes.
As expected, Sligo did eventually settle into the game as David Cawley and Pascal Millien started to grow into their respective roles, though Bohs were holding their own.
Millien did have Sligo first shot on goal with 17 minutes gone on the clock when he had a pop from distance from a right-hand angle, but Bohs netminder Craig Sexton dealt with the Haitian international’s firmly struck effort.
Bohs were really taking the game to their north-west counterparts in the opening 25 minutes, but Sligo would pick things up for the remainder of the half.
Pace
It was a Millien cross from the right-flank on 28 minutes that narrowly missed connecting with Sligo front man Danny North at the back post, and he showed terrific pace to get on the end of a superb through-ball by North two minutes later.
His instinctive shot on goal was well-measured on this occasion, and Sexton had to be at his very best to stop the 26-year-old grabbing his second goal of the campaign.
This was an indication of what Sligo had in their locker, but Bohs still dealt effectively with Sligo in the final-third, as North was becoming more and more isolated as the half wore on.
Bohs, in turn, were giving as good as they got, with Moore and Mulcahy both going close before the interval.
This meant the sides were scoreless during the break.
An interesting side note to this game was the presence of scouts from Aberdeen and Everton in Phisborough, though it wasn’t certain which of the players on the field they were casting their eyes over.
Quigley was stepping up to the bar that had been set by Millien in the opening 45 minutes, and he had efforts on goal in the 52nd and 57th minutes respectively.
Bohs, who had been extremely positive in their play before the break, were now being forced onto the back-foot on a consistent basis, as Sligo started to ratchet up the pressure.
They were defending staunchly and sternly in the face of intense pressure from the visitors, who were providing North with more support than they had in the early moments of the contest.
They were also getting plenty of bodies into the box, and midfielder Lee Lynch received the ball inside the area from an outstanding ball over the top by Quigley, but Kevin Feely was on hand to deflect his shot past the post.
Threaten
Heading into the final 20 minutes of play, Bohs were starting to threaten on the break, though Sligo still looked the more likely of the two sides to conjure up a goal that would produce a winner from this tie.
Sligo would suffer a set-back with 11 minutes to go, however, when McGuinness was dismissed on a
second yellow-card offence.
This led to much anxiety in the Rovers defence during the closing moments of the game, and Rogers had to be alert to keep out a Dave Mulcahy strike from 12 yards with six minutes left on the clock, but they managed to hold on to bring a point with them back to The Showgrounds.
BOHEMIANS: Sexton 7; Pender 7, McMillan 7, Lopes 7, Feely 6; Buckley 7 (Corcoran 85), McEvoy 7, Mulcahy 7, Ward 6 (Traynor 57, 6), Moore 7 (Mulligan 71. 6); Scully 6.
SLIGO ROVERS: Rogers 7; Cretaro 6, Peers 7, McGuinness 6, Gaynor 6; Millien 8 (Dykes 83), Lynch 7, Cawley 7, Quigley 8; Dillon 7 (Owens 92); North 7.
REFEREE: Damien Hancock (Dublin).