Derry City had to make do with a point as they played out an uneventful 0-0 draw with struggling Sligo Rovers at a blustery Showgrounds.
The Candystripes had the better of the opportunities in the first half but couldn’t make one count against the lowly Sligo, who had lost four games in succession before this evening.
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Adam O’Reilly missed a gilt-edged chance, while Carl Winchester was unfortunate to see his effort from range hit the post.
Sligo’s Gareth McElroy headed off the post in the 78th minute as the home side threatened to steal all three points from their north-west counterparts.
The Candystripes’ winless run stretched to six games to leave Tiernan Lynch’s men seventh, 10 points off top spot and just five above the relegation play-off place.
Derry had been the stronger side in the opening period despite playing into a swirling wind.
O’Reilly spurned a golden opportunity on 17 minutes when James Clarke’s cross was not dealt with by the Sligo defence. The Cork midfielder failed to keep his effort down and blasted over from close range.
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Moments later, Winchester unleashed a superb first-time strike from distance and was unfortunate to see his effort come back off the post.
At the other end, Seb Quirk dragged an attempt well wide as the Bit O’ Red, who have managed just a league-low four goals all season, struggled to carve out opportunities of their own on the bumpy Showgrounds turf.
Early in the second half, Derry’s Josh Thomas had been sent through on goal, but before he could get his shot away, McElroy got across superbly to snuff out the danger.
With a quarter of the game remaining, Winchester had a chance from a free-kick, but his tame effort was comfortably gathered by Sligo goalkeeper Sam Sargeant.
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Sargeant was called into action again moments later as he got down sharply to his left to deny O’Reilly from just outside the 18-yard box.
In a rare foray forward, Sligo almost snatched the lead in the 78th minute. Captain and former Derry man Will Fitzgerald got into the area and saw his shot well blocked by Barry Cotter.
From the resulting corner, McElroy made a run to the front of the pack and glanced a header that came off the outside of the far post.
Derry travel to face high-flying Dundalk on Friday night.
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