Sporting Fingal 1-1 Sligo Rovers

Draw specialists Sporting Fingal and Sligo Rovers cancelled each other in this Airtricity League encounter at Morton Stadium.

Rovers will feel most aggrieved at not taking the full points as they bossed the first half but couldn't build on Eoin Doyle's 14th minute opener.

Instead of making their dominance count with another goal, they gifted an equaliser to Conan Byrne on 32 minutes and failed to regain the pace at which they began the evening.

It was the ninth draw of the campaign for each side, not doing much for eithers hopes of bettering their position in the table.

Fingal manager Liam Buckley kept faith with the same starting team that drew 1-1 last time out against Bohemians while Jim Lauchlan was drafted in for his Sligo debut in place of suspended centre-back Gavin Peers.

John Russell was first to threaten for the visitors when he wriggled free inside the box from Joseph Ndo's free on five minutes but angled his drive wide.

Glen Crowe and Ronan Finn both had half chances as the hosts awoke from their early slumber but Sligo hit the front on 14 minutes.

Full-back Alan Keane raided forward to ghost in behind Lorcan Fitzgerald and floated a cross into the box.

Fingal defender Ger O'Brien was first to meet the delivery but mishit his header directly into the path of Eoin Doyle eight yards out who took one touch before smashing the ball high into the net.

It was all Sligo for the next ten minutes and Collie James cleared the ball out of his six yard box for a corner after Brendan Clarke had spilled Doyle's low delivery.

But a Fingal side which looked limited in attacking ideas were thrown a lifeline just past the half hour when the Bit O'Red failed to clear and Conan Byrne profited by drilling a low shot from the edge of the box beyond the under-worked Richard Brush in the Sligo goal.

The visitors were inches from reclaiming the lead on the stroke of the break as Dillon's dipping shot from distance beat Clarke but smacked off the crossbar.

Padraig Amond wasted a good opening early in the second half following a Sligo breakaway. He cut in from the left but opted for the near post and Clarke easily saved.

Fingal finished with a flourish as Alan Kirby's chip with ten minutes left rebounded off the bar and Conan Byrne's follow-up shot required Lauchlan's touch to divert it off-target.

Two minutes later, substitute Eamon Zayed should have won it for Fingal when Kirby whipped in a tempting left-wing cross but the striker could only head the chance against the crossbar.

Sporting Fingal (4-3-3): Clarke; James, Browne, O'Brien, Fitzgerald; Finn, McFaul (Zayed 19), Williams; C. Byrne, Crowe (Quinn 75), Kirby.

Sligo Rovers (4-4-1-1): Brush; Keane, Lauchlan, Ventre, Davoren; Doyle, Ryan, Ndo, Dillon (McCabe 65); Russell (O'Grady 82); Amond (McEvily 75).

Ref: N. Doyle (Dublin)

Attendance: 512.