BARRY EARNS STRIPES DRAW
DERRY CITY remain one point behind Limerick following a deserved share of the spoils at a bitterly cold Maginn Park last night. Both sides enjoyed lengthy spells of possession but clear-cut scoring chances were at a premium. With the Candystripes struggling in the early stages, Limerick took advantage in the 12th minute when the experienced Shane Duggan played a captain’s role with a sublime strike from 20 yards. Having needlessly lost possession in defence, the ball was played perfectly into the path of Duggan and the midfielder’s left-foot drive screamed into the net with keeper Ger Doherty at full stretch. In the 33rd minute, Barry Mcnamee lifted the hopes of the home side but his shot was well over the crossbar when he was well placed. Duggan threatened again in the 37th minute, his shot skimming the crossbar with Doherty struggling but Derry City finally got into their stride with a strong finish to the first-half. They started the second-half on the front foot and, on the hour, they deservedly levelled matters. Having won a free-kick just outside the penalty area, Mcnamee curled a superb free-kick into the net from 20 yards. Rodrigo Tosi did well to get a downward header on target for Limerick in the 66th minute, but Doherty made a vital save. And, within 60 seconds, the Derry keeper did well again to deny Tosi when he raced onto a poor back pass from Dean Jarvis, the keeper advancing quickly to block the shot. Both Mcnamee and Curtis went close to winning the game for City at the end but the Limerick defence stood firm.