LEAGUE TABLE

But the same old problems are appearing time and again for the three-in-a-row chasing side.

Rovers boss Stephen Bradley admitted after last Sunday’s FAI Cup defeat to Derry that slow starts had cost his side in recent weeks.

Start

It wasn’t just a slow start last night, but a sluggish evening throughout.

When even Jack Byrne struggles with the basics you know you are in trouble.

The Ireland international misplaced two short passes early on, setting the tone on an exasperating evening for the Hoops.

There was genuine warmth between the two benches before

P W D L F A Pts

Shamrock Rvs 29 18 6 5 46 17 60 Derry City 30 16 10 4 48 24 58 Dundalk 30 14 11 5 42 23 53 St Pat’s Ath 29 15 6 8 43 25 51 Sligo Rvs 30 11 8 11 39 35 41 Bohemians 29 9 9 11 35 37 36 Shelbourne 29 9 7 13 25 35 34 Drogheda 30 7 10 13 29 47 31 UCD 29 4 7 18 22 58 19 Finn Harps 29 4 6 19 28 56 18

Ultimately, however, neither goalkeeper was troubled in a desperately dull first-half, while their workload was minimal in the second.

The few half-chances that fell Rovers’ way saw Ronan Finn head a Sean Kavanagh cross wide at the back-post and Dan Cleary nod over from a corner.

The most dramatic moment of the opening period was when play was stopped for a few minutes, after an object was thrown at assistant referee Christopher

Campbell from the Riverside.

Shelbourne were clearly buoyed by their resounding FAI Cup quarter-final win over Bohemians as they stuck resolutely to the gameplan.

Crossbar

It was telling that the closest Rovers came to scoring was on the hour mark when centre-half Daniel Cleary advanced before letting fly from at least 35 yards.

His shot dipped and swerved before the ball smashed off the underside of Brendan Clarke’s crossbar.

A long-range Sean Boyd effort 15 minutes from time forced Hoops keeper Alan Mannus into a rare and comfortable save.

Shels finished in the ascendancy but neither side looked like breaking the deadlock.