SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division Connacht derby is full of energy but frustratingly without goals
Bit O’Red and Galway United play out a scoreless draw
SSE Airtricity
Men’s Premier Division Sligo Rovers
Galway United
S0 0
LIGO Rovers made it two draws in as many games at The Showgrounds in the past week when they shared the spoils with Galway United on Monday night following last Friday’s 1-1 draw with Dundalk.
Both teams created some chances of note but a point apiece was ultimately the fairest result on a night when the biggest concern for Rovers manager John Russell will be an injury that forced Simon Power off in the second-half.
Winger Power returned to the starting line-up for this Connacht derby after a three-game absence through suspension and made an immediate difference to the way they got forward.
Rovers were in search of their first win after three winless SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division games, while Galway were hoping to end a long winless streak in the league at The Showgrounds which stretches back to 1996.
For a second game in-a-row, Rovers will feel they were denied a certain penalty. This Connacht clash was only a few minutes old when Ellis Chapman appeared to have been taken down in the box by Al-Amin Kazeem.
Minutes later Ed McGinty was called into action for the first time, parrying away a testing effort from Edward McCarthy.
Rovers played with plenty of promise in the opening-half and somehow failed to find the back of the net in the 25th minute when Simon Power struck the post, followed by Ellis Chapman blasting over on the rebound.
Max Mata and Stephen Walsh had a chance each minutes
The number of goals scored by Rovers in 11 games of this season’s Men’s Premier Division. apart – Mata headed a Fabrice Hartmann corner into the ground and wide, while Galway’s Walsh flashed a great chance across the face of goal.
Rovers targeted Galway’s left side for much of the opening encounter
SO CLOSE: Simon Power’s goalbound shot comes off the upright during the first-half of Monday’s SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division game between Rovers and Galway United.
but they found themselves up against stern competition from full-back Al-Amin Kazeem who turned in an impressive performance for the Tribesmen.
Rovers came into the game with doubts over the fitness of Fabrice Hartmann and Max Mata. While both subsequently started, Hartmann was only seemingly able for 45 minutes, being replaced by Will Fitzgerald during the half-time break.
Having already lost one dynamic winger for the second-half, Rovers would soon be without another as Simon Power’s game ended prematurely due to an injury picked up while putting in a tackle to break down an Al-Amin Kazeem run down the left flank. Power was replaced by Stefan Radosavljevic who fired a Will Fitzgerald cross over from close-range just minutes after his introduction.
This marked an end to any clear-cut