Shelbourne and Derry City play out drab stalemate

Shelbourne remain eight points clear at the Premier Division summit after they and Derry City cancelled each other out in a scrappy stalemate at Tolka Park.

The boom might have been back in the stands with Bertie Ahern leading the presence of ex-Irish leaders alongside Stephen Kenny, but on the pitch, this was a lacklustre affair that neither side deserved to win.

Both sides were guilty of being shot shy in a rather forgettable encounter as Derry were held scoreless for the second successive game with just one shot on target across their last two outings.

Damien Duff's Shels side had been amongst the goals in each of their opening seven games this season and although they drew a blank for the first time this term, bringing their six-game winning streak to an end, they remain unbeaten.

A packed house of just under 4000 greeted the teams to a wall of noise with Mauro Picotto’s Stadium blaring around Tolka but the atmosphere fell flat during a rigid first half.

A tight contest threatened to spark into life midway through the first half as Will Jarvis went on one of his trademark silky runs but his shot from close range was blocked.

Derry finished the half the stronger side and Ronan Boyce had the best chance of the game but his left-footed effort at the back post sliced harmlessly wide.

Ruaidhri Higgins’ charges created a flurry of half chances with Paul McMullan and Pat Hoban seeing headers sail over Conor Kearn’s crossbar while Shelbourne rather botched a three v two counterattack from a corner.

There was little to separate the sides for much of the second half and it took over 15 minutes for a meaningful piece of action when Derry substitute Danny Mullen’s smart effort fell wide of the post.

As the clock ticked into the final 20