Shelbourne stalemate stops Shamrock Rovers making big gain

Shamrock Rovers have given Derry City a little bit of hope at the top of the SSE Airtricity League table after a scoreless snoozefest in Drumcondra.

This was an awful game of football that may ultimately mean nothing come the end of the season, Rovers still in relative command at the top of the standings, but it's been a grim week for the champions regardless of what transpires.

They followed a 3-0 loss in Gent a week ago with an extra-time defeat in the FAI Cup in Derry and, back in their home city four days later, this was no improvement, key players looking either tired, out of form or a combination of both.

In Rovers' defence, they usually just get the job done in the title race these days, but this performance should worry Stephen Bradley, with marquee performances seeming to have lost the ability to pass the ball – that is if they controlled it properly in the first place on a Tolka pitch that did not help matters.

Warm embraces between home coach Damien Duff and the Shamrock Rovers management team pre-game recalled Duff's playing and coaching days in Tallaght and Roadstone but, as he will remind you, he's all about Shelbourne now.

Shels have had a solid season – in no danger of the drop but well-shy of finishing in the top four – and much will depend on if they can get to the FAI Cup final at Waterford's expense next month. Either way, Duff has plenty to work on and there is a great vibe by the Tolka these days.

Still, this rare Thursday night game began without the intensity one would expect of a Dublin derby. Rovers have so many games these days that few of their fans went to Derry for the quarter-final in the FAI Cup Sunday; for Shels, this was something of a dead rubber beyond the relevance of history and proximity.