THERE was a red red whine in Tallaght as Shamrock Rovers and Derry City ended a game with ten men but no goals.
Rovers keeper Ed McGinty and Candystripes hitman Danny Mullan were sent off in the first half but neither side was happy with either decision.
McGinty was dismissed on 21 minutes for a handball outside the area — but Shamrock Rovers may appeal his one-game ban as television pictures suggest it was controversial.
Paul McMullan’s through ball for Mullan had the Hoops’ backline in trouble and McGinty raced outside his area.
But unable to clear the ball with his feet as Mullan, Dan Cleary and Roberto Lopes ran towards him, the goalkeeper let the ball go behind him before reaching back with his hand. It looked like the ball was on the line of the 18-yard area, which is counted as inside the penalty area.
But referee Paul McLaughlin decided it was outside, awarded a free-kick and issued a red card for denying Mullan a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Last year’s No 1 Leon Pohls then came on for his first appearance of the season with Aaron McEneff sacrificed.
But Derry’s one-man advantage lasted just 20 minutes as Mullan also received his marching orders four minutes before the break.
Just as the Hoops felt aggrieved, so did Derry as Mullan got a second yellow card when he clipped Aaron Greene’s heels inside the Rovers half.
Mullan was furious as he appeared to be trying to avoid contact with Greene having realised he was not beating the Hoops man to the loose ball.
But it evened up the numbers in a game that, bar those red cards, failed to excite the 6,073 punters in attendance. Rovers were up and running before the international break with two wins in a row, while Derry had also grabbed their first victory of the season against Sligo.
But it was a game where both sides were solid defensively rather than sparkling offensively as they cancelled out whether 11 v 11, 10 v 11 or 10 v 10 with few chances at either end.
McGinty had not actually made a save before his red card with the biggest scare — other than the sending off — being when Mullan shot into the side netting from a Michael Duffy cross.
The home side also had a few sights of goal with McEneff having a shot blocked and Graham Burke crowded out on a few occasions.
But there was also frustration that they did not make more of the free-kicks they won in dangerous positions.
Both managers adjusted tactics for the second half and ditched their favoured back threes to go to a back four.
Derry brought on powerful front two Liam Boyce and Sean Patton while the Hoops introduced playmaker Jack Byrne to bolster their midfield.
The switches saw both sides improve with the bigger gaps all over the pitch.
STALEMATE
Duffy had a stunning free-kick tipped away by Pohls on 52 minutes after Dan Cleary had fouled striker Boyce. But that was Pohls’ only save of the night as Tiernan Lynch’s side failed to test the substitute goalkeeper on more occasions.
Derry also created little — with a Ronan Boyce effort and some head tennis off set-pieces their only opportunities in the final half-hour.
At the other end, Brian Maher was having a quiet evening with most of the Shamrock Rovers action happening in front of him rather than anywhere close to his goal.
Byrne and Burke were pulling the strings for Rovers with Matt Healy blazing two shots from distance over.
The Hoops had opportunities from set-pieces but found that the blue Derry backline held firm when it mattered.
In injury-time, the Hoops did have more half-chances when Lopes raced forward to inject some tempo into the game and had a shot blocked.
And with the last kick of the game, substitute Victor Ozhianvuna shot tamely at Maher.
SUN STAR MAN
Cory O’Sullivan (Shamrock Rovers)
SHAMROCK ROVERS: McGinty 6; Cleary 7, Lopes 7, C O’Sullivan 7; Grant 6 (Byrne h-t, 6), Watts 7 (Ozhianvuna 86, 6), Healy 7, McEneff 6 (Pohls 26, 6), Honohan 7; Burke 6 (Noonan 86, 6), Greene 6 (Gaffney 58, 6).
DERRY CITY: Maher 6; Cann 7, Connolly 6 (L Boyce h-t, 6), Holt 7; R Boyce 7, O’Reilly 6, Winchester 6 (Benson 76, 6), Doherty 6 (Todd 58, 6); McMullan 6 (Patton h-t, 6), Duffy 6; Mullan 6.
REFEREE: P McLaughlin (Monaghan) 5.
