Max Mata’s second half strike was enough to earn a deserved draw for Sligo Rovers in a dour encounter with Drogheda United this evening in The Showgrounds.

Ryan Brennan had given the visitors a first half lead when he bundled the ball home in the middle of a penalty box scramble.

It was a dour first half lacking any real consistent quality from either side in wet and windy conditions in The Showgrounds.

A Reese Hutchinson cross went dangerously close to the top corner but Drogs keeper Colin McCabe was on hand to push the ball over the bar to safety.

Full back Frank Liivak would get the next half chance as his run into the box, coupled with a little chaos in the Drogheda United defence would see the Estonian almost get on the end of the move. There were calls for a penalty from the home support but the referee waved away the protests.

It would be almost half an hour into the game before Drogheda created their first real opportunity with the lively Darragh Markey getting on the end of a lovely move from the visitors but his header didn’t come close to disturbing McNicholas in the Sligo goal.

Sligo’s ill discipline started to emerge as they picked up three bookings in the last ten minutes of the half as Bolger, Browning and Radosavljevic all ended up in Arnold Hunter’s notebook. The Serbian lucky not to see red for his challenge on Elicha Ahul.

Drogheda started the second half brightly and once again it was Darragh Markey who was the architect of the breakthrough score. A quick corner saw the diminutive playmaker whip in a cross and the ball bounced around a few bodies before Ryan Brennan managed to scoop the ball past McNicholas to put the visitors ahead.

Russell rang the changes for the home side bringing in Niall Morahan and Kailin Barlow and it had an immediate effect. Barlow almost levelled matters but his effort was blocked by a defender.

A couple of minutes later the sides were level, a blistering run from Reece Hutchinson saw a cross meet the head of Max Mata and his close range finish put him back on the top of the league’s goalscorer charts.

Sligo continued to dominate the game and aside from a Ryan Brennan effort straight down the throat of McNicholas they struggled to create an opportunity.

Sligo had a penalty shout denied in the fifth minute of injury time when Barlow hit the ground under a challenge from a Drogheda defender but the referee waved away the protests before he blew the final whistle a few seconds later.

The hosts couldn’t find the breakthrough and both managers will be disappointed with the dropped points this evening.