Derry City fans all say the same thing as controversial penalty earns point against Shamrock Rovers

The League of Ireland title race has been blown wide open after penalty controversy between Derry City and Shamrock Rovers.

Derry City fans were hailing their side's use of the "dark arts" as the Candystripes earned a last-gasp draw on a pivotal night in the League of Ireland title race.

A costly refereeing blunder could have a dramatic effect on the battle for Premier Division glory.

As the game drifted towards the 90th minute, Rovers were in front and were minutes away from very much inserting themselves in the battle for league glory.

Dylan Watts’ first-half strike looked to be enough to send all three points back to Tallaght, and leave the Hoops five points behind Shels and one adrift of Derry with six games remaining.

But Derry City are now three points behind leaders Shelbourne thanks to Patrick Hoban’s injury-time penalty.

As it stands, there is plenty left to play for. But Rovers will be fuming with this one.

Derry substitute Patrick McEleney was running out of the box with Rovers defender Josh Honohan closing in on him. He tumbled and referee Damien MacGraith pointed to the spot.

Replays showed there was no contact between the two players but MacGraith, whose assistant was just yards away from the incident, gave the penalty.

Derry boss Ruaidhrí Higgins, who had only recently warned his players needed to be wary of Shelbourne's use of the dark arts, saw his side benefit this time around.

Up stepped Hoban, who hadn’t scored in his previous seven games, to place the ball past Leon Pohls, who guessed right, but was beaten by the pace of the shot.

It was a dreadful decision by the official on a night when Rovers looked to have powered their way back into the Premier Division title race.

Watts’ first-half opener looked to have put Derry City’s bid on the fritz.

He shocked the Ryan McBride Brandywell faithful when he curled the ball beyond the reach of Candystripes goalkeeper Brian Maher.

The atmosphere was hardly electric up to that point, as both sides struggled to land blows in the tense early stages.

With so much at stake, the two sets of players struggled to get any rhythm going in their play and chances were few and far between.

The hosts were the more progressive team from kick-off but were limited to a couple of long-range efforts.

The first, a Will Patching free-kick from 20 yards, clipped the top of the Shamrock Rovers wall and went wide of Leon Pohls’ goal.

And the second, moments before the opener, was a rare Ciaran Coll effort from even further out. It was well struck and had Pohls diving to his left to save.

But it’s been a familiar story for Derry City this season. Ruaidhrí Higgins’ men have now failed to score a first-half goal in 22 of their 30 league games so far this season.

It’s an astonishing statistic for a team that is pushing for a first Premier Division title since 1997.

Their first-half woes were compounded in the 26th minute when Watts fired Rovers into the lead with a clinical finish from the edge of the area.

There was nothing fancy about the build-up play; a hefty boot forward by centre-half Lee Grace, who spotted Johnny Kenny running into space on the left.

Kenny drew Andre Wisdom out of the centre and slipped the ball to Watts, who opened out his body and angled his shot low inside the right-hand post.

Derry fans let their frustration be known, but there wasn’t much of a reaction on the pitch as Rovers pushed to add to their lead.

The visitors came close with a couple of headers from Jack Byrne deliveries shortly before half-time, with Roberto Lopes going closest with an effort that flashed wide of the far post.

With the last kick of the first-half, Patching drove an angled shot wide of the far post.

How Derry could have done with a Patching goal in that moment. The Candystripes have yet to lose a game in which the former Manchester City prospect has scored.

And in the last 28 games when they have netted in the first-half, Derry have been undefeated - winning 24 times and drawing on four of those occasions.

There was more urgency to their play after the break, but despite all their attacking talent they struggled to put Rovers goalkeeper Pohls to the test.

A Danny Mullen snap-shot, directed straight at the German, was all they could muster in terms of shots on target after Coll’s first-half effort.

At the other end, Danny Mandroiu’s free-kick beat the wall, but not the well-positioned Brian Maher in the home goal.

Mark Connolly had the ball in the Rovers goal just after the hour, but the whistle had already gone for a push on Roberto Lopes, while a penalty shout against Lee Grace went unanswered.

The Rovers centre-half blocked Danny Mullen’s cross with his trailing hand as he slid along the turf.

But there was still time for more penalty drama in what could be a decisive moment in this year’s title race.

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