Cork City - 0 Drogheda - 0 Cork City's recent run of lacklustre form continued at Turner's Cross last night when they were held to a drab scoreless draw by a dour Drogheda United side.
On a night when leaders Shelbourne also dropped two points, Cork failed to make up any ground as their lack of invention and penetration cost them dearly.
The home side were forced to make do without the considerable influences of striker John O'Flynn and midfielder Colm O'Brien - injured and suspended respectively - but this hardly excused what was in truth an awful performance.
Cork could and perhaps should have opened the scoring in the first half but their three chances all fell to Neal Fenn and he found Drogheda goalkeeper Gary Rodgers equal to his efforts.
After turning over level, Drogheda were forced to play with just 10 men for the final 23 minutes after Alan Reilly was red-carded, and yet Cork could not capitalise on their numerical superiority.
This was a match Cork desperately needed to win but while they avoided losing all three points this result puts a further damper on their aspirations for the season.
CORK CITY: Devine; Lordan, Murphy, Bennett, Murray, Woods, O'Callaghan, Sweeney, Nwankwo (Kearney 71), Doyle, Fenn.
DROGHEDA UNITED: Rodgers; Sullivan, Kenny, O'Connor, Gray, Lester, Reilly, Quinless, Freeman (O'Brien 82), Rooney (Molloy 68), Lacey.
Referee: I Stokes (Dublin).
