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Fabio O'Brien celebrates his winning goal. INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Recap

Barstooler: 5 talking points from last weekend’s Airtricity League action

Stephen Kenny gets the win he’s been looking for, Drogheda close the gap on Sligo and a Cork City new boy sees red.

Sligo dealt a blow

LEAGUE LEADERS SLIGO Rovers were due to play St Patrick’s Athletic on Sunday but, after the European exploits of the Saints at Richmond Park last week, that fixture was postponed.

There was bad news for the Bit O’Red over the weekend however, as it was confirmed that in-form striker Danny North will be out for six months after rupturing cruciate knee ligaments.

The 24-year-old, who only signed a new contract earlier this month, has scored 17 goals in 20 appearances since arriving at the Showgronds to help Sligo in their title bid.

Hoops finally get a win

It has been a frustrating period for Shamrock Rovers fans, but at the Brandywell on Friday night, they saw their side record a first win in five league games. Ronan Finn’s belter from 20 yards was a worthy winning goal and with UCD to come this week, Stephen Kenny will be hoping it signals a change in fortunes.

Gary Twigg has been going through something of a dry spell in front of goal and Rovers yesterday announced the signing of former striker Thomas Stewart, who formed a decent partnership with Twigg during his first stint.

Drogheda close in on top spot

A sixth victory on the trot means that, with 12 games remaining, Drogheda United are now just a single point behind Sligo. They didn’t have it easy against UCD on Friday night and could only manage a 1-0 win thanks to Fabio O’Brien’s 21st-minute strike.

Next up is possibly the Louth club’s biggest game in years – a trip to the Showgrounds to take where three points would see them leapfrog the Bit O’Red.

On a side note, Drogheda player Shane Grimes has been banned from football for eight months after testing positive for a banned substance during a random drug test.

Watch MNS highlights of Drogheda v UCD below:

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Debut disaster

Cork City’s new signing Keigan Parker had a league debut to forget after he received a straight red card for an elbow on Brian Shortall in the 0-0 draw with Shelbourne at Turner’s Cross. The Scottish striker had just missed a good chance in front of goal and was only on the pitch a few minutes when he got his marching orders.

After the final whistle, manager Tommy Dunne was quick to state that such behaviour would not be tolerated at the club.

Bohs up to fifth

Evan McMillen scored his first goal for Bohemians against UCD two weeks ago. Last weekend, he went one better by grabbing a brace for the Gypsies in their 2-1 win over Dundalk.

That meant back-to-back league wins for only the second time this season and Aaron Callaghan’s side jump two places in the table to fifth – moving them closer to a European qualification spot.

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