Ruaidhrí Higgins rues Derry City's missed opportunity in title race

The City boss was understandably downbeat at the final whistle despite watching his team come from behind to snatch a draw as the Candy Stripes have now gone three league games without victory.

League frontrunners Shelbourne's 2-1 loss at Sligo Rovers 24 hours later limited the damage done to their title bid but it was a chance to go top of the table for the first time in FIVE months which slipped through their grasp once more.

Danny Mullen's second half equaliser against relegation-threatened Dundalk saw Derry move to within two points of the leaders who have a game in hand - so certainly not a disaster thanks to the Bit O'Red's intervention at the Showgrounds!

The Candy Stripes were just one goal away from moving to the league summit on goal difference but with just nine games remaining, they'll be acutely aware they can ill afford to let these opportunities pass them by if they're to gun down Shels who dropped five points this week.

"It's a disappointing result," said Higgins. "We've missed a huge opportunity, there's no doubting that. I thought we started the game really well for the first 15 minutes and we had a really big opportunity in the early stages and should've gone in front.

"But from 15 minutes to 45 we lost our composure, lost our urgency. We didn't play with any real intensity at all and when you give up 30 minutes like that you get punished - and we got punished.

"We gave them something to hang onto. In saying that, in the second half we played the game in their half and had enough opportunities to go and win the game. It was that period for me from 15 to 45 where we gave up the three points."

So it was 'one that got away' for Derry but Higgins wasn't about to throw in the towel with so many points still to play for.

"It's a disappointing result for us, there's no getting away from it. It's a huge opportunity missed. We let one get away.

"We understand people will be disappointed but we have to crack on. We've seen how unpredictable things can be but we have to focus and block out the noise and get on with it."

Higgins injected fresh impetus from the bench at half-time with the introduction of goalscorer Mullen and debutante Jacob Davenport who assisted in the equaliser and the Derry boss was delighted with their respective contributions.

"I thought Jacob played really well. He got us playing and moved the ball quickly for us and got us a real stranglehold in the game. Danny Mullen obviously had a big impact on the game and could've had a hat-trick but I thought the two subs injected a bit of life into us.

"Unfortunately we couldn't unlock the door for a second time and win the game. I'm just really disappointed we've missed the opportunity that presented itself here.

"The effort and commitment was there, we just lacked that final bit. We got into so many good areas on the pitch and had some clear cut chances we should've put in the back of the net. It wasn't to be,” he lamented.

"It was a real chance to go and stamp our authority on it and we've missed the opportunity but we have enough in our armoury to keep going and there's plenty of opportunities to win games from now until the end of the season. We can't let games like this pass us by again.”

Derry are on the road in their next three fixtures – against Cork in the cup and then back-to-back away trips to Waterford and Galway. It’s a crucial period in the season for the Foylesiders who have little room for error as the games begin to run out.

"It's a really crucial period and we need to keep going and keep plugging away and be resilient and persevere because we're good enough to string a group of wins together and I've no doubt we will."