Keith Ward struck a late winner against his old club as Dundalk beat Sligo Rovers in what was a tightly fought contest at the Showgrounds.
Ward kept his cool in the 84th minute of a game packed with chances to head Darragh Leahy's cross beyond Luke McNicholas to send the Louth side into fourth place in the Premier Division table.
Following two impressive performances in the capital against Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic, Sligo made two changes from that win over the Saints.
One of Rovers’ best so far this term, Fabrice Hartmann returned to the starting XI, while Faroese attacker Stefan Radosavljevic made his first start since a draw with Drogheda in April.
Unbeaten in four, Stephen O’Donnell made just one change from the win over UCD, with striker Pat Hoban returning to the starting team in place of John Martin.
With matching points records for both teams coming into this tie, both camps were looking for the points that would see them move with three points of the top three.
It was the visitors who started the quicker from the traps, although the Lilywhites failed to take advantage when the going was good.
Hoban fired over the Sligo crossbar with his back to goal seven minutes in as the hosts took their time to get settled.
Soon after they did, they almost took the lead, with Dundalk goalkeeper Nathan Sheppard pulling off a magnificent reaction save to deny Max Mata’s placed header from a Will Fitzgerald cross after Sligo hit their opponents on the counter.
Hoban nodded Archie Davies’ cross over McNicholas’ goal just short of the hour.
Rayhaan Tulloch, who netted Dundalk’s only goal in the last game between these teams, was denied by a decent stop from McNicholas on 32 minutes, the Ireland underage international pushing Tulloch’s bending effort from the angle around his post.
Mata could only head another Fitzgerald cross into the ground and onto the roof of the Dundalk net before the break as the sides returned to their dressing rooms level.
Only a last-ditch tackle from Dundalk’s Hayden Muller denied Mata again from close range early in the second period, while there were chances for both Rovers substitute Frank Liivak and Dundalk’s Tulloch as both sides attempted to register the game’s opener.
Sheppard did really well to leave his line and keep out Mata just past the hour, the Welsh stopper spreading himself as he fell at the feet of the New Zealander as Mata ran on to Johan Brannefalk’s through ball.
Only seconds on the pitch, Dundalk substitute Martin must have thought he had made an instant impact on 71 minutes when he guided Connor Malley’s set-piece towards goal. However, McNicholas shifted his feet in time to scramble away the former Waterford man’s header.
Desperate to find that goal which would claim the spoils, it was an ex-Rovers man who did the damage six minutes from time. Ward, who spent the 2015 season at the Showgrounds, netted what proved to be the decisive goal.
Sligo Rovers: Luke McNicholas; Johan Brannefalk, John Mahon (Eanna Clancy HT) (Danny Lafferty 92), Nando Pijnaker, Reece Hutchinson; Niall Morahan (David Cawley 76), Lukas Browning; Will Fitzgerald, Stefan Radosavljevic, Fabrice Hartmann (Frank Liivak HT); Max Mata (Bogdan Vastsuk 76).
Dundalk: Nathan Sheppard; Archie Davies, Wasiri Williams, Hayden Muller, Darragh Leahy; Connor Malley, Alfie Lewis; Rayhaan Tulloch (Paul Doyle 88), Johanes Yli-Kokko (Keith Ward 76), Ryan O’Kane (John Martin 70); Pat Hoban.
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
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