Markus Poom uses his head to save a point for Shamrock Rovers in a Tallaght thriller against Derry City

Shamrock Rovers 2 Derry City 2

Markus Poom of Shamrock Rovers, left, celebrates alongside teammate Rory Gaffney after scoring their side's second goal during the Premier Division match against Derry City at Tallaght Stadium. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

A manic Monday in Tallaght culminated with a result that Derry would probably have accepted beforehand, but not when the fourth official lifted his board to show five minutes of injury time.

For the second time in four days, Ruaidhrí Higgins’ side came from behind to take the lead courtesy of goals from the re-energised Pat Hoban and super sub Danny Mullan. But unlike in their Brandywell clash with St Patrick’s Athletic, Derry weren’t able to hold on, with Markus Poom’s injury-time header rescuing a point for the Hoops in an encounter that whetted the appetite for the remaining battles between the likely top two.

Both dressing rooms will have mixed emotions, with Rovers allowing their levels to slip after going ahead, whereas the frustration for Derry is that they had stacked their rearguard with defenders but were undone by a cross.

The driving wind and rain around Tallaght in the hours before kick-off seriously affected footfall in the stadium, especially with the comfort of TV coverage available, and there were genuine fears it would affect the game as a spectacle for a crowd that fell just short of the 5,000 mark. From an entertainment perspective, they were ill-founded.

With bodies missing on both sides, there was intrigue from the outset, with Rovers deploying Poom and Darragh Burns as makeshift wingbacks. Derry City named Will Patching in their team, but he wasn’t visible at kick-off. Jordan McEneff was sprung as an emergency replacemnt as Higgins settled