Title chasing St Patrick's Athletic were held to a 0-0 draw by Limerick FC in an interesting Airtricity League Premier Division encounter at Thomond Park.
Limerick shaded the first half as Craig Curran and Samuel Oji came close to edging the Blues ahead.
But the Saints were far more enterprising after the restart carving several chances with Daryl Kavanagh, Kenny Browne, and Christy Fagan spurning chances.
In stoppage time Conan Byrne had a firm attempt stopped by the post as Pat's tried to nick one at the death.
Limerick contributed handsomely to a lively opening period in which chances were scarce initially as the Blues frustrated the standard bearers.
With Joe Gamble, Dave O'Leary, and Stephen Bradley all hugely relevant Pat's central midfield weren't allowed dictate the pace of the game.
It meant that the Saints weren't given the time and space to pass the ball in their usual style as Limerick's diligence caused them some bother.
A Killian Brennan free-kick in the 28th minute was one of the few encouraging moments for the Dubliners, but Limerick custodian Barry Ryan gathered safely.
Then the home side had a spell of supremacy, but they failed to rattle the Saints net despite carving a string of opportunities.
In the 31st minute Rory Gaffney dashed clear down the right, but his cross was cleared expertly by Ger O'Brien as Craig Curran was just about to pounce for Limerick.
Then seconds later Samuel Oji fired narrowly wide from an acute angle as Stuart Taylor's charges continued to probe.
Danny Galbraith skipped about craving involvement and a left wing delivery located Curran, who extracted a fine save from Brendan Clarke.
Still when the interval rolled around the teams remained deadlocked and the locals were keen to build on their promising start against their highly regarded opponents.
Three minutes after the restart Pat's spurned a gilt edged opportunity when Daryl Kavanagh failed to convert Conan Byrne's clever pass.
Out wide Byrne was causing Limerick problems and another cross was met by a 55th minute glancing Christy Fagan header that drifted inches wide.
Limerick, though, ploughed on defiantly as O'Leary came within a whisker of scoring on the hour mark for the Blues.
Then on 65 minutes during a goalmouth scramble Kenny Browne and Christy Fagan were denied by last ditch Limerick challenges.
In stoppage time the woodwork came to Limerick's rescue as a Byrne thunderbolt hit the post, with Greg Bolger slicing the rebound over.
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