The return to action of Derry City's star striker, Liam Coyle, certainly raised hopes at the Brandywell on Saturday night, but even from an early juncture it was clear that the 33-year-old was far from match fit following his injury lay-off.

And with the home side having stunned Shelbourne when breaking the deadlock in the 20th minute, Dermot Keely's side stepped up a gear during the opening stages of the second half to deservedly restore equality.

In fact, Shelbourne could have netted three goals during the first five minutes of the second half having caught Derry cold after the break.

Peter Hutton, so often Derry's inspirational skipper, found the top corner of the net with a looping header after Brendan Devlin had lobbed the ball into the danger area.

But Dessie Baker cancelled out that strike when he sqeezed the ball underneath the body of goalkeeper Russell Payne in the 47nd minute after defender Joe Harkin failed to cut out James Keddy's pass.

In a game which saw both sides cancel each other out with strict man-to-man marking, scoring chances were kept to a premium and both must do it all again at Tolka Park tomorrow night.

For Derry boss, Kevin Mahon, another trip to the capital did not overly concern him.

"Obviously I'm disappointed we didn't do the job tonight," he said. "We seemed to lose concentration at the start of the second half and a defensive error led to their equaliser.

"But we've won at Tolka a few weeks ago and now we begin to get prepared for that trip. It's a difficult fixture for us but we know we can overcome any team in the league if we perform," he added.

Commenting on the inclusion of Coyle - his first outing since December 10th last - Mahon believed that his presence on the park was important.

"Liam is not yet match fit and that certainly showed against Shelbourne but he's a quality player who will always cause problems." Shelbourne boss, Keely, was not happy with his side's performance but he admitted that he couldn't complain about the result. "It was a fair result in the end," he said. "Had either team won it would have been a travesty.

"From our point of view I'm not happy. We didn't play well, especially in the first half, but I can't have any complaints. We came to the Brandywell and forced a replay in the cup at Tolka Park on Tuesday without ever playing well," added Keely.

"I would expect us to play better at Tolka but it will be another tough game. Derry are very well organised and I would anticipate yet another close game."

DERRY CITY: Payne; Harkin, McCallion, Kelly; McLaughlin, Doherty, Hutton, Hegarty, Hargan; Coyle, Devlin. Subs: McCaul for Hargan (80 mins), McCready for Devlin (84 mins).

SHELBOURNE: Williams; Heary, Scully, McCarthy, Geoghegan; D Baker, Crawford, Fenlon, Doolin, Keddy; Foran. Subs: R Baker for Fenlon (75 mins).

Referee: H Byrne (Dublin).