FAI CUP: ST KEVIN'S BOYS - 0 DERRY CITY - 0:The crowd left Whitehall yesterday to the sound of the hardcore City fans chanting "we'll never score again," and after 90 minutes in which they'd only very occasionally threatened to end their current drought itwas hard to imagine anybody giving them an argument.

Afterwards, Kevin Mahon preferred to discuss his side's overall performance rather than the fact that this was the third successive game in which they have failed to find the net.

Not that the performance was good, but given that City even missed a penalty, it was probably, on balance, less painful to reflect upon.

City, in fact, started brightly enough against a group of players that, during the opening exchanges, looked so concerned by the prospect of getting caught in possession that their own attempts to get forward were repeatedly ended by hurried and aimless long balls.

However, as the home side realised that the Premier Division outfit were unlikely to earn the sort of win that would have reflected the gap in status between these two teams, their confidence steadily grew.

And with Kenny Ennis providing steadying influence in front of the defence and Gordon Johnson tirelessly disrupting City's passing game, they fared increasingly well as the afternoon went on.

Johnson's enthusiasm did occasionally get the better of him and it was he who almost cost the junior side the game four minutes before half-time when he held Eamon Doherty as the pair went for a high ball.

Had Gary Beckett struck the resulting penalty well, it's impossible to see how the Dubliners would have recovered, but their growing morale was further boosted when Austin Hannon got down low to his right to save the weakly-struck shot.

Hannon's other telling contribution had come 10 minutes earlier, when he saved well from Gareth McGlynn and then recovered quickly to block Tommy McCallion's follow up effort.

He must have expected a much busier second half but as it turned out, the bulk of his workload after the break came from a couple of careless headers in his direction by defenders, and on both occasions he came forward quickly to clear the danger.

City, though never under any real pressure at the back, had trouble throughout converting their generous share of the possession into a real threat and it was very late on before first McGlynn and then Doherty went close to depriving the amateurs of a day out at the Brandywell.

"We controlled it but no more," said Mahon afterwards, adding: "We never took the initiative."

They will, one suspects, next Sunday, but before that Dermot Wilkins' side will deservedly go into the hat for Wednesday's draw.

ST KEVIN'S BOYS: Hannon; Stanley, Higgins, Long, McManus (Wilkins, 81 mins); Ennis; O'Hara, O'Sullivan (Carroll, 68 mins), Johnson, Smyth; Maher.

DERRY CITY: Payne; Doherty, Kelly, E McCallion, Hargan; McGlynn, T Mccallion, Doherty, Phillips; Moran (Hughes, 75), Beckett.

Referee: D McKeon (Dublin).