Shamrock Rovers left 15 points off the top of the table after damaging Sligo defeat

That means Stephen Bradley’s side are 15 points behind league leaders Shelbourne with a game in hand.

Shamrock Rovers were looking dangerous early on, and were keeping Sligo’s defence busy, but Ed McGinty was rarely troubled.

Richie Towell, Johnny Kenny, and Conan Noonan all came close to putting the Hoops ahead, but the league champions failed to find the target.

Down the other end, Leon Pohls was tested by the hosts, but was well placed to make the saves when John Russell’s side went on the attack.

The Hoops had the best of the chances, but failed to make them count, and only carved out two shots on target.

Both defences were standing strong in the second half, and this game had all the makings of a scoreless draw.

That was until the introduction of Power on 71 minutes, returning from a two month lay-off.

Three minutes later, the former Norwich man fired a shot from the right, with a touch from Pohls helping it into the net, scoring his first goal for Sligo Rovers.

And minutes later, he added a second from the edge of the box after Ollie Denham charged forward to tee him up.

That result means Sligo Rovers go level on points with St Pats in sixth, but the headlines will discuss the Hoops’ poor run of form that is uncharacteristic of the league champions.

Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty; JR Wilson, Nando Pijnaker, Ollie Denham, Reece Hutchinson; Ellis Chapman (Kalin Barlow 70), Niall Morahan, Connor Malley; Will Fitzgerald (Owen Elding 94), Fabrice Hartmann (Simon Power 70); Wilson Waweru (Stefan Radosavljevic 78).

Shamrock Rovers: Leon Pohls; Josh Honahan, Roberto Lopes, Darragh Nugent; Richie Towell (Trevor Clarke 77), Markus Poom; Gary O’Neill (Sean Hoare 77), Dylan Watts (Aaron McEneff 67), Conan Noonan (Jack Byrne 67) ; Graham Burke (Aaron Greene 77); Johnny Kenny.

Referee: Eoghan O’Shea

Attendance: 3,187