FINN HARPS booked their place in the second round of the EA Sports Cup thanks to last night’s 1-0 win over Cockhill Celtic.Ethan Boyle hit the only goal of the game as Harps defeated the USL team.
- Harps make heavy work to advance
WHEN Ollie Horgan, the Finn Harps manager, noted afterwards that his side was ‘hanging on quite a bit’, he wasn’t joking.
Jimmy Bradley had a ‘goal’ chalked off in the first half and Gavin Cullen, the Cockhill player-manager, wasn’t happy with the decision to disallow the strike, apparently for a foul by Derek Doherty on Raymond Foy.
Late in the night, Cockhill really threw it all at Harps and it took some fantastic goalkeeping from Richard Brush and at-times-desperate defending to keep Cockhill at bay.
Garbhan Friel twice went close while Bradley and Malachy McDermott will also reflect that they might have drawn Cockhill level.
Harps showed eight changes to their team from Saturday’s game in Sligo, but how laboured they made it concerned their manager.
- Ryan McConnell’s steady debut
HE was one of the first men confirmed as a Harps player for the 2016 season, but one of the last to appear on the field.
Ryan McConnell captained Manchester United’s Under-21s and spent three years on the books at Old Trafford before being released last summer, one of five young players to get cut.
Injuries curtailed his advancement, but there was no doubt that McConnell had something to catch the eye of the United talent-spotters.
After returning home, the Letterkenny man had trials with Derry City and Sligo Rovers, but plumped for Harps late in 2015.
Big things are expected of McConnell from Harps fans, but he should perhaps be afford a little patience. His was a smooth and trouble-free debut, which was about as much as he could want from his first competitive game in quite some time.
- Michael Rafter will need time
FINN Harps supporters got their first glimpse of Michael Rafter in competitive action last night.
The Tipperary native, a former Dundalk and Derry City striker, lasted only 45 minutes, but it was his first game of any kind since his ankle collapsed while playing pre-season for Cork City over two years ago.
Rafter, who spent 2015 in Australia, was a surprise signing by Horgan in the closed season.
“He’s a long time out and he’s in half decent shape. It was great to get him 45 minutes,” the Harps manager said after last night’s win.
He scored 12 goals for Derry in 2013, but has been plagued by ankle trouble since.
While he’s on the road to recovery, Rafter will need time before he can be considered a realistic option for regular inclusion.
- Harps’ second string doesn’t quite impress
OFF the back of a tough derby with Sligo Rovers on Saturday and ahead of a crunch game with Longford Town this Saturday, it was no surprise that Ollie Horgan elected to ring the changes.
Only Richard Brush, Ethan Boyle and Gareth Harkin remained in the starting line-up from the team that faced Sligo.
It was a first outing of the season for most of the rest and an element of ring rustiness was to be expected.
That said, their manager appeared alarmed at his team’s performance.
“A lot of them hadn’t got game time since pre-season but I felt that their timing and tackling should have got better – but they didn’t,” Horgan said.
“They have to go away, put the head down and wait for the next opportunity – when hopefully they’ll play better.”
Given the lack of opportunities for Horgan to blood those on his fringes or members of the Under-19 squad, it should raise the question again about Harps’ non-participation in the Ulster Senior League.
- Cockhill Celtic show their class
ALTHOUGH the Finn Harps side was a vastly changed one from that which lined out against Sligo Rovers on Saturday night and will bear little resemblance to that which will face Longford Town this weekend, Cockhill Celtic left Ballybofey with their heads high.
It said a lot about their performance that they went into the night feeling that they could have, at least, forced Harps into extra time.
Horgan was quick to note that he has seen Cockhill better and while that may be true it was a difficult game for both sides.
Cockhill are regarded as the best intermediate side Donegal has seen since the great Fanad United team of the mid 1990s – and it’s not hard to see why.
The likes of Cullen, Gerry Gill, Garbhan Friel, Malachy McDermott and Jimmy Bradley make them a formidable opponent for any side.
A fourth USL title is in their sights now and with Cup semi-finals to come, silverware is expected this year against at The Charlie O’Donnell Sports Grounds.
