BARRY MOLLOY WONDERED if he’d made the right call in a retirement u-turn when he limped off during the first game of the season.
Molloy’s signing was only confirmed by Finn Harps little more than 24 hours before their five-start Premier Division return against Derry City, the club formerly captained by Molloy.
His Harps debut lasted 78 minutes before he had to be withdraw. After jarring a knee in the first half, the 33-year-old played ‘til he could play no more.
It was only last week in Wexford that he returned to action, playing the last 35 minutes of the 1-1 draw and on Friday night the experienced midfielder got his first 90 minutes of action.
Molloy’s class was clear at times during the scoreless draw with Bohemians.
“It’s very important for me to get a full game in,” Molloy told Donegal Sport Hub.
Picture caption: Barry Molloy slides in to win possession for Finn Harps against Bohemians. Picture by Gary Foy, newsandsportfiles
“I haven’t played much football in the last ten weeks. It was important to get back on the pitch. It’s another 90 minutes towards being fully fit.
[adrotate group=”50″]“When you join a club, the last thing that you want is to get injured. I wasn’t that fit at the start but it was very frustrating to get that injury at the start. It’s another step in the right direction.
“I only had two or three training sessions behind me at the start, which isn’t ideal preparation for a big derby. Getting the injury was frustrating but I’m working hard to get fit and to help the team.”
Molloy was the Young Player of the Year at Derby County in 2002 before returning to the League of Ireland and Drogheda United.
[adrotate group=”43″]In 2005, Stephen Kenny took Molloy to Derry City, where he won five League Cups and two FAI Cups during a memorable stint at Brandywell.
Molloy joined Crusaders, but he left there in November and announced his retirement.
Harps manager Ollie Horgan made it clear that he wanted Molloy and when the chance of a return to the Candystripes didn’t materialise, Molloy had his arm twisted.
[adrotate group=”38″]“I had retired,” he said.
“I made that decision and the main factor behind the change was Ollie. I told him that I was hanging up the boots, but he twisted my arm and he gave me the belief that I had more left in me.”
Born in the shadows of the Brandywell, the Bishop Street man wanted to go back to his hometown club, but on Tuesday night he returns to the Lone More Road as an opponent.
After losing to Harps on the opening night, Derry have only lost once – to Sligo Rovers – while Harps themselves have had a decent opening to the campaign, which makes for another tasty derby.
[adrotate group=”46″]Molloy said: “It’ll be a strange game playing against Derry, but once you cross that white line you can’t really think about that.
“It’s been a solid start. We aren’t getting carried away. We’ve picked up a lot of good points here and there, but we’re disappointed to only take one point at home to Bohemians.
“That probably shows how far we’ve come and the standards we’ve set.
“It’s great to be back and hopefully I’ll get another start on Tuesday night and just keep building now.”
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