FINN HARPS FELL to their fifth straight defeat tonight as Shamrock Rovers piled further misery on Ollie Horgan’s team.
Finn Harps 0 Shamrock Rovers 2
Second half goals by Sean Boyd and Dean Clarke gave Stephen Bradley’s team a comfortable win on a night when Harps stretched their goal famine out to 471 minutes.
Harps have not scored since Sean Houston’s match winner against Galway on July 8 and the worry here, again, was that chances were few and far between for the stuttering Donegal side.
They fell behind nine minutes into the second half when Boyd rammed an unstoppable effort past Richard Brush from eight yards.
The opening was carved by the magical footwork of Brandon Miele, whose close control and trickery made the opening and Boyd made no mistake, firing home for a goal that brought a familiar air of inevitability floating in from the Finn.
Boyd turned provider in the 79th minute when he played Clarke, a substitute, through and he applied a fine finish across Brush.
Boyd, who had an excellent second half, was buzzing and he got around Brush late in the night but a dangerous ball across had no takers while Boyd went close previously, curling over after getting past Adam Hanlon.
Harps’ best chance of the second half fell to the returned Gareth Harkin, who shot into the arms of Rovers goalkeeper Craig Hyland in the 65th minute.
Ruairi Keating, restored to the starting XI having been suspended for the Derry game, could have put Harps in front on the half-hour.
[adrotate group=”38″]Houston dispossessed Gary McCabe on half-way and drove into space before finding Keating, neatly positioned on the left-hand side of the box.
Keating aimed for the near post, but Hyland did well to turn his shot away for a corner, from which Keating again went close, stabbing wide at the same post when he could have turned home McNamee’s delivery.
Keating was included from the off in one of three changes to the home side made by Horgan. Harkin returned for his first game in two months after a spell out injured and Michael Funston made only a third League start of the season, with Thomas McMonagle, Ryan Curran and Josh Mailey dropping to the bench.
[adrotate group=”37″]Rovers, who won here earlier in the season through a late Gary McCabe penalty, had a decent spell before Keating went close.
Former Derry City full-back Simon Madden was in the thick of it.
After being played in by McCabe’s delicate ball around the back, Madden went to ground under a challenge from Richard Brush, but Rob Rogers didn’t buy the endeavour to nick a penalty.
[adrotate group=”46″]Madden was booked, as was Harps captain Ciaran Coll, whose angered reaction was in keeping with the mood on the Town End terrace.
A little later, Madden got in behind again, but a dangerous cross was cut out by Ethan Boyle.
When Boyd opened the scoring, it looked like curtains and it was, the pouring rain just adding to the darkening mood at the conclusion.
Finn Harps: Richard Brush; Ethan Boyle, Keith Cowan, Packie Mailey, Ciaran Coll; Michael Funston (Adam Hanlon 73), Sean Houston, Barry Molloy (Ryan Curran 73), Gareth Harkin; Tony McNamee (Kevin McHugh 83); Ruairi Keating.
Shamrock Rovers: Craig Hyland; Simon Madden, Rob Cornwall, David O’Connor, Shane Hanney; Gary McCabe (Stephen McPhail 71), Brandon Miele (Killian Brennan 75), Pat Cregg, Trevor Clarke; Gary Shaw (Dean Clarke 71), Sean Boyd.
Referee: Rob Rogers (Dublin)
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