THEY’RE NOT QUITE there mathematically just yet, but a scoreless draw at relegation rivals Wexford Youths tonight sees Finn Harps with the tips of their fingers upon survival.
Wexford Youths 0 Finn Harps 0
Industrious Harps, backed by a sizeable away support that made its voice heard throughout, earned a share of the spoils that maintains Harps’ six-point advantage to Wexford.
The upshot of it all, on a night when Ciaran Gallagher, the Harps goalkeeper, made some vital saves in the second half, is that Wexford must now win their final two games of the season to stand a chance of sucking Harps into the play-off position.
Harps, to borrow a well-oiled phrase from their manager, Ollie Horgan, ‘rode their luck’ at times here, but emerged unscathed.
That was despite Wexford asking some serious questions of the edgy Harps.
The closest the home side came was when Paul Murphy took receipt of a long ball into the box but, leaning back, his shot was always rising when, at a minimum, he ought to have tested Ciaran Gallagher.
Right in the depths of added-on time Gallagher parried away a stinging effort from Chris Kenny at the expense of a corner and Harps could, finally, exhale in relief.
Harps had the better of the openings in the first half, but it was Wexford Youths who sprang from the blocks for the second and, but for Gallagher, might’ve hit the front.
Gallagher twice saved from Danny Furlong in the early moments of the second period before the Raphoe native did well to turn over from Conor Whittle’s crisp first-timer from 20 yards.
Whittle instinctively shot after being teed up by Lee Chin, the Wexford hurling ace who signed for Youths in September.
[adrotate group=”38″]Ryan Curran punctured the pressure with a chance at the other end, but the angles were too tight for the striker after Michael Funston’s cross evaded Graham Doyle, the Wexford ‘keeper.
Harps showed good early positivity and promise with Adam Hanlon curling just wide of the far post with a decent opening in the fourth minute.
The lively Curran prodded wide after getting between a defender and goalkeeper Graham Doyle, though the odds were always against him.
[adrotate group=”80″]Horgan has reminded us throughout the campaign of Wexford’s potential danger to Harps’ survival and Shane Keegan’s men closed the gap during the Donegal men’s 10-game streak without a win.
A madcap 5-4 win over Galway United last weekend – when they’d been five up at one stage – set up a titanic tussle in the south-east.
Youths showed a flash of their capabilities when Furlong – top scorer last season when they beat Harps to the First Division title – flicked on for Murphy to speed away from the Harps rearguard.
[adrotate group=”76″]Murphy skipped beyond the arm of Gallagher and went down under the challenge, but referee Rob Harvey showed a yellow to the Wexford attacker for simulation.
In an start that showed just what this game meant to both sides, Wexford’s Aidan Keenan – also for simulation – and Harps’ Barry Molloy, for a foul on Jonny Bonner, went into the book.
Buncrana native Bonner is a fans’ favourite at Ferrycarrig Park and forced Gallagher into saving from a teasing free that bounced right in the eyeline of the Harps netminder.
[adrotate group=”83″]When the subsequent corner broke, Josh Mailey burst clear only for Bonner to intervene just when Mailey was lining up his next move.
Harps’ other Mailey, Packie, had a golden chance to put Harps ahead on the half-hour, but hooked over from six yards.
It felt as if it was only a matter of time when, just before the break, Houston tested Doyle, who palmed away
Packie Mailey’s return to the team was one of two changes from the side that began last week’s 2-0 loss at Cork City, with top-scorer Houston also elevated.
[adrotate group=”50″]Horgan included BJ Banda, Daire Ó Baoill and Gareth Doherty from the Harps Under-19 squad to compensate for the recent losses of Kevin McHugh, Keith Cowan, Ruairi Keating and Damien McNulty from his options.
Wexford Youths: Graham Doyle; Craig McCabe (Shane Dunne 81), Chris Kenny, Lee Grace, Andrew O’Connor; Conor Whittle (Shane Dempsey 90), Jonny Bonner, Lee Chin, Aidan Keenan; Danny Furlong, Paul Murphy.
Finn Harps: Ciaran Gallagher; Ethan Boyle, Packie Mailey, Josh Mailey, Ciaran Coll; Michael Funston (BJ Banda 73), Barry Molloy, Gareth Harkin, Adam Hanlon (Dave Scully 84); Sean Houston; Ryan Curran.
Referee: Rob Harvey (Dublin).
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