Eddie Dsane has one simple aim for the remainder of the season – to score more goals.
The 20-year-old Londonder netted his first Finn Harps goal last Friday night in the crucial 2-0 win over Drogheda United at United Park.
Dsane – pictured by Joe Boland, North West News Pix – was a surprise signing on the eve of the 2017 season, but the Englishman wants to keep hitting the target as Ollie Horgan’s men strive for top flight survival.
“I was just buzzing – it has been a long time in coming,” Dsane says.
“I’m buzzing now for the rest of the year.
“I definitely want more goals. I want to kick on now. I know that I need to shoot more. When I’ve been in and around the box, I have had a habit of looking for that final pass, so I need to shoot more. I need to get into the habit of shooting.
“I know I can get more goals. I want to score week-in, week-out for the club and help the team.”
Dsane stepped up in the fourth minute of the game, against one of Harps’ relegation rivals, to curl a sweet free kick over the Drogheda and beyond the reach of ‘keeper Stephen McGuinness.
? HIGHLIGHTS: @DroghedaUnited 0-2 @FinnHarpsFC – Harps take the points in relegation battle.
▶️ https://t.co/0fah0T9tPb #LOI pic.twitter.com/k4bHxTaodF
— SSEAirtricity League (@SSEAirtricityLg) July 12, 2017
It was certainly some calling card for his first Harps goal.
“I have worked on it a bit at training,” Dsane says. “It doesn’t always go to plan. I got the hang of it last week. It just went to plan.
“Hopefully I can keep doing that now. I felt shocked when it went in! I didn’t know what to do, I just went away to celebrate.”
With Galway United defeating Limerick FC at the same time, victory was vital for Harps, who remained out of the relegation zone with the win at Pete Mahon’s team.
Dsane says: “We knew it was such a big game and that’s why the good start was important.
“It was a massive game. Just getting the points was the biggest thing we had to do. It made me feel better contributing to the win.”
Dsane, who hails from Croydon in south London, started his career on the books of Preston North End before moving to Fleetwood Town.
Last summer, he shipped up at Longford Town, where he caught Horgan’s eye during the latter half of the season.
Dsane says: “Ollie was the main reason that I signed with Finn Harps. He convinced me to come here. I was thinking about stating in England.
“I thought long about it at the start. I wasn’t too sure, but I had to look at the bigger picture. It is good for my development. In the end, it was an easy decision.
“I came in late, the week of the new season, just before the Cork game. It wasn’t too hard to settle in. I was at Longford last year so I was used to being away and the boys made me feel really welcome.”
Dsane is living in Letterkenny with new signings Pascal Millien and Ibrahim Keita and is looking forward to aiding Harps’ survival battle.
He says: “I always said, from day one when I got here, that I was confident that we would stay in this Division. Even now, I am sticking to that. When we play the bigger teams, we put up a fight. I am confident.
“We have a massive game against Bohemians – if we get the points if would be two big wins in two weeks.”
Dsane had no knowledge of Horgan until his phone buzzed in the winter and the Harps manager was on the line. But Horgan’s hard-work ethic has impressed Dsane – who wants to repay the boss’s faith.
He says: “Ollie is great to work with. He makes you work hard and you always feel as if he is pushing you on. Paul (Hegarty) is also great. There is great energy between the two of them.
“There have been times when I haven’t been in the team as much as I’d like, but I still enjoy it. It’s all be a learning curve. It’s good and I’m enjoying it.
“The supporters have been really good here. Even when I was injured, they were always talking to me and asking how I was getting on. There isn’t much to do around here when you’re injured, but you just have to be productive with your time, going to the gym and whatever you need to do.”
Getting the chance to train and play alongside ex-Celtic and Northern Ireland player Paddy McCourt has brought on his own game.
He says: “It’s been amazing. Sometimes you think no way he’ll get the ball to me and he just finds out. It’s crazy. Paddy has helped me a lot. He really helps with decision making. He has raised the quality and the intensity so much.”
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