OLLIE HORGAN always expected Finn Harps to be living off scraps at Oriel Park last night and he appeared relatively content despite a 2-0 defeat to the champions, Dundalk.
It had the feel of a training game for long periods and Gary Rogers, the Dundalk ‘keeper, was a spectator bar making a routine save from a second-half header by Keith Cowan.
And yet Dundalk, despite having 72 per cent of possession and 12 attempts on goal, didn’t strike the killer blow until Daryl Horgan hammered home in the 75th minute, adding to Patrick McEleney’s sixth-minute opener.
‘The better side won, no questions about that,” Horgan – who was sent to the stands in the second half – told Donegal Sport Hub.
“We tried to make things difficult for them and I think that we did.
“To a certain degree our game plan worked. We stuck to the game plan. While we were feeding off scraps, that was the height of it, but we expected that.
“The second goal killed us. They were getting edgy, but the better side won.
“We made it difficult, but we had to make it difficult. They scored after six minutes and it looked like: ‘Here we go again’.
“We didn’t have enough quality when we had the ball to keep it. It was always going to be one of those games where if something fell your way you might get something undeservedly.”
Harps could only name 16 players on their squad last night, including under-19s BJ Banda and Mark Coyle, who made their Premier Division debuts in the second half.
Barry Molloy was unavailable, as was Adam Hanlon, and the Harps manager was disappointed at only learning of this fixture last weekend.
He said: “We ran into problems with players today because of availability. We found out about this game eight days ago. We didn’t know for certain until after Dundalk played in Belfield on Friday. These lads are on a schedule to work and they make their living from that, not from playing with us.
“There should be some sort of communication or a timescale.”
Horgan is hopeful that Ruairi Keating could face Longford on Friday night. The striker was carried off early in the second half, having suffered what is said to be ‘mild concussion’ in the first half.
Listen to the full interview below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsporthub-club-notes/ollie-horgan-after-finn-harps-defeated-in-dundalk
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