Finn Harps were beaten 1-0 by Bray Wanderers at The Carlisle Grounds on Saturday night when Conor Kenna’s header separated the teams.
Picture caption: Finn Harps manager Ollie Horgan with his assistant manager, Paul Hegarty. Picture by Gary Foy, newsandsportfiles
- Harps’ good run comes to an end…
FINN Harps went to Bray on the back of a positive sequence of results, having drawn with Shamrock Rovers and beaten Sligo, Longford and Galway.
There was a pep in their steps as they headed to the seaside on Saturday night, but Conor Kenna’s header condemned them to a first defeat in five.
Kenna burrowed his way into a crowded area and slammed his header home from Karl Moore’s corner.
Horgan’s frustrations in the dugout were audible around the Carlisle Grounds and it was certainly a poor goal to give away, particularly from a set-piece and especially to a player like Kenna, whose strength in those positions will have been well flagged up.
Had Harps managed to garner a positive result from the game, they could have been a little closer to safety. Now, though, they’ll keep glancing anxiously over the shoulders.
[adrotate group=”43″]- …As old attacking failings return to haunt
KEVIN McHugh came in for his first League start of the season on Saturday night, the 36-year-old given the task of leading the Harps attack in a bold move by Ollie Horgan.
McHugh cut a peripheral figure until he was replaced at half-time, but that was as much to do with Harps’ lack of a killer edge when it came to creativity.
Harps had just one shot on target over the 90 minutes and that was a tame attempt by Adam Hanlon in the first half.
Harps enjoyed 52 per cent of possession, but couldn’t make it count.
Ruairi Keating added energy when he replaced McHugh at the break, but still the spark was missing, with Harps really missing Tony McNamee from the engine room.
Keating, Raymond Foy and Michael Funston all contributed well off the bench, but Harps’ fire just didn’t ignite.
[adrotate group=”50″]- Injuries catching up on Harps
WITH Ciaran Coll and Gareth Harkin on the medium-long term absent list because of shoulder and ankle problems, Harps are without two naturally left-footed players, a rare commodity.
Matthew Crossan, another who favours the left-hand side, has left the club, leaving Ollie Horgan somewhat light on options for cover.
The Harps manager was dealt a further blow on Thursday night when Tony McNamee limped out of training with a medial knee ligament injury that leaves him facing up to two months on the sidelines.
McNamee had been on form lately and will be a big loss to the side,
“It gives us a bit of imbalance on the left side,” Horgan said of his injury woes.
“We’re having to go with people in unfamiliar places.”
[adrotate group=”38″]- Bray are on the rise
SINCE watching them in a pre-season game in February, Ollie Horgan has been convinced that Bray Wanderers have been in a false position.
The first half of Saturday night’s game – and a look at Bray’s recent results – would suggest that the Harps manager was spot on in his assessment.
Peter Cherrie kept a fifth clean sheet in a row on Friday night – a new club record.
The Seagulls are now just seven points behind Harps. With Longford, who are mired at the foot of the table, looking gone, the rest of the relegation-threatened sides appear to be fighting to avoid the play-off spot.
“If we can keep that up, we’d be confident of moving up the table,” said Bray that manager Harry Kenny, who has no intention of being in the mix.
“We played great football and created chances. We’re delighted.
“All the best defences have good defences and clean sheets. That was something I looked at when I got the job. Harps threw the kitchen sink at us late on. We held firm and Peter didn’t have too much to do.”
[adrotate group=”37″]- And Harps still face a big battle
OLLIE Horgan could turn out to have his predictions spot on yet.
Before the start of the season, the Harps manager forecasted that the Premier Division could be split into three sections: Dundalk and Cork battling for the League; the mid-section of teams; and those fighting for their lives at the basement.
Lately, Horgan has been of the opinion that Bray and Bohemians will have enough to lift themselves out of play-off danger and that the play-off spot will be fought out between Harps and Wexford Youths.
On Friday-week, Wexford are in Ballybofey for a huge clash and one Harps cannot afford to lose.
“All of a sudden now, people are realising that we are back in the mix,” Horgan said.
“When we were on a run, they thought we were going to some other sort of place, but it was always going to be the case that we were fighting for our lives and nothing has changed there.”
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