- Finn Harps find their scoring touch
ON July 17th, Wilfried Tagbo scored an injury time goal in a 2-0 win over Cobh Ramblers in Ballybofey.
When Kevin McHugh struck Harps’ second goal on Friday night, the Killea man firing in number two in the 22nd, minute, it was the first goal from open play netted by Harps since that strike of Tagbo’s last month.
McHugh’s penalty in the 1-0 win over Shelbourne two weeks ago came after Harps drew blanks against UCD, Athlone Town and Wexford Youths, while his opener against Cabinteely also came from a spot kick.
His second at Stradbrook was Harps’ first from open play in 382 minutes.
“We are trying to rectify it and it’s not for the want of trying,” Ollie Horgan, the Harps manager, had said during the week.
His team did just that on Friday.
Picture caption: Keith Cowan in possession with two Cabinteely players nearby. Picture courtesy of Gary Foy
- McHugh’s announcement was premature
WHEN Kevin McHugh announced last December that 2015 would be his last as a player at League of Ireland level, hearts and heads went heavy down Navenny Street.
A banner hangs behind the River End net at Finn Park with McHugh depicted alongside the opening gambit of the terrace refrain in his honour: ‘There’s only one…’.
McHugh netted a double on Friday night to take him onto 184 goals for the club in all competitions.
“He’s lethal in the box,” Harps legend Con McLaughlin once said of McHugh. “Give him a chance and he’ll put it away.”
Even in the twilight of his career, the 35-year-old remains the brightest beacon in the Harps squad.
His announcement was perhaps a tad premature and there’s been enough in his recent displays to suggest that an offer to reconsider should be tabled to the number 10.
- It’s getting tickly now…
WHEN the 2002-03 Premier League season was heading for the home straight in March, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson coined a famous phrase.
With his side locked in a title tilt with Arsenal, Ferguson said: “It’s getting tickly now – squeaky-bum time, I call it.”
The League of Ireland First Division race has well and truly entered that realm now.
Just four points separate the top three. Despite Wexford and UCD both having a game in hand on Harps, they must play each other twice between now and the end of the season.
“If we have something to play for against Wexford on the final night it would be great,” Ollie Horgan has said.
“There’ll be a lot of ups and downs in the meanwhile so we’ll see how it goes.”
Although there was a certain nervousness in their play during the second half on Friday, the reactions at the end from players and supporters outlined that Harps firmly believe that the title remains a possibility.
- A win’s a win…
HARPS started like a house on fire and roared into a three-goal lead by the 29th minute, but what happened between then and the final shrill of John McLaughlin’s whistle was scarcely fanthomable.
With 16-year-old Cathal Gillen in goal for Cabinteely – making his debut – Harps might have been expected to press their feet on their opponents’ throats, but instead their supporters endured a testing second 45 minutes as the Donegal side failed to put the game to bed.
Harps had their chances, but couldn’t add the killer fourth goal and they were hanging on by the conclusion, even if the 3-2 scoreline flattered Cabinteely a great deal given that Harps were well in command for the most part.
Still, with a handful of games remaining, leaving with the three points was all that mattered, a point that Ollie Horgan made post-match.
“It was disappointing, our second half performance, but at the same time it was a great result,” the Harps manager said.
“It doesn’t matter at this stage of the year how you play. You’d rather play poorly and win than play brilliantly and lose.
“There will be a whole lot of twists and turns yet. We know what’s ahead of us. We got over the line tonight and that’s all that matters.”
- Stradbrook’s capabilities in question
THE good folk of the Football Association of Ireland’s licencing department gave Stradbrook, the grounds of Blackrock Rugby Club, the go-ahead to stage League of Ireland games when they accepted Cabinteely FC’s application last winter.
The ground houses an impressive clubhouse facility, complete with a bar, which also provides food for patrons, but the suitibility to stage League of Ireland soccer must surely be questioned.
Two of Finn Harps’ most loyal supporters, elderly Stranorlar couple Denis and Kathleen O’Neill, were removed from the venue’s only ‘proper’ seated area and had to take up sentry on the wooden benches adjacent to the section in which they’d positioned themselves.
Spectator facilities, the impressive clubhouse aside, are non-existent at the venue and you’d wonder how and why the likes of Harps have been forced to make vast upgrades to parts of their home when Cabinteely can be permitted to use a facility at which the officials have to share shower facilities with the home team.
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