League Report: Finn Harps 1 - 0 Galway United

 

The three points sees Harps move up to seventh in the Premier Division table, level on points with Galway who are now winless in their last five games in all competitions.

 

Harps boss Ollie Horgan made three enforced changes to the side which picked up the Donegal side's first away win of the season against Longford Town on June 24th. Dave Scully, Adam Hanlon and Tommy McMonagle replaced the injured Gareth Harkin, Ciaran Coll and Ethan Boyle. 

 

Galway manager Tommy Dunne made two changes to his side which drew 1-1 with Bohemians in their last game. Padraic Cunningham and Jose Garcia replaced John Sullivan and Alex Byrne in the starting eleven. 

 

Both teams started the match well, the best chance of the opening fifteen minutes fell to Padraic Cunningham but he fired his shot over the bar. 

 

After 25 minutes, it seemed that both sides were cancelling each other out, both wasting one chance each. The game picked up a bit after the half-hour mark and Dave Scully was presented with the a golden opportunity to put Finn Harps in front, but he lost his footing which allowed Galway 'keeper Conor Winn to gather the ball.

 

The first half ended 0-0 in what was a dull 45 minutes of football, which had just one shot on target. The second-half started in a similar fashion to the first, but just a few minutes in Kevin Devaney hit a shot from distance that went just wide of Brush's right hand post.

 

Just after the hour mark Finn Harps looked to add a spark to the game, with Damien McNulty making some good runs down the wing and putting a few dangerous crosses into the box. One effort fell nicely for Adam Hanlon who tried to dink the ball over Connolly to unleash a shot but the midfielder was one step ahead.

 

However, Harps were not to be denied and with just over 20 minutes to go they broke the deadlock. Josh Mailey put a wonderful cross into the box which was well finished into the bottom corner by Sean Houston.

 

Galway reacted well to going a goal down. Colm Horgan hit a fantastic shot which had Brush beaten, but it smacked the upright.

 

With just over ten minutes to go, Ollie Horgan made an attacking change, bringing on Ruairi Keating for Ryan Curran. This was met with a big cheer from the home fans as it was Keating's third debut for Harps having previously enjoyed two productive spells on loan at Finn Park. Horgan also brought on Raymond Foy for Tony McNamee.

 

Tommy Dunne made a couple of changes himself bringing on Enda Curran and Gary Shanahan for Padraic Cunningham and Killian Cantwell.

 

Horgan made one last attacking change with less than five minutes to go, replacing Dave Scully with Kevin McHugh, who looked to be through on goal within a minute but was flagged offside.

 

The game ended 1-0 to boost Finn Harps' hopes of survival, with the club now 11 points clear of the relegation play-off. 

 

Keating admitted after the match that It was great to back at Harps after a spell at Galway where he was played sparingly. Meanwhile, both Horgan and Dunne stated after the match that a draw would have been a fair result, but sometimes these things happen in football.

 

 

Finn Harps: Richard Brush; Damien McNulty, Tommy McMonagle, Keith Cowan, Josh Mailey; Tony McNamee (Raymond Foy 79) Sean Houston, Adam Hanlon, Barry Molloy; Dave Scully (Kevin McHugh 86), Ryan Curran (Ruairi Keating 68).

Subs not used: Liam Flatley, Ciaran Gallagher, Michael Funston, Ryan McConnell.

Booked: R Keating (75).

 

Galway United: Conor Winn; Colm Horgan, Killian Cantwell (Gary Shanahan 76), Stephen Folan, Stephen Walsh; Paul Sinnott, Ryan Connolly, Kevin Devaney, Jose Garcia; Vinny Faherty, Padraic Cunningham (Enda Curran 73).

Subs not used: Cormac Raftery, Conor Melody, Mark Ludden, Conor Gleeson, Jesse Devers.

Booked: None.

 

 

Referee: Robert Rogers.

Attendance: 1030.

ExtraTime.ie Man of the Match: Sean Houston (Finn Harps).