Finn Harps 2 - 1 Ipswich Town
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All the talk might have been of Roy Keane as he and his Ipswich Town side embarked on the first of their three Irish friendlies in Ballybofey, but it was the spirited youngsters from Finn Harps who were the toast of the town.
The north-westerners continued where they left off on Saturday night after their fine 3-2 win over Sporting Fingal made it five games unbeaten, with another fearless showing. Goals from Sean Houston and Marc Brolly added to the scalp of Celtic two years ago.
Keane sat an observant figure on the bench for all of the game, seldom getting to his feet as his side showed the beleaguered nature of a team who were still only returning from holidays, although that should not take away from the home side.
Houston scored the game’s opening goal when he headed home from six yards after Fintan Bonner and Ipswich full-back David Wright both climbed to meet Ian Rossiter’s free and the ball flew dangerously across the goal of former England goalkeeper Richard Wright and onto the head of Houston.
The Donegal side, who kept a good shape and almost went ahead as early as the sixth minute when Gary Whoriskey whizzed a free-kick just past the post. At the other end the closest the visitors came was when Jon Stead’s delicate touch from David Wright’s cross went inches wide of the far post.
Keane, as he had promised in the pre-match, rung the changes at half-time and his side showed more urgency after the break than they did before it. On 56 minutes they were level when a long ball from the defence set up a race for the ball between Liam Trotter and Harps’ 17-year-old goalkeeper Ciaran Gallagher. Trotter won the race, got a clip from Gallagher and substitute Conor Wickham drove the penalty right down the middle for 1-1.
Seamus Sharkey had just re-signed for Harps a matter of hours beforehand, but the former Letterkenny Rovers and Derry City centre-half made a telling intervention soon afterwards when he headed a dangerous Alan Quinn cross out from underneath the shadow of his crossbar.
Ciaran Gallagher atoned for the concession of the penalty with an excellent save from Owen Garvan on 68 minutes and although he struggled a couple of times to get a hold on Quinn’s corner, Harps broke. Fintan Bonner scampered away and when he saw the supporting Marc Brolly to his right, the ball ahead was perfectly weighted.
Brolly, with a tight angle, took the ball wide and his shot was deflected off Alex Bruce and past replacement goalkeeper Shane Supple.
The expected onslaught at the finish never materialised, as the Harps team continued to play with confidence and enjoyed expressing themselves. For Keane, it’s off to Portugal for a four-day warm weather training camp, before they return to these shores to play Waterford United on July 17 and Cork City two days later.
Finn Harps: Ciaran Gallagher; Ian Rossiter (Paddy Bonner 79), Seamus Sharkey, Packie Mailey, Ciaran Coll; Christy Conaghan, (Mark Moran 21) Shaun McGowan, Michael Funston, Gary Whoriskey (Brian Lafferty 64); Sean Houston (Marc Brolly 46), Fintan Bonner.
Ipswich Town: Richard Wright (Shane Supple 46); David Wright (Alex Bruce 46), Gareth McAuley (Veliche Shumulikoski 46), Tommy Smith, Damien Delaney; David Norris, Owen Garvan, Liam Trotter, Danny Haynes (Pim Balkestein 46); Jon Stead (Conor Wickham 46), Jon Walters (Alan Quinn 46).
Referee: Terence Moyne (Donegal).
The north-westerners continued where they left off on Saturday night after their fine 3-2 win over Sporting Fingal made it five games unbeaten, with another fearless showing. Goals from Sean Houston and Marc Brolly added to the scalp of Celtic two years ago.
Keane sat an observant figure on the bench for all of the game, seldom getting to his feet as his side showed the beleaguered nature of a team who were still only returning from holidays, although that should not take away from the home side.
Houston scored the game’s opening goal when he headed home from six yards after Fintan Bonner and Ipswich full-back David Wright both climbed to meet Ian Rossiter’s free and the ball flew dangerously across the goal of former England goalkeeper Richard Wright and onto the head of Houston.
The Donegal side, who kept a good shape and almost went ahead as early as the sixth minute when Gary Whoriskey whizzed a free-kick just past the post. At the other end the closest the visitors came was when Jon Stead’s delicate touch from David Wright’s cross went inches wide of the far post.
Keane, as he had promised in the pre-match, rung the changes at half-time and his side showed more urgency after the break than they did before it. On 56 minutes they were level when a long ball from the defence set up a race for the ball between Liam Trotter and Harps’ 17-year-old goalkeeper Ciaran Gallagher. Trotter won the race, got a clip from Gallagher and substitute Conor Wickham drove the penalty right down the middle for 1-1.
Seamus Sharkey had just re-signed for Harps a matter of hours beforehand, but the former Letterkenny Rovers and Derry City centre-half made a telling intervention soon afterwards when he headed a dangerous Alan Quinn cross out from underneath the shadow of his crossbar.
Ciaran Gallagher atoned for the concession of the penalty with an excellent save from Owen Garvan on 68 minutes and although he struggled a couple of times to get a hold on Quinn’s corner, Harps broke. Fintan Bonner scampered away and when he saw the supporting Marc Brolly to his right, the ball ahead was perfectly weighted.
Brolly, with a tight angle, took the ball wide and his shot was deflected off Alex Bruce and past replacement goalkeeper Shane Supple.
The expected onslaught at the finish never materialised, as the Harps team continued to play with confidence and enjoyed expressing themselves. For Keane, it’s off to Portugal for a four-day warm weather training camp, before they return to these shores to play Waterford United on July 17 and Cork City two days later.
Finn Harps: Ciaran Gallagher; Ian Rossiter (Paddy Bonner 79), Seamus Sharkey, Packie Mailey, Ciaran Coll; Christy Conaghan, (Mark Moran 21) Shaun McGowan, Michael Funston, Gary Whoriskey (Brian Lafferty 64); Sean Houston (Marc Brolly 46), Fintan Bonner.
Ipswich Town: Richard Wright (Shane Supple 46); David Wright (Alex Bruce 46), Gareth McAuley (Veliche Shumulikoski 46), Tommy Smith, Damien Delaney; David Norris, Owen Garvan, Liam Trotter, Danny Haynes (Pim Balkestein 46); Jon Stead (Conor Wickham 46), Jon Walters (Alan Quinn 46).
Referee: Terence Moyne (Donegal).
