Finn Harps -v- Longford Town
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Finn Harps striker Kevin McHugh is unlikely to play again this season due to a calf strain picked up two weeks ago against Salthill Devon.
The 31-year-old Harps captain was absentee last Friday night in the 5-2 loss at the hands of Cork City at Turner’s Cross and will definitely not feature in Saturday night’s penultimate home game against Longford Town (kick-off 7.45pm).
“Kevin’s groin strain means I doubt if he will be able to play for us again this season,” manager Peter Hutton said yesterday. “Right now we’re not certain whether he will or not but I would rate his chances as 60-40 against.”
Hutton added that he expects a reaction to the loss on Leeside last weekend, where both Stephen O’Donnell and Keith Cowan were red-carded in an eventful game that saw Harps’ defence breached for the first time in 412 minutes. That opening goal, which Davin O’Neill steered home from a Graham Cummins centre, appeared to be offside.
“I thought the referee (Sean Grant) was, to be fair, very poor,” Hutton added. “He’s known to be a bit card happy and we had experience of that only a couple of weeks beforehand in Waterford when he produced 13 cards during the game.”
As well as the suspensions and McHugh’s absence, Ciaran Coll has a hamstring complaint and will miss out although Mark McGoldrick, who also left the field against Salthill with a groin strain, will return and could well feature alongside Blain Curtis, who scored twice against Cork, up front against the midlanders.
Harps and Longford have met no less than four times already this season, with Tony Cousin’s team holding the advantage with three wins. Jacques Morley and Austin Skelly scored in a 2-1 win in Ballybofey in April, a match that marked the end of James Gallagher’s two years in charge of Harps. In the FAI Cup in June, the sides shared a scoreless draw before a late penalty rebound from Mark Salmon sealed Longford’s replay win at Finn Park. An exciting league fixture in July saw Longford come out on top of the 3-2 scoreline with Salmon scoring a hat-trick and getting a red card.
Niall O’Reilly and Michael Lee still remain out and they’ve been joined on the treatment table by Paul Hunt and Jacques Morley. Central defender Des Hope missed out last weekend, while Skelly was surprisingly omitted in favour of Jean Biansumba, although the top scorer was introduced from the bench for the last half hour.
Former Northern Ireland winger Keith Gillespie is suspended having been sent off in stoppage time in last weekend’s 2-1 victory against Monaghan United at home, which was Longford’s first win following three successive losses.
“Longford are a team with whom we’ve had a few meetings this season, between league and cup, and those games have been close,” Hutton added. “They’re an experienced and organised side who are streetwise and strong at set-pieces but we’ll be looking for a response from last week.”
Finn Harps:
Injured: Ciaran Coll (hamstring), Kevin McHugh (groin)
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Stephen O’Donnell, Keith Cowan
Longford Town:
Injured: Niall O’Reilly, Michael Lee
Doubtful: Paul Hunt, Jacques Morley, Des Hope
Suspended: Keith Gillespie
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
Paddy Power Odds: Finn Harps 6/4, draw 11/5, Longford Town 8/5
Extratime prediction: Finn Harps 1-0 Longford Town
