Finn Harps 1 - 2 Derry City
Credit:
Finn Harps concluded a positive pre-season on something of a downer after going down 2-1 to north-west rivals Derry City in the JJ Reid Motors Trophy game in Ballybofey yesterday afternoon.
Harps had accumulated a growing momentum over the last number of weeks with a nine-match unbeaten run throughout a busy pre-season schedule, which included a win over Dundalk and a draw at Sligo Rovers.
However, they came unstuck in their final dress-rehearsal as goals from Rory Patterson and Ryan Curran left them nursing an all-too familiar derby defeat ahead of their EA Sports League-Cup opener against the Mayo League next Sunday.
Patterson, a 35th minute replacement for former Harps player Shaun Houston, opened the scoring five minutes before the break and, with a minute remaining, Curran got on the end of a Barry McNamee free-kick to double the visitors’ lead.
Paul McVeigh did manage to pull one back for Peter Hutton’s side three minutes into added time but it wasn’t enough to rescue their unbeaten run.
Both sides lined up with strong looking starting eleven’s, although there were notable absentees in the form of Ciaran Coll – ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury – and Michael Funston for Harps, while Derry were without Barry Molloy, Patrick McEleney and Michael Rafter.
While the state of the pitch did either side any favours, it was Derry who started the brighter – the visitors playing with a greater tempo and denying their opponents a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.
A speculative long-range strike that flew over the bar from Kevin McHugh was the closest the hosts came to troubling City netminder Gerard Doherty in the first-half.
Derry began to threaten shortly after the half-hour mark with Stewart Greacen’s powerful header from a Thomas Crawley corner saved well by the legs of Ciaran Gallagher, while moments later the Harps ‘keeper did well to tip a stinging Simon Madden half-volley past the post.
The opener came from a Harps mistake following a wayward pass from Michéal Doherty five minutes before the interval.
Eleven passes later Patterson was on the end of a Madden cut-back and the striker made no mistake from ten yards as he just got in front of James Doherty to slot the ball home.
Harps were slightly unlucky not to get back on level terms in the early stages of the second half as both Madden and opposite full-back, Dermot McCaffrey, inadvertently sliced two attempted clearances from Thomas McBride corners just past the frame of Doherty’s goal.
McBride’s third corner also went close to yielding a leveller but Matthew Crossan failed to keep his glancing header on target.
At the other end, Derry butchered a series of gilt-edged chances to extend their lead as Griffin failed to connect with a Crawley drag-back from three yards out, while shortly after the latter pounced on a loose Thomas Bonnar pass before feeding Ryan Curran.
The Derry replacement charged through on goal but Gallagher deflected his goal-bound effort onto the base of the post before Griffin also hit the woodwork with the rebound, as Harps somehow managed to scramble clear.
The result was put to bed in the 89th minute when McNamee’s delicious inswinger was flicked on by Patterson into the path of Curran, who headed home unchallenged from inside the area.
Harps, who were much more livelier after the break, pulled one back deep in stoppage time as McVeigh outmuscled Madden to head home a McBride corner.
Finn Harps: Ciaran Gallagher; James Doherty (Sean McCarron 55), Damien McNulty (Keith Cowan 55), Thomas McMonagle, Matthew Crossan; Aaron O’Hagan (Matt Harkin 55), Shaun McGowan; Thomas Bonnar, Thomas McBride, Michéal Doherty (Marc Brolly 72); Kevin McHugh (Paul McVeigh 68).
Derry City: Gerard Doherty; Simon Madden, Stewart Greacen, Ryan McBride (Shane McEleney 65), Dermot McCaffrey; Ruaidhri Higgins, Kevin Deery (Barry McNamee 46); Patrick Kavanagh (Ryan Curran 65), Shaun Houston (Rory Patterson 32), Thomas Crawley (Andy Devlin 78); Marc Griffin (Tony McNamee 88).
Referee: Paul McLaughlin.
