Sporting Fingal -v- Finn Harps

• Niall Farrell
• Fri, Sep 25 2009


Third placed Sporting Fingal host Finn Harps at the Morton Stadium tonight (kick off 7.45pm), with Sporting seeking to make up for their failure to get anything out of Monday’s home fixture with Wexford Youths.

Finn Harps had won their last three matches and hadn’t lost since a 2-1 defeat to Limerick in early August before their shocking 5-0 home defeat to UCD last weekend.

Marc Brolly should return from suspension for Harps, but manager James Gallagher is serving out the third of a four-match touchline ban picked up as a result of his dismissal from the dugout in the 1-1 draw with Shelbourne last month. Oisin McMenamin (knee), Seamus Sharkey (ankle), Shaun McGowan (hamstring), Fintan Bonner and Johnny Havlin remain sidelined, but Conor Gethins and Gary Whoriskey could return for the Ballybofey side.

Sporting Fingal have the luxury of a full squad to choose from at this crucial stage of the season.

James Gallagher, manager of Finn Harps, commented on the tie: “I’ll be looking for a reaction from our players and want them to show me and the supporters how much the defeat last week hurt them. Fingal are also coming back from a defeat on Monday night, and I think that was the first time they had lost in ten games. It could work one of two ways for them – they will bounce back from it, or it could sow a seed of doubt in their minds. We have done okay against them this season – we beat them in Ballybofey but lost 1-0 in Dublin – and I don’t think they like playing against sides who won’t let them settle and get in their faces a bit.”

Extratime.ie Prediction: A tough one to call, given that both sides lost their last matches. Fingal to win, but not by much if Finn Harps can manage to make them work a bit like Wexford Youths did. On the other hand, if Fingal get going they could rip through Harps as UCD did last week. Anything apart from a Fingal win seems unlikely though.