Finn Harps -v- Monaghan United

• Simon O'Gorman
• Sat, Sep 03 2011


Monaghan United will be looking to overcome their disappointment at exiting the FAI Cup in midweek as they travel to Ballybofey to face Finn Harps in the latest round of Airtricity First Division games. (Kick off, 7.45pm)

Monaghan suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Cup holders Sligo Rovers last Wednesday night having seemingly done the hard work by drawing 0-0 at the Showgrounds the on the previous Saturday. There was no shame in exiting to such an impressive side as Sligo but Monaghan are an ambitious side and the scale of the defeat will surely rankle. The question is how will Roddy Collins’ men respond?

The northern side certainly have everything to play for in terms of the league lying just one point shy of the automatic promotion places in third. The Mons have been impressively consistent this season and despite being a point behind second placed Cork City they have a game in hand over the Rebels, who also face a tough assignment against Limerick FC this weekend.

Monaghan have lost just twice in their last 12 league outings and have only been beaten three times all season. They have also won their last six away from home and have lost just once on their travels this year.

Previous encounters with Finn Harps have yielded a 1-0 win at Gortakeegan back in May and a 2-2 draw at Finn Park in the early weeks of the season. Collins will have to plan without midfielder Eric Foley for this game as he serves a suspension, a fact that will no doubt please the Harps fans as it was Foley who scored both Monaghan goals in their 2-2 draw in Ballybofey.

Harps manager Peter Hutton also has one player suspended as Aaron O’Hagan is forced to watch from the sidelines.

Having suffered a terrible start to the 2011 season Harps have recovered somewhat under Hutton who took from the James Gallagher in early May. Harps took just three points from their opening twelve league games but have managed to gather a further 18 in the eleven games since then.

Hutton’s men have now won three of their last four league matches, a narrow 2-1 defeat to promotion chasing Limerick being the only blot on that particular landscape. They will also be pleased that goal-scoring duties have started to fan out among the squad when they had previously been overly reliant on the efforts of striker Kevin McHugh.

Finn Harps
Injured: Unavailable.
Doubtful: Unavailable.
Suspended: Aaron O’Hagan.

Monaghan United
Injured: Unavailable.
Doubtful: Unavailable.
Suspended: Eric Foley.

Referee: Paul McLoughlin.
Paddy Power Odds: Harps 5/2; Draw 12/5; Monaghan 10/11.
Extratime prediction: It’s hard to see beyond a Monaghan win; 3-1 to the visitors.