League Preview: Finn Harps -v- Galway FC

• Trevor Murray
• Sat, Mar 29 2014




FINN HARPS

With three clean sheets, two wins and one draw to date since the beginning of the First Division's new campaign, Ollie Horgan's men head into Saturday night's clash with Galway FC at Finn Park as the firm favourites.

 

Entering the tie on the back of a huge 5-0 home win over Cobh Ramblers, the fans couldn't possibly have asked for a more scintillating start to proceedings.

 

Key to their great start has been Pat McCann who's already scored a trio of strikes for Harps – two of which he put away in their big win over the Rams.

 

And with the league leaders well on their way to banishing the memories of last season's poor performance which saw them finish third from bottom, there's plenty of reason to believe they can cause a few more shocks along the way.

 

Going into the encounter with home advantage for the second week in a row, manager Horgan will surely do all he can to ensure his side come away with maximum points. He'll know just how vital it is to take full advantage of the spoils on offer when things are going your way.

 

After all, winning the league is an arduous task and it can be a cruel mistress.

 

Horgan spoke before the tie, highlighting Galway's strength in depth: “They have quality players like Ryan Connolly, Vinny Faherty and Gary Shanahan who have all played with top Premier Division sides. Add in young Ryan Manning and Jason Molloy and they will pose a huge attacking threat to us.”

 

With a relatively meagre 451 in attendance for their impressive dismantling of Cobh Ramblers, Horgan was keen to drum up support for his side ahead of what’s sure to be an entertaining matchup: “It would be great to see a big crowd come out on Saturday as a good atmosphere can definitely play its part in encouraging any team, and we are no different.”

 

GALWAY FC

With quite an inconsistent performance from the West's newcomers, Galway FC are expecting yet another tough task when they travel north to face the league's in-form side.

 

Having yet to find the net as a team, Galway's second highest goal-scorer of all-time, Vinny Faherty is likely to continue to feel the weight of expectancy on his shoulders until he and the rest of their attacking ensemble can procure some much-needed goals.

 

The men from Connacht are nowhere near a crisis, but it's the lack of a finishing touch that can really deal a blow to any team's confidence. Fans will be hopeful that issue is addressed this Saturday.

 

An inability to properly control home matches has led to Tommy Dunne’s men getting off to a poor start that they could end up regretting come the end of the season.

 

Of course, with such a long road ahead there is still more than enough time for one of the division’s best supported teams to turn things around.

 

And a draw or, even a win, against the odds would be a fantastic step in the right direction.

 

Speaking ahead of the weekend clash, Dunne revealed he wouldn’t allow his charges to be intimidated by the threat the hosts possess: “It's another testing game for us, in our minds, we can give anybody a game. We are going to Donegal with no fear. We have got to get ourselves prepared for the match on Saturday,"

 

Addressing the elephant in the room that is Galway’s misfiring forward line, he added: “The main thing is to pick up the three points. Scoring has been an issue, even though we have created lots of chances in a couple of games. Getting the finish will be important for the players so they can get confidence in front of goal.”

 

Referee: John McLoughlin

 

 

MATCH STATS

Galway are the only side across both divisions to have not scored a league goal yet.

 

Back in 2009, Galway United humbled Finn Harps in a 3-0 FAI Cup victory, before financial troubles eventually hit in 2011.

 

The last time Harps played a Galway-based side, in October 2013, the match ended in a scoreless draw, with one of Dunne’s current defenders Cian Fadden featuring as Salthill Devon entertained them at Drom Soccer Park.

 

Donegal outfit Harps have the best defensive record from either tier having impressively not conceded as of yet.

 

 

BETTING

Finn Harps 7/5; Draw 11/5; Galway FC 17/10

 

PREDICTION

The momentum is well and truly with Finn Harps for the visit of Galway and the statistics are also on their side. Provided they can use this to their advantage, they should emerge victorious. And although Galway will be intent on causing an upset against the best team in the league at the moment, they still have a lot of work to do to turn their stuttering start around over 90 minutes.

Expect Galway to really bring the game to the home side in the opening 20 minutes, but don’t be surprised to see Harps eventually shade it. A final scoreboard of 2-1 in favour of the table-toppers.

 

 

Galway FC

injury news: Alan Murphy (ankle) and Ross Kenny (hip) are both unavailable.

Suspensions: None

 

Finn Harps

injury news: Kevin McHugh (hamstring), Gareth Harkin (hamstring) and Seaon McCarron (fractured cheek) are all unavailable.

Doubtful: Ciaran Coll and Keith Cowan

Suspensions: None.