- Stuart Connolly
- Sat, Aug 21 2021
Stuart Connolly reports from Finn Park.
Tunde Owolabi netted a clinical hat-trick at Finn Park as Finn Harps boosted their hopes of survival while also damaging St. Pat's in their bid to challenge for the title.
Tunde Owolabi opened the scoring just after ten minutes with Chris Forrester replying instantly from the penalty spot. Owolabi netted his second shortly before the break and sealed his hat-trick nine minutes into the second half.
The win puts Finn Harps into 7th place while St. Pat's remain three points behind Shamrock Rovers, who have two games in hand due to their European adventures.
The early pressure in the game fell the way of the visitors as the Inchicore Outfit had a decent number of corners while their best chance was hit into the side netting by Nahum Melvin-Lambert.
Harps' best chance in the early stages came via Tunde Owolabi who broke clear of his marker but his low shot was well parried by Vitezslav Jaros.
The goalkeeper on loan from Liverpool could do nothing about his next effort though with Owolabi clinically finishing past the Czech from just inside the area after a short pass from Karl O'Sullivan.
Harps barely had time to enjoy leading in the encounter when Damien MacGraith awarded St. Pat's a penalty, with Barry McNamee punished for an unfortunate handball.
Chris Forrester stepped up and made no mistake from 12-yards, calmly slotting his spot kick into the bottom left corner.
The immediate response from the visitors took the hosts by surprise but they kept their cool as much of the first half remained very open.
The open nature of the first half ultimately resulted in Harps regaining the lead five minutes before the interval as Owolabi raced onto a ball over the top from McNamee.
From inside his own half, the former Cork City man played a pinpoint pass over the away rearguard and former Hamilton striker Owolabi took control, cutting inside the area on the right side before bearing down on goal and lashing a fierce shot beyond the grasp of Jaros and into the far corner.
St. Pat’s made a triple substitution at half-time but it certainly didn’t have the desired effect as they found themselves two goals down nine minutes into the second half, albeit in slightly controversial circumstances.
After regaining possession in the midfield, Ryan Connolly played a ball forward for Owolabi, who looked to be in an offside position. The away defence stood still while the linesman kept his flag down as Owolabi raced clear before going around Jaros and tucking the ball in from an acute angle for his hat-trick.
St. Pat’s players were aghast at the call from the linesman and protested excessively but the officials were unmoved by their objections.
Not satisfied with just three goals, Owolabi went in search of more and came close to a fourth for the evening with a little over ten minutes to go but Jaros thwarted the strikers effort from the edge of the area.
Yet another chance fell his way minutes later after a weaving run inside the area but his path was blocked, allowing McNamee an opportunity from close range but his shot was also snuffed out.
The final actions in the match saw the hosts under considerable pressure from the visitors as ball after ball was launched into the area in a bid to force the issue.
The home defence and goalkeeper held firm for the most part, barring one chance from substitute Kyrian Nwoko, who fired a low shot off the base of the post from inside the area.
Fellow substitute Ronan Coughlan fashioned the last shot of the game, keeping McGinley alert with the shot-stopper getting down well to deny the former Sligo Rovers player.
Finn Harps: Mark McGinley; Jordan Mustoe, Ethan Boyle, David Webster, Karl O’Sullivan(Johnny Dunleavy 75); Ryan Connolly, Mark Coyle, Ryan Rainey(Stephen Doherty 90), Will Seymore, Barry McNamee; Tunde Owolabi(Adam Foley 87).
Subs not used: Gerard Doherty, Nathan Logue, Luke Rudden
St. Pat’s: Vitezslav Jaros; Sam Bone, Paddy Barrett(James Abankwah 89), Ian Bermingham, Jason McClelland(Darragh Burns ht); Alfie Lewis, Chris Forrester, Ben McCormack(Kyrian Nwoko 60), Matty Smith; Billy King(Ronan Coughlan ht), Nahum Melvin-Lambert(Jak Hickman ht).
Subs not used: Barry Murphy, Jamie Lennon, Kian Corbally, Sam Curtis.
Referee: Damien MacGraith
ExtraTime.com Player of the match: Tunde Owolabi (Finn Harps)
