Finn Harps 1
Derry City 0
Alan Foley reports from Finn Park
HARRY ASCROFT HEADED the only goal of the north-west derby at Finn Park as Finn Harps grabbed three vital points with a narrow win over Derry City.
The Australian left Peter Cherrie, the Derry goalkeeper, rooted to the spot on 66 minutes from Tony McNamee’s long throw-in in front of a crowd of 1,523.
McNamee, the younger brother of Derry captain Barry, was only on the field a matter of seconds on the night another pint-sized Harps midfielder, Raffaele Cretaro, celebrated his 500th League of Ireland appearance.
Of more pressing concern to Harps manager Ollie Horgan was the fact his team cashed in on UCD’s 2-1 reversal at Belfield against Waterford. Tonight’s results mean the Ballybofey residents are three points ahead of the Students, although with one more match played.
It took 37 minutes for either goalkeeper to be called into action and even at that, it was a tame effort. Ciaran Coll, the former Harps captain, squared to David Parkhouse and his effort on goal was blocked by Sam Todd and headed back to Mark Anthony McGinley in the Harps goal by Ascroft.
That was the first of a handful of efforts from the visitors towards the end of the half. Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe cut in from the right and forced McGinley to save with his feet.
Then, right before half-time, a sloppy clearance from McGinley spun right into the air and Parkhouse headed wide as he was clattered by the Harps goalkeeper. The chance came after Cretaro had lost possession on the edge of his own penalty area.
Things were still scoreless nine minutes into the second half, when McGinley certainly made amends with a fantastic one-handed save after Jamie McDonagh shot first time from 17 yards when a gap in the Harps defence had been picked by a smart pass from Greg Sloggett.
Ascroft’s goal gave Harps, renowned for the doggedness, something to hold onto. McDonagh returned the favour to Sloggett moments after Harps goal, only for Derry to miss out on the change of an instant equalizer with the header bouncing just wide.
Mikey Place, whose penalty defeated Waterford United 1-0 at the RSC a week beforehand, made space for himself with a neat turn on Ally Gilchrist 72 minutes in. However, the angle was too acute for the Harps striker and his shot rolled across the face of the visitors’ goal.
City manager Declan Devine would’ve found the scoreline a tough one to stomach, as he sat in the main stand serving a one-match suspension following a post-match incident with referee John McLoughlin following Derry’s scoreless home draw with UCD earlier this month.
With assistant Kevin Deery manning the dugout, Derry threw caution to the wind. Mark Russell got in an important block from McDonagh with four minutes left and a Michael McCrudden half-volley flew over the Town End crossbar.
Derry had scored nine times against their neighbours this season in their three previous encounters. Deery would’ve been disappointed that McGinley in the hosts’ goal wasn’t overly tested late on as Keith Cowan and Sam Todd marshalled things at the back for the home team.
Finn Harps: Mark Anthony McGinley; Daniel O’Reilly, Keith Cowan, Sam Todd; Jacob Borg, Harry Ascroft, Gareth Harkin, Mark Timlin (Tony McNamee 64), Mark Russell; Raffaele Cretaro (Shaun Doherty 84); Mikey Place (Liam Walsh 92).
Derry City:Peter Cherrie; Darren Cole, Eoin Toal (Michael McCrudden 77), Ally Gilchrist, Ciaran Coll; Greg Sloggett, Jamie McDonagh, Ciaron Harkin, (Conor Davis 80) Gerardo Bruna; David Parkhouse, Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe (Eoghan Stokes 77).
Referee: Neil Doyle.
Attendance: 1523
