Finn Harps 0

Shamrock Rovers 1 

Alan Foley reports from Finn Park 

SHAMROCK ROVERS CAN put their focus on Europe having overcome a stubborn Finn Harps in Ballybofey to post their third Premier Division victory on the bounce. 

Stephen Bradley’s team play host to Hibernians from Malta at Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday evening in the first leg of the first qualifying round of the Champion’s League. 

At Finn Park, Harps set up a rigid 5-4-1, which almost took them to half-time level only for Rory Gaffney to slide the opener at the very start of the one minute of injury time signalled by Neil Doyle, the fourth official. 

Harps had sat deep throughout the preceding 45 minutes and if anything, they sat too deep. Gaffney picked up possession 20 yards from goal and his shot flew straight into the bottom corner – one the aficionados would call a good old-fashioned daisy-cutter. 

Dylan Watts had Rovers’ best chance beforehand, finding himself a rare pocket of space on 22 minutes but not having enough on the shot to get the better of Gavin Mulreany. Five minutes afterwards, Watts did beat Mulreany – who had come a long way to punch – only to see his attempted lob land on the roof of the net. 

Eric McWoods was the one leading the line for Harps and when Roberto Lopes only half-cleared a fizzing strike from Barry McNamee, which Alan Mannus got down sharply to save, served as a warning to the visitors.  

But just as the tea queues were starting to form, Gaffney’s goal gave the respective managers’ team-talks a fresh complexion.  

Gaffney put in the most inviting of crosses and, within a minute of his introduction, Richie Towell hooked an improvised volley back across the Harps goal and not far off target. 

With Harps having pulled a point from the free last weekend against St Patrick’s Athletic, two down on 88 minutes then 2-2 by full-time, Rovers had been wanted. However, despite the Finn Park faithful willing their team on, there was to be no repeat, with Mannus relatively untested, while Aidomo Emakhu at the other end almost wrapped it up on the break, only for Mulreany to smother.

Finn Harps: Gavin Mulreany; José Carrillo (Yoyo Mahdy 87), Conor Tourish, Élie N’Zeyi, Rob Slevin, Regan Donelon (Dylan Duncan 77); Filip Mihaljević, Bastien Héry, Ryan Connolly, Barry McNamee (Mark Timlin 87); Eric McWoods (Luke Rudden 66). 

Shamrock Rovers: Alan Mannus; Sean Gannon (Sean Hoare 85) Roberto Lopes, Lee Grace; Ronan Finn (Barry Cotter 77),Chris McCann (Richie Towell 73), Gary O’Neill, Sean Kavanagh; Aaron Greene (Aidomo Emakhu 77), Rory Gaffney, Dylan Watts.

Referee: Oliver Moran