Finn Harps 2
Sligo Rovers 2
Alan Foley reports from Ballybofey
FINN HARPS PULLED an unlikely point from the fire with late goals from Sean Boyd and Karl O’Sullivan grabbing a draw in the north-west deby with Sligo Rovers.
It looked as though it was as comfortable as Liam Buckley ever might have imagined, with goals coming from Johnny Kenny and Niall Morahan in the first quarter-hour of the second half against a Harps team who lost Kosovar Sadiki to a straight red.
Sligo, at 0-0, saw Mark Anthony McGinley save a Kenny penalty with his legs, although it looked to have mattered little until Boyd and O’Sullivan brought late drama
The home side lost Kosovar Sadiki in only the fifth minute, with the Canadian catching Kenny and referee Damien McGraith instantly flashing a red card.
Harps were furious, claiming Sadiki didn’t even see Kenny, who was returning from an offside position, as he stretched for the ball.
It meant a defensive rejig for Ollie Horgan’s team with Will Seymore moving back to full-back and David Webster slotting in at centre-half. Up front, Tunde Olwolabi was denied the opening goal by Garry Buckley, who cleared off the line, on 26 minutes after rounding Ed McGinty from a delicately threaded ball by Barry McNamee.
However, it was Liam Buckey’s team who were the ones pushing the case, with McGinley in the Harps goal making a series of saves late in the half.
The most notable of those was with his legs from Kenny’s penalty after Mark Coyle was adjudged to have fouled Kenny. Harps supporters made it known that every 50-50 decision seemed to be going against them.
McGinley was at a full stretch to bat away a shot from Adam McDonnell and then produced an equally good save from Walter Figuiera.
The antics of their goalkeeper, and indeed a touch of defiance, kept Harps ticking over on terms until the interval. But the manner in which Sligo started the second half extinguished the fight from the hosts on a dreadfully wet and windy night.
Only two minutes into the second half, Kenny got away and managed to win the race with McGinley to stab home precisely across goal and into the bottom corner.
Then, with Ryan Connolly failing to clear a Sligo corner on 56 minutes, Morahan wasn’t closed down on the edge of the penalty area and chested down and planted an excellently-taken second.
It seemed to be drifting towards a lame conclusion for the hosts, with a handful of their supporters making their way towards the exits.
However, Boyd scrambled in a goal from Jordan Mustoe’s corner to cut the deficit in half before O’Sullivan drove a diagonal shot past McGinty in the fourth of the four minutes of injury time after good work from Ethan Boyle.
Finn Harps: Mark Anthony McGinley; David Webster (Adam Foley), Shane McEleney, Kosovar Sadiki, Jordan Mustoe; Will Seymore (Ethan Boyle half-time), Mark Coyle: Barry McNamee (Dan Hawkins 65), Ryan Connolly (Karl O’Sullivan 65), Ryan Rainey; Tunde Owolabi (Sean Boyd 65).
Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty; Lewis Banks, Robbie McCourt, Niall Morahan, Ryan De Vries; Walter Figuiera (Melvyn Lorenzen 79), Adam McDonnell, John Mahon, David Cawley; Johnny Kenny (Romeo Parkes 79), Garry Buckley.
Referee: Damien McGraith.
