A victory for Finn Harps over Longford Town in Ballybofey this Friday night (kick-off 8.00) would be a big step in club’s bid to stay out of the relegation zone.
It’s the start of three home Premier Division games in the space of seven days for Ollie Horgan’s side but Longford is the game that the manager will have definitely earmarked for a win. And there is an extra incentive to achieve that objective as it is the only opportunity Harps will have this season to secure maximum points against any opposition.
It has the potential to be a hugely significant night as a victory for Horgan’s men and defeat for Wexford Youths, who are hosting Derry City, would put an eight-point gap between the two sides. And that would give the Donegal team a big advantage with eight league games remaining. “We have been on 23 points for the last two months and need to get something on the board, even a point on Friday night to move on to some degree. Despite the results the lads have never stopped working so they deserve a bit of luck to get us back on track and obviously a win is what we want against Longford” Horgan said.
The manager also stressed the importance of a big crowd to give the team a lift and drive the players on in the bid to secure what would be three very precious points. “It’s a huge game on Friday for both teams. We are both fighting for our lives to stay in the Premier Division. So it’s important now that we get a big support in Ballybofey as we are all very aware that we need a result against Longford.” Currently Harps are third from bottom five points ahead of Wexford Youths. Longford are bottom eight adrift of Wexford and 13 points behind Horgan’s side.
Damian McNulty remains absent due a knee injury, while the manager has also ruled Ruairi Keating out after he was withdrawn on Monday night at Oriel Park with concussion. Adam Hanlon, who did not feature in the squad for the Dundalk game, is rated doubtful for tomorrow night. On the plus side Ethan Boyle returns after serving a one-match ban while Barry Molloy and Sean Houston are available after not taking any part in Monday night’s match against the league champions. Molloy and Houston are likely to be recalled to the starting 11 while Horgan could opt for Dave Scully to replace Keating up front. U19 players B.J. Banda and Mark Coyle will be with the senior squad for the Longford match. And then on Saturday the pair are expected to play for the Finn Harps U19s in a crucial match against Dundalk. Burt lad Coyle made his premier division debut as a sub in Dundalk while Banda also came on as a late replacement
At the end of March, a 57th minute Ryan Curran penalty gave Harp’s a 1-0 victory over the Midlanders at Finn Park. Goals in either half from Josh Mailey and Tony McNamee made it a 2-0 win for Harps at the City Calling Stadium in late June, which was the first game after the mid-season break. The Donegal outfit haven’t picked up a point or scored a goal since the 8th of July when Sean Houston got the winner against Galway United in Ballybofey
TEAM NEWS
Suspended: None
Doubtful: Adam Hanlon
Injured: Ruairi Keating, Damien McNulty
RECORD AGAINST LONGFORD TOWN (All Competitions)
Friday’s game will be the 84th meeting of the two clubs, and the 40th to be played in Finn Park.
Total Games: 83 (40 in Finn Park)
Harps Wins: 37 (21 in Finn Park)
Longford Wins: 24 (10 in Finn Park)
Draws: 22 (12 in Finn Park)
Harps Goals: 131 (74 in Finn Park)
Longford Goals: 41 (49 in Finn Park)
LAST 10 GAMES v LONGFORD TOWN
12-Jul-13 Finn Harps 0-0 Longford Town (First Division)
07-Sep-13 Longford Town 3-1 Finn Harps (First Division)
18-Apr-14 Longford Town 1-0 Finn Harps (First Division)
13-Jun-14 Finn Harps 0-1 Longford Town (First Division)
09-Aug-14 Longford Town 0-0 Finn Harps (First Division)
12-Oct-14 Finn Harps 0-2 Longford Town (First Division)
29-May-15 Longford Town 1-1 Finn Harps (FAI Cup)
01-Jun-15 Finn Harps 0-0 Longford Town (FAI Cup)
26-Mar-16 Finn Harps 1-0 Longford Town (Premier Division)
25-Jun-16 Longford Town 2-0 Finn Harps (Premier Division)
OUR LAST MEETING WITH LONGFORD TOWN
26th March 2016. Finn Park. SSE Airtricity Premier Division
LONGFORD TOWN 0
FINN HARPS 2 Josh Mailey 18, Tony McNamee 74
Longford Town – Paul Skinner; Kealan Dillon, Rhys Gorman, Conor Powell, Daniel O’Reilly; Kevin O’Connor, Philip Gannon (Don Cowan 72), Mark Hughes, Peter McGlynn (Kaleem Simon 79); David O’Sullivan, Lee Duffy (Josh O’Hanlon 60).
Finn Harps – Richard Brush; Josh Mailey, Damien McNulty, Keith Cowan; Ethan Boyle, Barry Molloy, Gareth Harkin (Raymond Foy 16), Tony McNamee (Michael Funston 82), Ciaran Coll; Sean Houston, Ryan Curran (Liam Flatley 89).
Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin).
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