Costly missed chances as Harps held by lowly Longford                                                                                                                               

Missed chances meant Finn Harps could only muster a draw away to Longford Town tonight.

Longford Town 1

Finn Harps 1

Harps began the season with an exciting comeback victory at Bishopsgate, winning 2-3 after falling 2-0 behind in the early stages at a venue that has proved productive for them in recent seasons.

Longford have been struggling this season, currently laying at the bottom of the table , so perhaps an opportunity for Darren Murphy’s team to keep that good run at this venue intact.                                                                                                           

Patrick Ferry (main pic) returned to the starting line-up and got Harps off to the perfect start, slotting home from the left side of the attack in the 5th minute. The home side responded well and Jordan Adeyemo reacted well to a Kyle O’Connor cross but heading straight at Tim Hiemer in the 13th minute.                                                                                                                    Harps continued to look dangerous going forward and Ferry almost increased their lead in the 20th minute but his shot came back off the post with keeper Brady beaten.                                                                                                                                         

Longford hit back and went close twice in quick succession, Victor Serdeniuk heading just wide in the 26th minute and a minute later Dean O Shea’s header hitting the post. Tony McNamee was next to go close with a header, glancing his effort just wide in the 36th minute. Matt Makinson could have done better with another header opportunity, missed chances that could prove costly for Harps, but at half-time they led 0-1 through Patrick Ferry’s early strike.         

Success Edogun had an early chance in the second-half but he shot straight at keeper Brady in the 52nd minute. Then, Ferry fired a dangerous ball across the goalmouth and those missed chances were punished when Jordan Tallon equalised six minutes later with a good finish.                                                                                                                                                     

The home side, boosted by getting level, took control and had Harps under pressure and struggling to get quality possession. After a long period of no clear-cut chances, both teams went close within a minute. Mohammed Boudiaf for Longford and then home keeper Jack Brady twice denied Harps with good saves as Harps substitute Gavin McAteer impacted the game.

However it ended in a share of the points, Harps missed chances indeed proving costly.                                                                     Still, it’s a point gained and with UCD and Bray Wanderers also dropping points, it means Harps remain in a play-off position. They next host Kerry FC at Finn Park  on Thursday night, 4th July, with a 7-45pm kick-off.                                                              

Longford Town: Jack Brady    Kyle O’Connor,  Ross Fay ( Emmanuel James 86mins),  Dean O’Shea,  Viktor Serdeniuk, Karl Chambers  ( Adam Wixted 80mins), Jordan Tallon  , Mohammed Boudiaf  , Bastien  Hery  , Francis Campbell, Jordan Adeyemo.                                                                                                                  

Finn Harps: Tim Hiemer  , Jamie Watson, Noe Baba, Matthew Makinson,  Stephen Doherty , David Cawley  , Max  Johnston ,  Ryan Rainey, Tony McNamee ( Gavin McAteer 79 mins), Patrick Ferry , Success Edogun . 

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