Ollie Horgan expecting another difficult game at Sligo

Finn Harps will keep battling for their Premier Division survival despite the team’s worst run of form since returning to the top flight at the beginning of March.
A little bit of luck is needed also as Ollie Horgan and Paul Hegarty put the final preparations in place for Saturday night’s North West derby against Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds (kick-off 7.45).
And not surprisingly Horgan expects the short away trip to be a very difficult assignment for a team that is struggling at the moment.
The hosts will go into the game as favourites following a good run of results since the mid-season break. However, Harps do have a very good record against them this year drawing at the Showgrounds in March and recording a very important 3-0 win over their neighbours in Finn Park at the beginning of June.
However, on the back of five defeats Horgan men’s are short on confidence and have not scored in the Premier Division since Friday 8th of July when Sean Houston found the back of the net in the 1-0 win over Galway United in Ballybofey.
Horgan will obviously be looking at options to address the lack of goals but it can only be done from within the current squad, which is quite a challenge.
The manager could look at restoring strikers Dave Scully, if fit, and Ryan Curran to the starting 11 and the return of Adam Hanlon in the middle of the park is an option while Josh Mailey would certainly be in contention to come back into the side.
“Sligo have improved as the season progressed and are one of the form teams in the league at the moment. They had an away win in Cork which is very rare. They have great movement and play attractive football with some very talented and quick players. It’s going to be another difficult game away for us.” Horgan said.
Damian McNulty (knee) is the only definite absentee. He scored the cracking volley that gave Harps the 1-1 draw at the Showgrounds back in March.
Both Barry Molloy and Dave Scully are both carrying knocks so a decision on their fitness will not be made until nearer match time. Harps biggest win of the season came against Sligo in early June in Ballybofey where Sean Houston scored twice either side of a goal from Ryan Curran.
Manager Dave Robertson will have to plan without veteran Raphael Cretaro and Craig Roddan who are both suspended.