Finn Harps manager Ollie Horgan says his side must be fully prepared for a Dundalk team determined to build a bit of momentum tomorrow night at Oriel Park (kick-off 7.45). Pat Hoban’s late goal gave the reigning champions a morale boasting win over Bohemians on Monday night after Vinny Perth’s outfit lost surprisingly to Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds last Friday night. “ We’ll be up against it in Dundalk tomorrow night. That win against Bohs on Monday night sets them up nicely so we’ll really need to be at the top of our game to cope with their attacking threat at Oriel Park. Ok, overall, they might not be going as well as expected but they are still a top side. Our lads are all set to go again and will be doing everything they can to get a result at Oriel Park” Horgan said
Harps will hoping to at least repeat the draw result they got against the Lilywhites in Ballybofey back in February. Horgan’s men drew 1-1 that night in Finn Park after taking the lead thanks to a Keith Cowan first half header, but big Graham Gartland’s equaliser meant it was a point each at the final whistle in Ballybofey..
Horgan says Harps are going to have to be patient and not concede early on. “Conceding early would leave us chasing the game and against a team of Dundalk’s pedigree that would be very difficult for us. We trained well on Monday and Tuesday and the lads are determined to keep plugging away in the belief that positive results will start happening for us. As I said after the Bohemians game on Friday, everyone at the club has to put their shoulder to the wheel to try and get us up and running. Some people weren’t that pleased when I said on the night we were promoted down at the Markets Field that Finn Harps were facing a monumental challenge in terms of competing, with limited resources, against the other teams in the Premier Division. I think now the reality of my comments back in Limerick is donning on everyone but there is a lot of goodwill towards Finn Harps and hopefully now we can repay that with a result in Dundalk. The standard in the Premier Division has definitely improved from when we were last there in 2017. It is a massive step up from the First Division. But, it’s great to be playing against the sides like Dundalk and our lads are looking forward to giving it a right good go at Oriel Park tomorrow night..”
In team news Jacob Borg joins Harry Ascroft, Mark Timlin, Gareth Harkin and Sean Boyd on the injury list. Raffaele Cretaro is doubtful while Colm Deasy is suspended.
- Wed, 25 Dec 2024
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