A goal right on the stroke of half-time by Sean Maguire has Cork City one up against Finn Harps
Half-time: Finn Harps 0 Cork City 1
Harps will have been happy with how the performed and defended until that moment, in the 45th minute when Maguire – Cork’s match-winner in the 2016 FAI Cup final win over Dundalk – got on the end of a Jimmy Keohane flick-on.
Maguire was the picture of cool in the driving rain as he finished from close range.
There is no place in the Harps starting eleven for Paddy McCourt, but he is named among the substitutes.
The former Celtic winger was signed by Harps after training last week and played in a friendly against Cabinteely on Saturday – and is expected to feature at some stage tonight.
Horgan included in his starting XI four debutants with Killian Cantwell, Caolan McAleer, Danny Morrissey and Ciaran O’Connor all making their bows in the blue.
Buncrana native Jonny Bonner was also included having returned for another stint at Finn Park.
Bonner had Harps’ first shot of 2017, but curled an early free well over the Town End crossbar after O’Connor was fouled 30 yards from Mark McNulty’s goal.
In testing conditions and on an in-parts mushy surface, that was only given the go-ahead by Rob Rogers, the referee, at 4.45 this afternoon, coherence was hard to come by.
Former Derry winger Steven Dooley had a pop in the seventh minute after a Greg Bolger free was only partially cleared, but his attempt was always rising.
Kevin O’Connor managed a shot on target just before the half-hour mark, but a low effort in the greasy conditions was held by Gallagher when it might well have caused some angst.
Finn Harps: Ciaran Gallagher; Ethan Boyle, Damien McNulty, Killian Cantwell,; Caolan McAleer, Barry Molloy, Jonny Bonner, Sean Houston, Ciaran Coll; Danny Morrissey, Ciaran O’Connor.
Cork City: Mark McNulty; Conor McCormack, Johnny Dunleavy, Ryan Delaney, Kevin O’Connor; Jimmy Keohane, Gearoid Morrissey, Greg Bolger, Steven Dooley; Garry Buckley; Sean Maguire.
Referee: Rob Rogers (Dublin).
