Finn Harps U19 manager Joe Boyle has called on Harps supporters to come out on and get behind his young guns when they take on high flying St. Patrick’s Athletic in Ballybofey tomorrow evening (kick-off 7.30pm), in what could be an epic Enda McGuill Cup semi-final.
Harps route to the final included comprehensive victories over Cavan/Monaghan and Derry City before a hard fought away win over Dundalk, which probably ranked as the side’s most impressive result this season, considering the number of players who were absent through injury and unavailability.
Both teams play in the Northern Division of the U19 SSE Airtricity League, where unbeaten Pats are the runaway leaders while Harps currently lie in third place and can be optimistic about securing a play-off position following an impressive season to date.
“It would be great to see Harps fans and indeed all football supporters come out on Tuesday because I think they will see good football being played by the two teams who have scored the most goals in the League,” Boyle said.
“Pat’s have several internationals in their ranks and are regarded by many as the best U19 team in the country, but on our day I believe we can compete with anybody”.
The Harps manager believes that the incentive of reaching a national final will be a huge motivator for his players.
He said: “Every team wants to play in the final and we’re no different, so the lads are relishing the opportunity to go all the way in this competition. Most of the team are underage again next year so playing in front of what will hopefully be a sizeable crowd in a big game will be invaluable experience.”
Boyle also points to the bigger picture of player development: “Ollie always has a number of U19 players in first team training and it has been very encouraging for everyone to see likes of Niall McGinley, Adam Duffy, Ryan Finn, Liam Walsh, Jamie Browne and Jamie Bell progress to senior squad.
“We were also pleased to see Michael Gallagher, Niall McGinley, James Carolan and Jamie Browne called up to train with Tom Mohan’s Ireland U19 home based squad.“
The U19s had the ideal preparation for the big game when they defeated Cavan/Monaghan 3-1 in a league match at Finn Park on Saturday with Mark McAteer, Ryan Finn and Niall McGinley on the scoresheet to secure the points for Harps.
