Can Finn Harps end their long wait for a national trophy come the final whistle on Saturday evening?
That is certainly the hope of Finn Harps U17 manager Declan Boyle, who will watch his under-17 string take on Cork City U17 in the Mark Farren Memorial Cup Final at Finn Park (5pm).
Boyle will be praying for a better result than the senior squad managed in that FAI Cup final 19 years ago, but no replays will be required for this evenly matched affair.
The Ballybofey side beat their neighbours and rivals Derry City 4-0 last week in the Northern Elite league in impressive fashion at the Brandywell, a feat that has only swelled belief in the Harps camp.
“The lads are going well,” Boyle said. “They are playing well and results are going for us at the moment, which obviously breeds confidence in the squad. There is a lot of positives going forward, but the final is going to to be a difficult match.
“Cork (City) are going well themselves, they brought in a few players in July and seemed to have turned a corner, they’re not at the top but their results in the last few weeks have been really positive.
“It is going to be a difficult task and I suppose the lads are looking forward to the match on Saturday. We trained well this week and we’ll be well prepared for kick-off come five o’clock.”
Finn Harps backed their underage structure with investment several years ago and Boyle is thrilled to see that beginning to pay dividends.
“Yeah, that’s the thing, it was a long time since we were in a national final and we lost that, so from a personal point of view it’s obviously a big match,” he added.
“The club has invested a lot into the underage plan in the last while and we are now seeing the rewards of that through good performances and greater quality coming into the club – which is a huge positive.
“But we work hard to develop and get better, helping the under seventeen team progress to the first team and win a trophy for the club – it’s not every day you get an opportunity to win a national trophy.”
The under-17 endeavours this season is a major compliment to the backroom staff implemented within the Finn Harps Academy – given the task of improving Harps at youth level in order to improve the quality of players coming through into senior soccer.
“We have good people involved at the club and that makes the job a wee bit easier, but you’ve got to put the time in on the training pitch, and so far, it has all been really going to plan.
“It’s year on year, so we’ve got to keep working, developing and recruiting players and the last three or four years we have done that,” he said.
“We have gone huge strides when it comes to getting quality players in and getting to finals is where we want to be.
“As a player, you want to test yourself against the best players and they have an opportunity to do that on Saturday (evening) and from the coaching point of view, we are delighted to get the opportunity to take a team this far, but we need to go out now and perform at a high level.
“Certainly to a better level than Cork City – making sure we bring our strong-points to the fore on Saturday.
“So, listen, it is going to be a battle, it’s going to be a difficult match, but we look forward to the game and the challenges ahead.”
Finn Harps U17
Boyle, who was appointed the U17 manager in 2015, has called on the Finn Harps faithful to turn out in large numbers for the event – insisting the ‘twelveth man’ could see them over the line.
“We’re obviously hoping that the Finn Harps supporters decide to come out and support the young lads, they need that support,” he said.
“The boys are worthy of getting that good support, we know that family and friends will turn out, and that’s great because we don’t get to a soccer final that often at Finn Park, so it’s an opportunity for the general public to come out and see what’s good at Finn Harps.
“We are hoping for a big crowd and the twelveth man, I think that could push us over the line,” Boyle added.
Saturday will mark the club’s first national final since 1999 – an opportunity that is pivotal for Harps’ underage structure.
“It will be great for the club, who have invested a lot of resources and money into the underage setup. When you invest in something you expect to see a return and that is important,” he said.
“We want to see players getting into the first team but to have an opportunity to win a national title, it is massive for everybody at the club.
“It would be nice to cap off what has been a good season for us at Finn Harps.”
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