Finn Harps stretched their unbeaten run to five games after a nail biting win against Kerry FC at Finn Park.
Finn Harps….4 Kerry FC….2
By Stuart Connolly at Finn Park with pics by Joe Boland
‘Remontada’ was the word floating around the football sphere during the week, and after some in the European game, Harps produced a turnaround of their own in Ballybofey on Friday night.
Gavin Hodgins netted from the spot, but Harps trailed at the break after strikes from Samuel Aladesanusi and Okwuy Okwute.
Max Hutchison scored the equaliser, and the comeback was complete when Dara McGuinness converted a penalty in the second half, and he put the icing on the cake with another goal in injury time.
For his first match in the dugout, Kevin McHugh made two changes as Gavin Hodgins and David Cawley replaced Joel Thompson and Conor Tourish.
Hodgins was involved quite heavily during the opening stages, and fashioned the game’s first chance, only for his path to goal to be blocked by Samuel Aladesanusi.
The next 20 minutes were relatively quiet with only former Harps player Okwuy Okwute getting a shot away that was well closed down by David Aziaya.
In the 22nd minute, some determination from Hodgins resulted in a spot kick after he was hauled down by two players in yellow.
He dusted himself down, and converted the penalty coolly with some slight assistance from the post on the right side.
Hodgins almost added a second to proceedings a few minutes later, but his close range strike brushed the side netting.
Harps were piling the pressure on, and just prior to the half hour, they should have had a second, as McNamee struck towards goal, only for it to deflect over off of David Cawley.
Just moments later, after Kerry had soaked up the pressure, they applied a little bit of their own and found a leveller.
Okwute floated a corner in from the right, and Christopher McQueen got a telling touch to take it past Aziaya and Aladesanusi was there to ensure it crossed the line.
Ten minutes before half time, Harps fell 2-1 behind. Okwute, back on his old stomping ground, played a one-two with Luke Palmer, and from a narrow angle after a pass into the box, Okwute lifted it over Aziaya.
The final ten minutes of the half was a tale of two headers, with one at each end.
Joel Bradley-Walsh provided the cross for Harps’, as Max Hutchison was denied by the fingertips of Tim-Oliver Heimer.
Oran Crowe had the better opportunity before the interval, but headed over from less than six yards out.
The visitors had the first crack at goal in the second half as Aziaya was quick off his line to thwart Crowe with five gone.
Not long after, Kerry were a whisker away from a third, as Sean McGrath lobbed Aziaya, only to see it fall just wide of the target.
The chances kept on coming as McGuinness was thwarted by Heimer, and just a few minutes before the hour, Harps found their equaliser. McNamee’s long throw-in from the left floated in the air, and Hutchison got a deft header to take it into the back of the net.
With 20 minutes to go, Harps were awarded a second penalty of the night as McGuinness was pushed in the area by Abel Alabi.
The former Stoke City youngster took control, and calmly put away the shot from 12 yards.
With chances on a conveyor belt, Harps almost stretched their lead via a strike from Gradi Lomboto that fizzed wide, and the lead was almost wiped out just as quick as Aziaya was called upon to make a strong stop to deny Brookwell with quarter of an hour to go.
As the minutes ticked away, both sides had efforts cleared off the line. Sean O’Connell and Hutchison getting the applause as they denied McGuinness and Okwute respectively.
Harps made sure of the three points in stoppage time when McGuinness blasted home from close range after a precise pass from McNamee.
Finn Harps: David Aziaya, Michael Place, Max Hutchison, Josh Cullen, Joel Bradley-Walsh; David Cawley(Aaron McLaughlin 76), Gavin Gilmore, Tony McNamee, Gradi Lomboto(Patrick Ferry 90), Gavin Hodgins(Anto Dodd 81); Dara McGuinness.
Kerry FC: Tim-Oliver Heimer; Kevin Williams, Samuel Aladesanusi(Abel Alabi 68), Christopher McQueen, Sean O’Connell; Niall Brookwell, Oran Crowe, Sean McGrath(Cian Brosnan 81), Okwuy Okwute; Luke Palmer(Ryan Kelliher 62), Joseph Adams(Eemeli Honkola 81).
Referee: Alan Patchell.
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