Match
Reports - Finn HarpsMatch
Reports - Finn Harps
It
was a day which promised excitement, drama, a twist in the tail and the opening
of the door to the promised land of the Premier League. What it delivered in
the end was utter predictability. There will be no excuses or tales of hard
luck from this reporter because over the season Rovers were simply not good
enough to be in the final shake up. It was disappointing that the team could
not at least produce a fighting performance which would leave us with some hope
for the future. But the truth is that this game was over before most of the
Rovers team realised it had started. At the risk of upsetting people this was
a headless chicken performance from Rovers which reminded this reporter of the
last game of the Tommy Casidy reign away to Home Farm Fingal. Too often Rovers
were second best in the tackle, too often the ball was hoofed forward at the
smallest pair of strikers in the league and too often the midfield were far
too deep and unable to provide any support to the front two. In the end the
result did not matter as Cobh got their win against Galway. 
The
kick-off was delayed for ten minutes to allow the large crowd to get into Finn
Park. The huge travelling support were in good voice and made themselves heard
right from the start of the game. Playing into a bitterly cold wind Rovers started
as they meant to continue. The only tactic employed was the long ball in behind
the Harps defence for Mc Tiernan and Cretaro to try and make something out of.
It almost worked early on as Mc Tiernan got free in the inside right channel.
The angle was too acute to go for goal but the total lack of support in the
centre left the striker with no other option and his shot went into the side
netting. Rovers needed to settle into the game and the last thing they needed
was an early goal against them, but that is exactly what happened. Mc Hugh went
on a run across the front of the Rovers box and let fly with a shot which fell
at the feet of Whitehead looking suspiciously offside. There was no flag or
no whistle and the striker beat Kelly with a low shot which left Don O'Riordans
team with it all to do. 
It
was to go from bad to worse shortly afterwards when Harps were awarded a free
kick on the edge of the box. The ball was drilled towards the top corner by
Mc Hugh but Kelly made a fabulous save. The keeper will feel he was entitled
to some help from his defence at this point but as the ball spun into the air
they were all caught ball watching and Whithead reacted first to head the ball
to the net. Rovers might have pulled one back when Harps failed to clear their
lines on the edge of the box. The ball eventually fell to O'Dowd who sent Cretaro
through in the inside right position. His cross could not be gathered by the
Harps keeper young and just as it looked like Gareth Gorman was going to knock
the ball into the empty net Declan Boyle got back to clear the ball virtually
off the line. During the first half this was the only chance that Rovers had
to pull a goal back.
The
second half started a little better and Rovers were almost gifted a bizarre
goal at the start of the half. Another long hoof forward seemed harmless enough
but the Harps keeper, Young, completely misjudged the bounce and just got enough
of a touch on the ball to stop it sailing over his head and into the net. Mc
Tiernan then had a shot which the keeper failed to hold but there was no Rovers
player following up and he was able to gather the ball. The Roscommon striker
then spun on a long ball forward and got in behind the defence but his first
touch was poor and carried the ball too far in front of him allowing the keeper
to make the save. Rovers got themselves back into the game when they were awarded
a corner kick on the right hand side of the pitch. Gareth Gormans kick was caught
in the wind and sailed over defender and attacker alike before resting in the
far corner of the net. This should have been the signal for Rovers to increase
the tempo but the midfield failed to get any grip on the game. At the other
end Harps might have increased their lead when Johnny Kenny's cross found Whitehead
and his header was briliantly saved by Kelly who plucked the ball out of the
air with one hand ala Pat Jennings.
Paul
Mc Tiernan tried to lob the goalkeeper after a goalmouth scramble but the ball
sailed harmlessly wide. John Jordan then had a header which was saved by Young
in the Harps goal. Harps scored a third late in the game at a time when Ian
Rossiter was on the ground injured. Jonathan Speae broke on the left and he
fed the ball into Kevin Mc Hugh. Kelly got a hand to his shot but the ball spun
up over his head and into the net. It was the final nail in Rovers coffin. Rovers
pushed forward looking for a consolation and might have had one as Gorman's
corner was met by Jordan but Young managed to save on the line. He was almost
caught near the end when a harmless looking ball into the box was caught in
the wind and he needed two attempts to get the ball under control on his goal
line.
The
way the other results fell a win would not have been good enough to get Rovers
into the play-offs. Promotion was not lost at Finn Park today it was lost in
places like St. Mels Park and St. Colemans Park where naivety and late goals
cost Rovers points which might have made the difference in the end. As we head
into the break it is hard to see how things can be improved. Rovers have planty
of good young players. What we don't have is enough experience to bring them
along. Unless the club can provide resources to bring in this experience then
First Division football will be our lot for the forseeable future.
As
North West Derbies go this one wont be remembered for the quality of the football.
It's hard to blame the players for this, though, as they were forced to battle
through conditions which made football virtually impossible. In fairness to
the groundstaff the Showgrounds pitch held up fairly well to the continuous
downpour. In recent weeks Rovers have played well, got in front and lost the
initiative. Tonight Rovers were not at the races at all for the first half and
conjured up a goal out of nothing to bring the team back into a game where they
should have been dead and buried. In the first half the visitors had the majority
of the possession and the better chances. They were first to every loose ball
and looked like the team who wanted to win most.
Harps were almost in front in the first minute when Kevin Mc Hugh rose above the Rovers defence to head a corner from the right a foot past an unprotected Rovers far post. Minutes later Ciaran Kelly dived low to stop a shot from Tom Mohan from entering the Rovers Net (Cheap plug - Ed) . Rovers response was a shot from Aubrey Dolan as the ball broke on the edge of the box, the Harps keeper spilled the ball and Paul Mc Tiernan was within inches of putting Rovers in front. Harps should have been in front shortly afterwards as a cross from the left found Mc Hugh in the box. His shot was partially blocked by Feeney allowing Kelly to make an easy save.
For
the remainder of the half the visitors had most of the possession but they didn't
really create a lot to trouble the home side. They did have the ball in the
net when Mc Hugh capitalised on a misjudgement from Ciaran Kelly but the linesman
had his flag raised and saved the Rovers keeper's blushes. Rovers had a free
kick in a very dangerous area on the eighteen yard box but Mark Hutchinson's
shot was very weak and caused little trouble to the Harps keeper. The game seemed
to be drifting towards a scoreless half time position when Harps produced a
goal out of the blue. The visitors won a corner on the left and when the ball
was played into the box it was flicked on and Donal O'Brien was at the far post
to side foot the ball into an unguarded net. Rovers defence was counted missing,
as our picture clearly shows, but you would have little argument that Harps
deserved to be in front.
Rovers
started the second half as they finished the first but somehow they managed
to drag themselves back into the game. If the Harps goal was due to poor defending
then Rovers got themselves back into the game with a goal the Harps management
team will cringe over. There seemed little danger as Owen O'Donoghue received
the ball on the left wing. His cross went over the Harps defence and found Rafael
Cretaro at the far post without a defender in sight. He beat Young with a beautifully
cushioned header back across the goal to bring Rovers back into the game, against
all odds. Rovers then had a period of dominance where they forced the visitors
back into their own penalty area. The home side won a series of corners on the
left hand side. The first one was cleared back to Cretaro who whipped in a viscous
cross which was deflected wide by a defender. Paul Mc Tiernan then wriggled
free of his marker and then cut inside before unleashing a shot which was tipped
over by Young.
Harps
rallied a bit in the middle of the half and Tom Mohan's cross was headed over
by Mc Hugh. Mohan and Mc Granaghan were beginning to cause Rovers problems and
when Harps won a corner on the right Rovers had a very lucky escape. The ball
into the box caused a mad scramble which eventually ended with Mohan thumping
a shot against the Rovers post with the home defence helpless. At the other
end Rovers sub, John Jordan elected to cut the ball back across the goal when
he might have been better off going for goal. Paul Mc Tiernan found some room
for himself before firing a shot over the bar.
Both sides had opportunities to win the game late on. A straight forward ball into the Rovers box caused confusion between the keeper and his defence and when Kelly dropped the ball at the feet of Mc Hugh we feared the worst. The Harps striker somehow managed to put the ball a foot over the bar with an empty goal gaping in front of him. In the dying seconds Rovers might have snatched an unlikely winner when Mc Tiernan charged down an attempted clearance from Young. The ball went inches past the post to save the blushes of the Harps keeper.
It wasn't a great performance by either side but the conditions did not help. A draw is really not enough for either side if they still harbour hopes of dragging themselves into the fight for promotion.
Rovers: Kelly, Rossiter, Feeney, O'Dwyer, Hutchinson, Cretaro, Dolan, Miller, O'Donoghue, Watson, Mc Tiernan
Subs: Jordan for Miller and Mc Namara for Feeney
The
first derby match of the season saw Rovers return from Ballybofey as the first
team to take a point off Harps this season in this First Division cup competition.
The Finn Park surface was in immaculate condition and both teams responded by
producing a very entertaining game. Rovers were good values for their point
and they would not have been flattered if they had taken all three. It was a
very encouraging performance from the bit o' red with Aubrey Dolan in fine form
in the centre of midfield and Steve Feeney and Mark Hutchinson solid at the
back. Of the new players Brenden Gallen looks to be a good acquisition and Andy
Brady had a decent game alongside Dolan in midfield, the jury is still out on
the rest.
The
first half was completely dominated by Rovers and the Harps keeper was by far
the busier of the two. Steve Feeney had a header from a free kick on the left
which drifted well over the bar. Within minutes the same player had another
header from a corner but he couldn't keep it down. Both teams were knocking
the ball around well and a good interchange between Dolan and Brady sent Gavin
away on the right wing. He cut the ball back to the edge of the box where David
O'Dowd controlled the ball, turned and then scuffed his shot which was easily
saved by Young. Rovers did take the lead after 17 minutes and it was a freak
goal. There seemed no danger as the ball was passed back to Harps keeper, Young
but the ever optimistic David O'Dowd chased looking for an error. Young delivered
in spectacular fashion when he hesitated long enough for O'Dowd to get a block
on the clearance. The loose ball broke away from the goal and O'Dowd reacted
quickest to spin on the ball and hook his shot into the net.
Rovers
were desperately unlucky not to increase their lead within two minutes. Yet
another sweeping move across the midfield saw Gallen free Gareth Gorman on the
left wing. He fired in a viscious cross which the defence could not cope with
and it was met at the far post by Rafael Cretaro with a powerful header. He
watched in agony as the ball came back off the underside of the crossbar and
was scrambled clear. Aubrey Dolan then had a header from just inside the box
which was saved by the keeper. Harps hadn't really had a decent shot on goal
but they found themselves level when they were awarded a free kick on the right
wing. The ball was fired into the box where it was met by Ian Rossiter facing
his own goal. His header flew past Healy in the Rovers goal. There was time
for Rovers to create one more chance as Stevie Gavin was played in on goal.
He was never really able to hold off the Harps defender Gavin was penalised
for fouling before he could get his shot in.
Jonathan
Minnock then almost put Harps in front when he went on a mazy run beating three
Rovers players. As he approached the edge of the box he shot but the ball bent
well wide. Rovers threw everything forward looking for a winner and forced a
series of corners. From one of these we almost saw a repeat of Gallens goal
as the ball ricoched around the box before landing in the hands of a grateful
keeper. The only other incidents of note in the second half were a series of
niggly incidents invo;ving Trevor Scanlan and David O'Dowd which saw the referee
having to intervene and give both players a stern lecture. Although this competition
is not high on the prioroty list of these two clubs Rovers will probably be
happier with their performance than Harps. With players to come back into the
team Don O'Riordan with the progress made since last season.
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