Super Subs Send Harps into Quarter Final

Finn Harps…….3

Sligo Rovers…...2

Report by Chris McNulty (Derry People, Donegal News)

SUPER subs Conor Gethins and Stephen Parkhouse shot Finn Harps into the eircom League Cup as Paul Hegarty's charges overturned a two-nil half-time deficit at Finn Park on Monday night last.

Goals from Matthew Judge and Chris Turner looked to have had given Sligo a match-winning advantage, but Harps fought back and showed real character and determination to take the win thanks to a goal two and a half minutes into stoppage time from Parkhouse.

Conor Gethins had dragged Harps back into the game after the hour-mark and Parkhouse struck the first of his brace on 87minutes to leave the small attendance bracing themselves for extra time.

However, the former Limavady United man got on the end of Chris Breen's centre in stoppage time to send Harps into the quarter finals of the competition for the second year in succession.

After Friday night's five-nil demolition of Kilkenny City, Paul Hegarty had said that he was taking Monday night's fixture quite seriously with progression very much the aim.

True to his word, Hegarty showed that he wasn't rendering the League Cup as meaningless with his side showing just one change from Friday night. Shaun McGowan came in to the middle of the park in place of club captain Tony Shields.

Monday's fixture had the feel of a pre-season friendly with little more than a couple of hundred spectators trundling through the turnstiles - a sizeable number of which were attired in red and white. Monday's must surely have been one of the poorest attendances for a competitive North West derby in many a year.

Harps had enjoyed mixed fortunes against their rivals from the Showgrounds in recent times with two wins from their previous three meetings. Monday night's game was the fourth meeting between the sides in as many years with Harps taking wins in 2004 and 2006 and Rovers winning the 2005 fixture.

The trend looked set to continue as Paul Cook's men led by two at the break although the balance of play in the first period certainly didn't show that Sligo deserved their two-goal advantage.

They opened the scoring on 31minutes when Matthew Judge got on the end of Justin McCartney's pin-point cross to head past James Gallagher and, on the stroke of half time, Chris Turner prodded home from close-range after Stephen Manson smartly touched McCartney's cross into his path.

Chris Breen was continuing his recent habit of tormenting opposition defences and was giving the Rovers rearguard a torrid time, but his lack of composure when presented with a shooting opportunity was to prevent Harps from breaking the deadlock.

After breaking away on 15 minutes, Breen saw his shot well saved by Richard Brush while the lively attacker also squandered an opportunity to chip the Sligo ‘keeper and he opted to play in Seamus Brown when perhaps the selfish option may have bore more fruits.

The Stranorlar man's endeavours almost paid dividends with the game's opening chance when his accurate cross from the left was met by the head of Seamus Brown, but he was off target and Barry Curran's follow up was well saved.

It certainly wasn't all one way traffic though with James Gallagher in the Harps goal also called upon to pull off a couple of vital saves from Matthew Judge, twice, and Zoltan Vasas.

Indeed, Gallagher also pulled off a superb save from Adam Hughes to prevent Sligo from going three-up. Hughes latched onto the end of Keith Foy's testing free kick, but his goal-bound header was lifted over the bar by the agile Gallagher, who did well to get a strong arm on the ball.

Trailing two-nil at the interval, Paul Hegarty summonsed Conor Gethins from the bench and the Lifford man handed his side a life-line on 63minutes when he pulled one back.

His strike from 20 yards came cannoning off the underside of Richard Brush's crossbar and, as the ball dropped to ground, Assistant Referee Paul Duddy, who was up level with the incident, signalled for a Harps goal. Game on.

Harps battled gamely in the second half and were the better side for the most part of the latter 45minutes with the visitors looking somewhat fatigued.

Three minutes from time, Harps got the leveller when John O'Loughlin's ball into the mixer found Parkhouse, who directed his header into the far corner of the net - via a deflection off a Sligo defender - past the despairing dive of Brush. 
And, two and a half minutes into the four minutes of injury time at the end, the big Derryman tapped home from Chris Breen's ball across to send his side into the last eight of the competition.

Finn Harps: James Gallagher; Sean Roddy, Jonathan Minnock, Declan Boyle, Eloka Asokhu; Shaun McGowan, Barry Curran, John O'Loughlin, Shaun Holmes; Chris Breen, Seamus Brown. Subs: Conor Gethins (for Curran, h/t); Stephen Parkhouse (for Brown, 60mins).

Sligo Rovers: Richard Brush; Gavin Peers, Keith Foy, Jamie McKenzie, Zoltan Vasas; Chris Turner, Stephen Manson, Adam Hughes, Jason McCartney; Matthew Judge, Fahrudin Kudozivic. Subs: Choice Aisien (for Judge, 60mins); Peter Bajdziak (for McCartney, 61mins); Sean Kelly (for Bajdziak, 71mins).

Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin).