Connolly’s penalty gives Harps a crucial win against Pat’s

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A late penalty from Ryan Connolly gave Finn Harps a narrow victory over St Patrick’s Athletic in their bid to avoid relegation play-offs in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.

Stephen O’Donnell’s visitors had Luke McNally and then Georgie Kelly to thank for bringing them back on 2-2 terms after early goals from Adam Foley and Stephen Folan gave the hosts a two-goal lead in a cloudy night in Ballybofey.

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However, with 16 minutes remaining, Connolly outscored Harps up front and they survived to post only their second home win of the season when it mattered most.

Their 2-0 win against the Bohemians on Saturday night was courtesy of a Mark Russell double and, in addition to relegating Cork City, it also earned Shamrock Rovers the league title.

Ollie Horgan’s team started tonight’s game five points behind Derry City, St Pat’s and Shelbourne still with a mathematical chance of reaching the safe haven of eighth place.

Foley managed to cut possession to get into the area from the third minute to score his first Harps goal and gave his team the lead.

That lead doubled in the 11th minute when Folan drove home from close range after Brendan Clarke saved well from David Webster.

Harps ‘two-goal lead was short-lived as, within a minute, St Pat’s had retired a goal when McNally was available to pass Mark Anthony McGinley after Harps’ keeper missed a corner shot attempt by Robbie Benson .

In the 35th minute, Harps almost had a third as the ball was dribbled to the left for Mark Russell, whose rough play was tapped off the post by Clarke. Mark Coyle also pulled off a fantastic save from the visiting goalkeeper.

Folan took one for the team with a gutsy block to prevent McNally’s shot from hitting the target and ensure Harps was 2-1 up at the break.

Eight minutes into the second half, the score was 2-2 when Kelly headed a cross from Benson.

Folan and Foley, the two Harps scorers, combined 20 minutes to go with the forward’s failure to keep a cross down in front of a great goal. It was a great opportunity.

Connolly was unwilling to pass up his chance from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute when he fired a shot down the middle to put his team in front after Rory Feely’s foul on Harps’ replacement Raphaelle Cretaro.

With six minutes remaining, Connolly could have secured the points when he escaped at half-time from a pass from Cretaro, only for Clarke to make a crucial save.

In injury time, with St Pat pressing but Harps breaking again, Connolly broke again and this time circled Clarke only to have no angle to work with and his square ball was cleared from Adrian Delap’s toes by McNally’s sliding challenge.

Find harps: Mark Anthony McGinley; Shane McEleney (Adrian Delap 83), Kosovar Sadiki, Stephen Folan; Dave Webster, Tony McNamee (Ruairi Harkin 68), Gareth Harkin, Mark Coyle (Raffaele Cretero 68), Mark Russell; Ryan Connolly; Adam Foley (Sam Todd 79).

Athletic of San Patricio: Brendan Clarke; Ray Feely, Luke McNally, Lee Desmond, Shane Griffin (Ben McCormack 87); Chris Forrester, Jamie Lennon, Robbie Benson; Jordan Gibson (Darragh Burns 77), Georgie Kelly, Jason McClelland (Billy King 61).

Referee: Robert Harvey



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