Finn Harps manager Ollie Horgan says he is not getting carried away with the two big recent wins over St. Patrick’s Athletic and Limerick ahead of tomorrow night’s northwest derby against Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds. Those six points did move Harps off the bottom of the table but Horgan knows that defeat for his side could see them end up back in that position again in the space of seven days.
“We have to get more points on the board quickly and that starts tomorrow night at the Showgrounds. We have a lot of ground to make up after losing five games in a row. The win over Pat’s and Limerick has given us a boost but we’re coming from a low base so we have to battle for every point to give us a chance of survival. On their day Sligo could destroy us. They have Kieran Sadlier who I rate in the top three players in the league along with Seanie Maguire and Patrick McEleney. So if we get a draw at the Showgrounds it will be a brilliant result for us considering the injury problems we still have” Horgan said.
The Harps boss confirmed that Danny Morrissey is out due to suspension while Barry Molloy, Paddy McCourt and Caolan McAleer are all very doubtful for the Sligo trip. B.J. Banda and Eddie Dsane remain on the longer term injury list.
“We’ll be missing Danny Morrissey which is a pity because he has been in great scoring form in the last two games for us. So there will be at least one change for tomorrow night’s game. Barry Molloy, Paddy McCourt and Caolan McAleer are all very doubtful. We’ll just have to wait and see tomorrow what kind of the shape they are in and then decide” Horgan said.
Sligo badly needs the three points so this is going to be some battle between the neighbouring clubs. The visitors would no doubt be happy with a draw at the Showgrounds but based on recent form they are capable of securing a win, which would be massive going into the mid-season break.
However, their capacity to score is likely to be significantly weakened by the absence of Danny Morrissey who got two goals against Pat’s and the striker also found the back of the net in the Limerick game last Friday night. But Morrissey is suspended after receiving a straight red card late in that game. And the Harps boss will be in the Stand serving a one-match suspension after being sent from touchline during the game against Galway United at Eamonn Deacy Park a couple of weeks ago.
Harps are eighth in the table going into the weekend games, two points ahead of Sligo who are third from bottom. Galway and Pat’s are joint bottom a point below Sligo. Drogheda United are in between Harps and Sligo. “Sligo had a 3-0 win over Limerick in their last home match so that shows you what they are capable of doing. It’s going to be ‘backs to the wall’s stuff’’ for us for a lot of the game depending on what kind of a team we can put out at the Showgrounds.”
TEAM NEWS
Suspended: Danny Morrissey
Injured: B.J. Banda, Eddie Dsane
Doubtful: Caolan McAleer, Paddy McCourt, Barry Molloy
LAST 10 GAMES v SLIGO ROVERS
25-Apr-08 Finn Harps 0-1 Sligo Rovers (Premier Division)
19-Jul-08 Sligo Rovers 4-1 Finn Harps (Premier Division)
17-Oct-08 Finn Harps 0-2 Sligo Rovers (Premier Division)
04-May-09 Sligo Rovers 4-1 Finn Harps (League Cup)
27-Aug-10 Finn Harps 0-1 Sligo Rovers (FAI Cup)
20-Mar-16 Sligo Rovers 1-1 Finn Harps (Premier Division)
03-Jun-16 Finn Harps 3-0 Sligo Rovers (Premier Division)
04-Oct-16 Sligo Rovers 0-0 Finn Harps (Premier Division)
25-Mar-17 Finn Harps 2-1 Sligo Rovers (Premier Division)
17-Apr-17 Finn Harps 0-1 Sligo Rovers (League Cup)
