Finn Harps 2

Drogheda United 0

(after extra-time, Finn Harps win 2-1 on aggregate)

Alan Foley reports from Finn Park

A GOAL TWO minutes into the second period of extra-time by Harry Ascroft was enough for Finn Harps to secure their Premier Division status for 2020.

The Australian bundled home a corner from Tony McNamee in a crowded penalty area in tonight’s dramatic promotion-relegation play-off second leg at Finn Park.

Ollie Horgan’s side were chasing a 1-0 deficit after a 92nd-minute goal by Chris Lyons gave Drogheda a slender lead leaving United Park on Monday night.

A goal inside of seven minutes settled the home support in the crowd of 2,113 when Mark Russell tucked home a header from close range following a cross by Ruairi Harkin.

The hosts, in miserable conditions, created all of the few chances there were in the first half. Russell, on 20 minutes, was leaning backwards as he could only head over the crossbar from a corner by Mikey Place.

Then, five minutes before the break, Sam Todd had a header wide of the post when again a placed ball was the best form of creation for Harps; this time it was Mark Timlin who delivered.

Drogheda didn’t test Mark Anthony McGinley in the Harps goal at all in the first 45 minutes, with Lyons ploughing a lonely furrow up top on his own, as the sides went in 1-1 on aggregate at the break.

There was significantly more urgency from the visitors after the restart, helped by the introduction of Adam Wixted . The closest they came in the third quarter was when a cross from Lyons was just inches too high for Mark Doyle on the hour mark. Doyle, five minutes afterwards, draw a save down low from McGinley.

That seemed to waken Harps and in their next attack, Place hit the post from two yards after Raff Cretaro teed up Russell. The Paisley native’s drive was low and hard and Place, on the floor, couldn’t redirect the ball past Luca Gratzer, who had got behind the initial effort.

Doyle stretched for an 84th-minute header from a long ball forward by Luke McNally and got the slightest touch, only for McGinley to save comfortably down low.

With so much at stake, it was nervy and jittery in places on an ever-worsening pitch and the stadium announcer did his bit before the beginning of extra time by reminding those who parked in Aldi next door that the car park would be locked from 10pm on.

The first period of extra time produced nothing of note, before Ascroft managed to break Drogheda in the 107th minute.

The Louth team threw all they could in the closing minutes of extra-time, with Todd making a last-ditch tackle in injury time to deny Jordan Adeyemo and Harps managed to frantically clear the corner.

Finn Harps: Mark Anthony McGinley; Harry Ascroft, Keith Cowan, Sam Todd; Jacob Borg, Ruairi Harkin (Tony McNamee 94), Gareth Harkin, Mark Timllin, Mark Russell; Raffaele Cretaro (Mark Coyle 90 (Daniel O’Reilly 104)); Mikey Place (Nathan Boyle 73)

Drogheda United: Luca Gratzer; James Brown, Luke McNally, Kevin Farragher, Conor Kane; Stephen Meaney (Adam Wixted half-time), Luke Heeney, Mark Hughes (Jordan Adeyemo 97), Sean Brennan (Jamie Hollywood 61), Mark Doyle; Chris Lyons.

Referee: Neil Doyle

It’s Rugby World Cup final week! On the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly, Murray Kinsella joins Gavan Casey and Sean Farrell to preview Saturday’s showdown between England and South Africa.