In the scattered composition of the First Division, this afternoon’s game away to Monaghan United is the closest Finn Harps will get to a league derby this term.
In the last meeting of the sides, which was James Gallagher’s christening in the mana
gerial dug-out, Monaghan sneaked a 2-1 win in Ballybofey in May, when Barry Clancy and Karl Bermingham scored the goals.
The norm at Finn Park dictates there is seldom the same team representing Harps from one week to the next.
However,the XI that lined out last week in a spirited 1-1 home draw with Shelbourne might get the call once more.
Oisin McMenamin - who was away on holidays for that game - is in with the best chance of disrupting the continuity.
On the minus side, Marc Brolly has hamstring trouble, Ian Rossiter is having bother with a thigh, Fintan Bonner and Paddy Bonner are both complaining of sore knees, while club captain Conor Gethins has a dislocated shoulder.
“We did well enough last weekend and got a bit of a lift from it,” said Gallagher of last week’s draw against the league leaders.
“We were certainly good value for the point in the end and hope to show some of that against Monaghan. The boys tried very hard and you have to give them credit for that.”
Although they are a team that has perennially struggled at the lower end of the second tier, Mick Cooke’s side spoiled the Harps broth in the only meeting of the teams this term, and have shown commendable improvement of late -they are 10 points ahead of Harps in the table at present.
Since being battered 4-0 by Sporting Final in early July, they have gone five games without conceding a goal, with one of those outings being a 0-0 home draw against Premier Division St Patrick’s Athletic in the last 16 of the FAI Cup. Sean Brennan, who is injured, remains a doubt, but other than that the Century Homes Park outfit will have a full squad to choose from.
“Monaghan are a team that are getting better all the time,” Gallagher added. “They’re also experienced and have a good physical presence, but if we set a good tempo from the start, and test them when we can, we can bring the confidence on from last weekend.”
