BJ Banda nets injury time winner as Finn Harps edge Kerry in heated affair

A dramatic BJ Banda goal five minutes into injury time secured Finn Harps a precious three points on the road against basement side Kerry FC. 

Kerry FC 1 Finn Harps 2

Dave Rogers side had taken a second half lead thanks to a Ryan Flood special but Samuel Aladesanusi’s 86th minute equaliser looked like it was going to be good enough to share the spoils in what was a spiky contest at Mounthawk Park.

But Banda’s header wasn’t the end of the drama as tempers flared after the full-time whistle, with players, substitutes and mentors coming together in the middle of the field in ugly scenes that took a few minutes to settle down.

Rogers took a yellow card in the aftermath for what he said was “over celebrating” – as well he might after his team snatched victory from the jaws of a draw. 

Kerry had drawn 1-1 at home to Harps in April and held them to a 0-0 draw away in Donegal last month, and it looked for all the world that Kerry would take another point from this encounter.

Having gone behind to a Flood screamer from the edge of the box in the 53rd minute, Kerry held their composure before Aladesanusi headed in Cian Brosnan’s well delivered corner in the 86th minute.

But a rash tackle by Leo Gaxha on Scott Wara gave the visitors one last chance, and when Flood swung in the free kick from the right, Scott Wara knocked it back for Banda to power his header past Axworthy, sparking off wild scenes at the visitors’ bench.

It was a fiery end to a game that produced eight yellow cards.Chances were few and far between, with the first 10 minutes an open, reasonably fluent affair but with no chances of consequence for either side.

The first meaningful opportunity came Kerry’s way in the 11th minute with Ron Vasiu nicking the ball off Matthew Makinson’s toe and taking it to the edge of the box, but his intended through ball for Gaxha had too much on it.

Five minutes later Aladesanusi’s better weighted pass did get Gaxha to the end line who got a teasing cross into the Harps box but Semi Wara got a vital flick on the ball with Kerry’s top goal scorer Ryan Kelliher lurking behind.

The game’s first corner fell to Harps in the 19th minute, which Flood floated into the six-yard box where Scott Wara met it but couldn’t direct his header on target.

Kerry rode their luck a little in the 22nd minute when a heavy touch by Kevin Williams saw the defender try to recover with some heavy contact through the back of Patrick Ferry in the box. Put it this way: had it been at the other end Kerry would have been screaming for a penalty.

On the 25-minute Mark Williams brought down Sean O’Donnell right on the edge of the box with Tony McNamee standing over the free kick and sending a brilliant shot around the four-man wall forcing Axworthy into a super save down to his left-hand side, conceding another corner, which Scott Wara could only head wide from.

Ferry brought an easy enough save out of Axworthy after a bit of pinball in the Kerry box after another Harps corner kick, and at the other end Sean McGrath and Martin Coughlan combined for Gaxha to get a shot off but it was easily blocked by the covering defence. 

Harps did force the ball into the Kerry goal on 35 minutes through Ferry, but he had stepped into an offside position ahead of O’Donnell who might have been better shooting himself.

Five minutes into the second half Kerry had their best chance. Kelliher got down the left side and put in a cross where McGrath didn’t quite connect that well with but his scooped shot still needed a reflex save from Rory Kelly to keep the ball out.

And then in the 53rd minute the visitors made the breakthrough. A Finn Harps forward foray sent several bodies into the Kerry box, but when the ball broke back to Flood he lashed it back first time under Axworthy who knew little about it. 

The next 30 minutes was an even enough contest, with Harps, perhaps, looking a fraction more likely to get a second than Kerry to get their first.

The introduction of Matt Keane, Ronan Teahan and Cian Brosnan just after the hour mark did give the home side a little more energy and direction, and Gaxha did get a good ball into Brosnan who headed just wide. 

With Kerry pressing higher and chasing the game, Ethan Kos came forward and fired in a decent shot from outside the box, winning a corner after a touch from a defender. Brosnan swung in a perfect corner and when Kelly flapped and missed, Aladesanusi was perfectly positioned to slam in the equaliser.

Kerry didn’t sit back for the draw, and maybe that was their downfall, although as the game moved into the 95th (after four additional minutes were indicated) they would have been forgiven for feeling happy about earning their seventh point of the season.

Instead, Gaxha was a little too eager in his challenge on Scott Wara, which presented the visitors with one last chance, which Banda gratefully grabbed.

Kerry FC: Lee Axworthy, Rob Vasiu, Samuel Aladesanusi, Kevin Williams, Ethan Kos, Cian Barrett (Ronan Teahan, 62); Sean McGrath, Martin Coughlan (Matt Keane, 62), Sean O’Connell (Cian Brosnan, 62); Leo Gaxha, Ryan Kelliher.

Finn Harps: Rory Kelly, Semi Scott Wara, Daithi McCallion, Matthew Makinson, Stephen Doherty; Ryan Flood, Max Hutchison (Caoimhin Porter, 87); Jamie Watson, Tony McNamee, Sean O’Donnell (Billy Banda, 68), Patrick Ferry (Aaron McLaughlin, 68).

Referee: Jason Moore