Late goals showing Finn Harps' resilience - Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers says it’s no coincidence that Finn Harps have developed a penchant for late goals this season.

On Friday night, teenage defender Daithi McCallion struck an equaliser in the last minute to earn Harps a 2-2 draw with First Division leaders Galway United.

McCallion’s goal sent home fans into delirium, grabbing a point from a night that might’ve yielded a greater dividend.

The dramatic goal came a week after BJ Banda’s last-gasp strike sneaked a win over Kerry FC.

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In June, Damien Duffy was the late hero in a 3-2 win over Longford Town while a Ryan Rainey penalty on 82 minutes sealed a 1-0 win, also over Longford, that was Harps’ first victory of the season. In between times, Harps secured a 1-0 win in Wexford via an 84th minute own goal while youngster Aaron McLaughlin scored in added time in a 3-0 win over Treaty United.

“It is something that we work on in training,” Rogers told Donegal Live.

“We train at a high tempo and we demand high standards. I won’t accept anything less than maximum effort. You can see where we have won a lot of away games and we now want to make Finn Park a fortress.  I’m proud of the tempo, energy and desire the boys are showing.

“We planned on getting balls into the area. We felt if we could get in behind the back four of Galway that we could cause them one or two problems. The energy and enthusiasm the players showed was outstanding. The fans can see that this group of players play for the badge. I’m proud of that.”

Harps twice came from behind with Sean O’Donnell and McCallion drawing the hosts level each time. Galway had Vincent Borden sent off midway through the first half on a night when Harps will feel they could have handed Galway only a second defeat of the campaign.

It was a night that offered plenty of positive signs for a new-look Harps that has had something of a mid-season rebuild with Rogers busy in the transfer market.

He said: “We were playing against the best team in the League, the most organised, most resilient, most robust team in the League. We worked on things in training this week and changed the formation a bit.

“We started on the front foot and I’m proud of the players. We gave away two goals that we could have prevented, but I’m proud of the players for their resilience, their character and that never-say-die attitude they’ve shown.

“They’re a solid team, but we knew if we were patient, proactive and got the ball in the box that we could create chances. We might have won the game but I’m proud that we showed that character after falling behind twice against the possible League champions.

“There was a nice bit of zip on the pitch with the rain and we passed the ball well. We played some outstanding football. We sort of ran out of ideas when they went down to 10 men. It became a possession game and we said to the guys to be brave. We always knew if we were patient and proactive that we would get opportunities.”