'Victory was one taken from the training pitch': Finn Harps manager Darren Murphy

Finn Harps manager Darren Murphy told how one of his coaches, Eamon Curry, entered the dressing room after Friday's 1-0 win over Wexford and opined: “That result comes from the training pitch”.

There had been a new intensity at training during the week leading up to the game.

Sean O'Donnell volleyed home the 18^th minute match winner with Harps holding firm to bag three points.

“We probably could have made it a more comfortable night for ourselves, but I won't be too hard on them,” Murphy said.

“What we did really well in the second half was that we showed a bit more composure on the ball and we were able to break a lot.

“There was a real intensity to training this week and we carried that in. It was a really high level.

“They were aggressive in training in the small-sided games and the set-piece training.

“They took that all into the game and I always say to train how you play and play how you train. That was the first week that we played how we trained.”

Wexford hadn't failed to score in their previous 16 games, but Harps managed to shut out James Keddy's side.

The win, at the half-way point of the season, saw Harps move ten points ahead of where they were at the same point in 2023.

Murphy said: “I don't set them targets and never have. There are enough experienced players in there who will chat to the younger players.

“I allow the players to have a bit of ownership because it's their changing room. If someone steps out of line, I prefer them to deal with it.

“When you have the likes of Tim Hiemer, David Cawley, Tony McNamee and Noe Baba, who are seasoned pros, they know themselves what they want from the season.

“I don't need to tell them and I certainly don't need to add pressure to a young group.”

Murphy feels that his side has come in for unfair criticism in some quarters over the last few weeks, but Harps are firmly in the hunt for a play-off finish at the half-way stage.

He said: “They will have to learn to deal with the pressure. When you rise expectations, people's hopes go up.

“We have been questioned at times this year about balls coming into the box and not being aggressive enough to head them away. Tonight, for 70 per cent of the time from free kicks, throw-ins, corners, open play, we defended our box very well. We got our break from that.

“They have stuck together. To do anything, you need to believe in each other.”

Harps launched their charity partnership with the Bluestack Foundation on Friday and Murphy showed his players a video from some of the service users beforehand.

He said: “That is an important one. There was a lot going on with the launch of the partnership with the Bluestack Foundation.

“I always talk about maximum effort. The staff of the Bluestack Foundation give maximum effort every day to make lives better for the children who are over there. I just asked for maximum effort for 90 minutes of football.”