Finn Harps lose ground in play-offs race after defeat away to Bray Wanderers

Max Murphy bagged a brace of penalty goals at the Carlisle Grounds on Friday night as Bray Wanderers put a dent in Finn Harps’ play-off prospects with a comeback triumph in a tension-filled SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division encounter.

Despite eventually losing on a final scoreline of 3-1, a Gavin Hodgins goal in the ninth minute offered Harps a dream start on their last visit to the north Wicklow venue on May 30. T

heir latest trip to Bray looked set to begin in a similar fashion when Hans Mpongo was presented with a glorious opportunity a little over 60 seconds into the action, but Seagulls netminder Jimmy Corcoran was equal to his effort from a right-hand angle.

While there were chances at either end as the action progressed amidst heavy rainfall – albeit on an artificial surface – it was Harps who ultimately broke the deadlock in the 27th minute. After getting on the end of a long delivery from custodian Lorenzo Piaia, Mpongo turned sharply before drilling his second shot at goal into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

Although this came as an ideal boost for a Harps side that were desperately seeking a victory to bolster their promotion hopes, Bray swiftly restored parity on 33 minutes when Billy O’Neill superbly curled a 25 yard free-kick beyond the reach of Piaia.

This came as a blow for Kevin McHugh’s charges, but they found themselves with a numerical advantage when Bray midfielder Sean Brennan was dismissed for a second yellow card offence in the 39th minute. This offered fresh impetus to the Harps challenge and thanks to a headed finish by centre-half Conor Tourish from a Gavin McAteer corner moments later, the Donegal outfit brought a 2-1 cushion into the interval.

Harps were suddenly in pole position to collect all three points as a result, but there was a warning sign five minutes after the resumption when O’Neill fired another free-kick just over the crossbar.

Yet Harps still possessed an attacking threat whenever they managed to break into the final-third and Corcoran had to be at his best to deny Mpongo when he once again found himself in space down the right-hand side.

While Aaron McLaughlin and Gradi Lomboto were introduced on the hour mark by McHugh in a bid to breathe fresh life into his Harps team, Piaia subsequently came to their rescue with a close-range save from Bray’s Justin Ferizaj.

McLaughlin then appeared primed to move Harps two goals clear when he was picked out in the box by fellow substitute Lomboto, but his scuffed strike couldn’t find its way past the aforementioned Corcoran.

This could have significantly eased the pressure on Harps moving into a frantic final-quarter, but instead the door was left open for Bray to turn the game on its head. Having levelled matters with a smoothly-taken penalty on 76 minutes, Murphy added a second goal from the spot 13 minutes later to ensure Harps remain sixth in the First Division table – six points adrift of Treaty United with a game still in hand.

Bray Wanderers: Jimmy Corcoran; Alain Kizenga (Conor Knight 83), Killian Cantwell, Harvey Warren, Max Murphy; Cian Curtis (Cristiano Bramley 82), Cian Doyle, Sean Brennan, Justin Ferizaj; Rhys Knight (Guillermo Almirall 82), Billy O’Neill.

Finn Harps: Lorenzo Piaia; Mikey Place (Josh Cullen 83), Max Hutchison, Conor Tourish (Joel Bradley-Walsh 60), Kieran Cooney (Ibrahima-Pokou Bangoura 83); Oran Brogan; Idir Zerrouk, Tony McNamee, Gavin McAteer (Aaron McLaughlin 60), Gavin Hodgins (Gradi Lomboto 60); Hans Mpongo.

Referee: Darragh White (Dublin).