Finn Harps looking to make home advantage count in MU17 National Shield final

It’s a huge night for the Finn Harps Academy on Wednesday as their Under-17 team face a home final in the LOI Academy Shield against Drogheda United in the Letterkenny Community Centre at 8pm.

Conrad Clarke’s side finished third place in the MU17 LOI Tier Two North behind Drogheda and Dundalk, a top-four finish qualifying them for the quarter-finals.

They then went on to defeat the South section runners-up Waterford away from home 3-2, thanks to a Gavin Friel goal in extra time, before a convincing 3-0 win over the South's top side Shamrock Rovers at the weekend, with goals from Oisin Ebbs, Odhran McHugh and Ronan Buchanan.

“We had a blip in the middle of the season, but the boys bounced back and put themselves in the position to qualify for the quarter-finals,” Clarke told DonegalLive.

“We feel the Northern section has been a lot tougher in this age, but you’re going into the unknown.

“Waterford was a fantastic result, and that seemed to build this resilience where they thought they’re good enough to win this.

“Then the Shamrock Rovers game, in my tenure in being involved with the Academy, I can’t remember a team going to them and beating them, with Shamrock Rovers not scoring.

“We back ourselves and the parents and club back us and that’s what it’s all about.”

Clarke joined the Academy in 2017 and was assistant coach to Kevin McHugh with the then Under-13s, while he took charge of the 2008 development squad once they started out, before moving to other teams.

But he was reunited with this team at the beginning of the season and has Andrew Wilson and Oisin McMenamin helping him, and cites their dedication and work as invaluable.

“I did four years with the 08 age group and now I’ve rejoined them again, which helped because I knew them and they knew me and what I was expecting from them.

“And three of those lads from that team are out at the (Under-17 Qatar) World Cup in Gavin McAteer, Josh Cullen, and Corey Sheridan.

“Obviously, they fast tracked to the first team and have got International recognition.

“The other 08s who played with them in their first year, they got to the National final and lost to Shamrock Rovers, which was history making, so we knew they were special and there would be ones we hope to push on to the Under-20s next year.

“They wouldn’t be used to finals in between the first year and now, so to have this is great.”

The Finn Harps side is captained by Rowan McGroarty, who has been a real leader in the side, while Gavin Friel has stood out in midfield.

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Ryan McConnell has been a safe pair of hands, following on from Corey Sheridan and Oisin Cooney, who impressed at this level before making the step up and into senior football, while Peter Sweeney has been a key player in the heart of the defence.

And in attack, Oisin Ebbs and Leighton Green have been in fine scoring form all year, with Odhran McHugh and Guilherme Tavares also making big contributions.

“Across the board, we’ve had some standout players, but I could go through the whole team who have all been fantastic.

They knew before the match that they had home advantage for the final, with the Letterkenny Community Centre confirmed as the venue for Wednesday at 8pm, with Finn Park unavailable.

Drogheda topped the North section, three points ahead of the Harps, as the pair met four times this year, drawing twice and getting a win each, so there won’t be much to separate the sides, but home advantage could be key.

“The draw was already made, and whoever won our game against Shamrock Rovers would get home advantage, but we never told the boys that until we won the game.

“You want to get it on the grass, but there aren’t too many facilities that have the lights and a good enough playing surface.

“But the Letterkenny Community Centre is great, we train and play there, so we are familiar with it.

“They’ve been that close, the games with Drogheda. We went 3-0 up at home, and then it went 3-2 and it could have gone either way.

“Then, we went 2-0 down in six minutes away from home and equalised late on, so we know it will be a tough game.

“But it’s always going to be tough in a final, and that’s the beauty of it. Development and performance is always number one for us, but at the end of the day, the boys want to play football and win, and they’d love to do it on home soil.

“You have to earn the right to compete at the highest level and get to these cup finals. So to do that, and bring a National Cup final to Donegal, is brilliant and it’s a testament to them.”