We need to start looking up the table - Oran Brogan after UCD defeat

Oran Brogan has said Finn Harps need to start getting some more wins under their belt after the Ballybofey men succumbed to a late 2-1 defeat against UCD in the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division in Belfield on Friday evening.

Coming into the game off the back of a 2-0 reversal at home to Cobh Ramblers seven days earlier, which was preceded by draws with Bray Wanderers and second-tier leaders Cork City, Harps looked set to claim a share of the spoils after an excellent Bernardo Monteiro goal on 69 minutes cancelled out a first-half effort by Niall Holohan for their opponents.

Yet there was enough time on the clock for Louis Dignam to bag a 95th-minute winner for UCD via a wicked deflection and leave Harps with four defeats from 11 league games played in 2026. Kevin McHugh’s side also have just two wins and five draws to their name, and midfielder Brogan believes they need to start moving in an upward trajectory – starting with next Friday’s clash at home to Athlone Town.

“We want to just keep building, getting the wins. We need three points on the table. As Kevin said multiple times this season already, we’re not going to be taking draws anymore. We’re going to be going for games. If we end up losing, then so be it, but we’re definitely going to try and go for games,” Letterkenny native Brogan remarked after Friday’s game at the UCD Bowl.

“We had too many draws last year. We’ve five already this year, but we need to start going for games. We need three points on the board. The first round of fixtures is done, so hopefully now we can keep building. Trying to get three points on the board and try to start climbing. We need to start looking up, not looking down.”