Horgan: ‘If we don’t win on Friday we don’t deserve to stay in this division’

With the gods seemingly simultaneously conspiring against them last Friday at two different venues, Finn Harps know their margin for error is now hanging by a thread as they bid to survive in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.

Harps, at Bohemians, had seen a Filip Mihaljević penalty come and go and they trailed on 63 minutes when Ethan Varian edged the home team ahead at Dalymount Park. Darragh Nugent, meanwhile, had edged Drogheda United ahead in the first half at UCD, although a goal from Donegal Town native Jack Keaney made it 1-1 by the break.

The Students went in front with Dara Keane scoring on 67 minutes and Harps looked in trouble, only to score twice in four minutes, with Ethan Boyle and Mihaljević putting Ollie Horgan’s side 2-1 up.

That would’ve maintained the status quo, only for Declan McDaid to level for Bohemians, in Declan Devine’s first match in charge following a mistake from Harps goalkeeper James McKeown and 2-2 it finished in Phibsborough.
That meant UCD were two points in front of Harps in the table’s bottom two spots - the same two points Harps had left behind them. On Monday, UCD picked up another point from their game in hand, 1-1 at Shelbourne.

So now, the gap is three ahead of the meeting of Harps and UCD in the penultimate series of the season. Harps make the trip to Drogheda on Sunday week in the last of their regulation outings and UCD are home to champions Shamrock Rovers.

“We have to win,” Horgan said of Friday. “It’s as simple as that. Last week wasn’t the worst of performances and worst of results but the fact UCD won totally took the gloss off of it and we know where we’re at now. Against Shelbourne, who are famed for being very good without the ball, UCD were excellent and if anyone was going to win that game then it was them.

"In that grander scale of things, that point wasn’t going to change what we need to do on Friday, although their last couple of performances will certainly give them confidence.”

Thus far, Harps have just a point from nine against UCD, which came on their first outing of the season in a 0-0 at Belfield. UCD won 1-0 at Finn Park and then won 3-1 in Dublin 4.

“We’ve not managed to beat them this season in three meetings and if that goes to four on Friday, then, to be perfectly honest, we probably don’t deserve to stay in this division,” Horgan added.

“We are in a very real situation now and we have to do all we can to get those three points to stay alive. There will be no blaming of referees or anyone else, it’s down to us. We have what we have now in terms of players who are available and we will have something similar to the squad at Dalymount. It’s up to us and we have to be up for this, with what 11 players we line out with from the start.

“UCD are a team that have more experience than they are given credit for, like Evan Osam played for Shamrock Rovers B against us in my first season, which was 2014. Sam Todd helped get us up and kept us up and Jack Keaney has plenty under his belt too. They’ve managed to get themselves into a good position and this is without Liam Kerrigan and Colm Whelan, who would’ve been considered their best players at the start of the season. Thomas Lonergan is a talent.”

It’s been a more than testing season for Harps, as Horgan predicted before a ball was kicked with a total squad renovation. However, he has paid tribute to the club’s supporters for their understanding of the situation and believes they will be vital come Friday.

“The supporters, I have to give credit for. It’s not a secret and I’ve said it before, that this has been by far the toughest season that I have had as a manager,” Horgan said. “But the supporters, it must be said, have shown patience and had they turned on the players then we wouldn’t even be in a situation that we’re in. Friday will also be a night we need to have patience.”