General
- Thursday March 10th, 2022 @ 13:00
Preview: Finn Harps Vs Saints (11/04/22)
St Patrick's Athletic will make the long trip to the North West on Friday night to take on Finn Harps.
The game will kick off at 8.00pm and will be live on LOITV.
Away tickets remain available HERE
The Super Saints come into the game on the back of an impressive victory against Shamrock Rovers last Friday at a sold out Richmond Park.
Chris Forrester rose highest to head Darragh Burns' beautifully delivered corner home midway through the second-half in what was a magical atmosphere in Inchicore.
Tim Clancy will be hoping for another good performance against Ollie Horgan's men this weekend.
Opposition Watch and Recent Meetings
Finn Harps have drawn two and lost one of their opening three matches.
They started their season a week late after their opening game was postponed due to Storm Eunice.
They traveled to UCD AFC for their opening game and drew 0-0, that was followed by a 3-0 loss to Dundalk and most recently, a 1-1 draw at home Bohemians.
Promise Omochere opened the scoring in the 52nd minute for Bohs, but Ryan Connolly struck back 14 minutes later to ensure a share of the spoils.
St Pat's and Finn Harps met on four occasions last season.
They first met in April when The Saints powered to a 2-0 win in Ballybofey with goals from Billy King and Matty Smith.
They met again in the return fixture at Richmond and they were comfortable winners again. Two goals from Ronan Coughlan, and goals from Robbie Benson and Alfie Lewis helped St Pat's to a 4-1 victory.
When the teams returned to Ballybofey, The Saints were beaten 3-1, all three of Finn Harps' goals were scored by Tunde Owolabi, he'll be making his first visit back to Donegal since moving to Richmond Park.
The most recent meeting came back in November. A dramatic nine-minute period saw the share of two goals each. Billy King opened the scoring and Sean Boyd equalised just one minute later.
Boyd then struck again to give Harps the lead, but Darragh Burns equalised three minutes later and it was the final goal of the game as the sides played out an entertaining 2-2 draw.
View From The Dugout
Assistant Manager Jon Daly spoke to the media on Wednesnday afternoon, you can listen to his full press conference on our Talking Saints Podcast which is available on all good podcast platforms.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow's game, Daly said:
"Finn Harps are a very hard-working team and they are well organised. It's obviously going to be a difficult one, it's going to be different than the one we have just had here at Richmond against Shamrock Rovers, but it's the same three points up for grabs. We need to make sure we are at it, and we bring a tempo to the game.
I noticed their game against Bohemians, they slowed the game down right from the start and they take their time on everything. They try and frustrate you like that, so it is important that we don't get caught in that trap.
We need make sure that we don't get frustrated, that we bring tempo and energy to the game and that we match their work rate and ambition. We have quality on the pitch that we know can win us a game in any moment, so it is important that we keep ourselves disciplined and we don't give them anything free."
Player View
Adam O'Reilly started his first game of the season against Shamrock Rovers on Friday, and he caught the eye of many with an inspirational performance in the middle of the park.
The Preston loanee was delighted to make his first start for the club:
"I was delighted with the win. I think that was the biggest thing for me coming into the game. Starting for the first time and getting the win, just playing with the boys and trying to get used to the players like from start to finish. I really enjoyed it because Rovers are so competitive and will push for the league this year. It was good to get the win.
It will be a tough game up at Finn Harps. I've spoken to a few buddies of mine that have played them, and they said they're a tough team. But I think if we play how we played against Rovers, I don't have a doubt that we can get something out of the game.
Obviously, we have a very strong team, and I am confident going into the game. Going into every game, you need to be 100% ready because you just don't know what could happen, especially in this league. It's very unpredictable but we are raring and ready to go."
Team-news: Jamie Lennon (foot) is the only absentee
Tickets: Away tickets remain available HERE
LOITV Live Stream:MATCH PASS HERE
Updates: Alternatively, you can also catch updates across all of our social media channels, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
Photo credit: Inpho Sports
