Match Report by Tony Ghee

Longford Town 0-0 Finn Harps

Longford Town and Finn Harps played out a scoreless draw at Bishopsgate to earn a point each after both sides bounced back from their narrow weekend defeats to Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers respectively.

In truth, neither side deserved to win the contest and a draw was a fair result.

Longford almost opened the scoring in the tenth minute with a good move down the left, as Verdon and Robinson exchanged passes creating space inside the box for Verdon, but his low diagonal shot went just wide of the Harps' far post.

The visitors had two excellent chances in the space of two minutes. 

On twenty-seven minutes the McNamee brothers, Barry and Tony, combined down the right with Tony's cross finding striker Sean Boyd, but he headed narrowly over the Longford bar.

Two minutes later, Harps almost took the lead after a great pass from Barry McNamee put in Boyd, he turned Town defenders O’Driscoll and Gorman brilliantly, only for his shot to be superbly saved by Town keeper Mick Kelly, however, the ball came out to Tony McNamee, but he ballooned his sixteen yard shot over the Town bar.

Three minutes after the resumption a shot from Ethan Boyle on the right side of the box was well saved by Town keeper Kelly.

Thirty-four minutes elapsed without a clear opportunity for either team, and then each side had a chance within two minutes of each other.

 Longford Town had the first of those chances on eighty-two minutes as Aaron Dobbs ran onto a long ball and lifted the ball over the advancing Harps' Keeper McGinley but the ball went wide.

Two minutes later, it was the visitors who came close to breaking the deadlock as a Ryan Shanley 25 yard shot deflected off a Longford player and just cleared the Town bar.

LINE-UPS

Longford Town: Kelly, Joe Manley, O’Driscoll, Gorman, Kirk, Chambers, Dervin, Robinson, Grimes, Verdon, Rob Manley.

Substitutions: Dobbs for Rob Manley (71'), Davies for Grimes (79').

Finn Harps: McGinley, Webster, Sadiki, McEleney, Boyle, Seymore, Coyle, Foley, Barry McNamee, Tony McNamee, Boyd.

Substitutions: Folan for McEleney (18'), Shanley for Boyd and Russell for Tony McNamee (both 73'), Doherty for Boyle (89').

Referee: Derek Tomney