Longford Town let lead slip in heartbreaking defeat as Finn Harps snatch late, late winner

Longford Town . . . 2   Finn Harps . . . 3 

Finn Harps battled back from two goals down to earn a brilliant win over Longford Town in this exciting SSE Airtricity League First Division clash played in front of 1,607 spectators at Bishopsgate on Saturday night. 

Despite new striker Chris Lyons scoring twice on his Town debut, goals from Success Edogun, Jamie Watson, and a late, late winner from substitute Mark Mbuli saw Darren Murphy’s charges snatch all three points. 

The Town got off to a whirlwind start with two goals inside the opening thirteen minutes from new striker Lyons.

After just six minutes, Lyons capitalised on a poor error from Harps’ keeper Tim Heimer to give the home side the lead in their opening match of the club’s centenary season. Town won a corner on the right and Adam Wixted played the corner short to Bastien Hery who played the ball back to Wixted, and he whipped in a cross that Heimer flapped at, allowing Lyons to pounce and head home from close range.

Seven minutes later, the Town number nine struck again, this time, he intercepted a clearance from Harps’ defender Shane McMonagle and he fired a low shot from twenty-five yards out that nestled into the bottom right corner of the net.

The visitors had their first chance of the game on twenty-one minutes. Dangerous strike Success Edogun on his debut for the Donegal side got between Town centre-backs Jamie Egan and Dean O’Shea as he latched onto a long ball, but he blazed his effort over the bar from just outside the edge of the Longford box.

Seven minutes later, Edogun had much more success with his second opportunity of the match. A cushioned volleyed pass from midfielder Stephen Doherty picked out the striker on the edge of the Town box, he brilliantly turned defender Egan, charged into the box, and then cleverly changed direction to evade both Egan and Shane Elworthy before firing a deflected shot to the back of the Longford net.

Harps came much more into the game after pulling that goal back and just before the half-time whistle, Edogun had another chance but his shot was straight at Town keeper Jack Brady.

The opening fifteen minutes of the second-half produced little action, but just after the hour mark, the game came back to life as Harps came close to drawing level twice in the space of ninety seconds.

Firstly, a stunning twenty-five-yard strike with the outside of his left boot from Doherty produced a magnificent one handed save from Town stopper Brady. Brady then pulled off another brilliant save, this time from Patrick Ferry’s close-range effort.

Harps deservedly equalised in the sixty-seventh minute when a thirty-yard rocket from Watson flew past keeper Brady and rattled the Town net.

Longford defender Egan came close with a header on seventy-four minutes only for Harps’ keeper Heimer to spring to his left to make a splendid save.

The Donegal side came close to snatching the lead on eighty minutes when McNamee spread the ball out to substitute Chris Lotefa on the right inside the Town box but his low diagonal shot was well saved by Brady.

Longford had a great chance to take all three points in the eighty-third minute when a poor clearance from Harps’ keeper Heimer went straight to substitute Samuel Clarke but his attempted lob over the stranded Heimer from near the halfway line went narrowly wide.

Harps completed a brilliant comeback with a controversial winner just as the clock ticked into stoppage time.

 Lotefa played a clever ball down the right, Edogan made a diagonal run behind the Town defence and although he looked a yard offside, the flag stayed down allowing Edogun to deliver a pin-point cross that was headed home by substitute Mbuli at the back post to give the Ballybofey side all three points.

LONGFORD TOWN (4-4-2):  Brady, Elworthy, Egan, O’Shea, O’Connor, Wade Slater, Hery, Serdeniuk, Wixted, Lyons, George.

Subs:- Clarke for George, Boudiaf for Wade Slater (both 76 mins), Chambers for Hery (84 mins).

FINN HARPS  (4-5-1): Heimer, Watson, Baba, Makinson, McMonagle, McLaughlin, Cawley, Doherty, McNamee, Ferry, Edogun.

Subs:- Mbuli for McLaughlin (21 mins), Hutchison for Ferry, Lotefa for Doherty (both 70 mins).

Referee: Daryl Carolan (Louth).