Finn Harps held Champions Dundalk to a 1-1 draw in their first home game of the season, their first points against the Lilywhites since 2007. Keith Cowan opened the scoring late in the first half, with Brian Gartland hitting an equaliser midway thro
Finn Harps held Champions Dundalk to a 1-1 draw in their first home game of the season, their first points against the Lilywhites since 2007.
Keith Cowan opened the scoring late in the first half, with Brian Gartland hitting an equaliser midway through the second half.
Even the most optimistic of Harps fans and players alike would have been delighted with a point against such a dominant side before kick off but Keith Cowan says it was disappointing not to get the win after taking and holding the lead.
“When you’re a goal ahead, in a winning position, conceding is disappointing when we felt we had been dealing with them fairly well, we thwarted any sort of attacks that they had.
“It was unlucky it was a set-piece, we are disappointed that it outdone us in the end,” he said.
Dundalk controlled possession through large spells during the game, that mixed with a dogged Harps defence made for a very entertaining match for the spectators, one which Cowan says was very hard fought.
“It was a tough game, any game against Dundalk is going to be tough, they’re the Champions for a reason.
“We didn’t really know what to expect because they were hurting after only getting a point last week and we had to get something on the board,” he added.
Finn Harps broke the deadlock five minutes shy of half-time and on the balance of play at the time, it was a goal that stunned a few people.
“They started very brightly, they had a few chances, Peter(Burke) pulled off a few good saves, they’ve got loads of quality on lots of areas, they can score from any part of the pitch really.” he said.
“The deliveries are good from Gannon and Duffy, you know the list of names is pretty endless.” he added.
The games come thick and fast in the Premier Division and Cowan noted that it’s important to get points on the board as quick as possible.
“We aren’t going to get much rest over the next few weekends, we are going Friday, Monday, Friday, Monday for a while now but that is what it’s about,” he said.
“It’s great to be a part of it,” he concluded.
