Harps suffered their first defeat of the season with 4-1 defeat away to Bohemians FC on Sunday, 17th March.
Harps were slow to start and found themselves 2-0 down after 20 minutes but to their credit they worked hard and got themselves back into the game when Aislinn Coll was brought down by the Bohemians GK inside the box.
Orlaith Doherty stepped up and fired home for her third goal of the season. Soon after, Aislinn Coll showed great skill after a corner kick rebounded to her but the keeper saved well at her near post.
Harps were enjoying their best spell of the game after this and were disappointed to concede a third just before half time.
In the second half Harps started the brighter of both sides but a mix up from a corner left Bohemians with an easy tap in to make it 4-1.
The game was very even after this with both teams creating half chances but neither team was able to score any more goals. An excellent through ball from Ella McHugh to the lively Doherty ended with a fine strike but the keeper made a good save. Darcey Kelly and Heidi Gill were excellent in defence.
The girls go again this Sunday at 3pm against a very talented Shelbourne team in Diamond Park, Ballyare.
POTM- Codie Walsh and Lorinne Greene
1 Claire Diver GK
2 Heidi Gill
4 Erika Gallagher
5 Darcey Kelly
6 Aislinn Coll C
7 Mary Anne Ward
8 Codie Walsh
9 Orlaith Doherty
10 Ella McHugh
17 Lorinne Greene
20 Caitlin Doherty
Subs
3 Emily Niamh Irwin
11 Eva Blaney
14 Freya Canning
15 Bridin Hynes
16 Leah McLoughlin
18 Olivia Maxwell
WU17s
On Saturday 16th March the Harps WU17 squad made the trip to the Oscar Traynor Centre intent on making it a good start to their St Patrick’s Weekend. The opponents were Bohemians, who had already chalked up 6 points, disposing of the challenge of Dundalk and Longford in previous rounds. The home side started at a frantic pace on the massive Oscar Traynor pitch, forcing numerous corners with Sophie Doherty denying crosses to the box on the left side of the Harps defence. A dangerous corner to the back post was met by the head of a Bohs midfielder and heading into the corner of the net, only to be denied by a combination of brave defending by Scarlett Keyes and GK Rhianna Doherty. Attempts at playing out from the back were successful on occasion with Sophie Canning and joint POTM Emma Wallace central to this as Harps looked to gain a foothold in the game. Bohs’ relentless pressing, however, resulted in them disrupting the Harps build up and forcing turnovers on the Harps left, and on one particular occasion, Keyes made an excellent last-ditch tackle to prevent a certain goal as the striker was 1 v 1 with only the keeper to beat.
On the 25 minute mark, Bohs came the closest to scoring with their left winger hitting a volley from the edge of the box. Harps breathed a sigh of relief as Doherty collected the rebound after the shot had hit the post and rolled along the face of the goal. In what was turning out to be a very good encounter, Harps began to see some openings of their own. Chloe Deeney released Caitlin Doherty down the right channel on the 37th minute, with Doherty beating two defenders before seeing her shot/cross blocked when Harps had players free at the back post. A good opening for Harps, but another chance came on the 40th minute when Harps were pressing high. A square pass from Bohs centre back to centre back was anticipated by Sienna Bradley who raced onto the ball ahead of the Bohs defender. As she was pulling the trigger to shoot on goal the defender got a block in on Bradley, which many felt should have resulted in a penalty. The referee waved play on however and Bohemians cleared. We send Sienna our best wishes as she picked up an injury in this tackle.
The second half saw a midfield battle arise with Ainara Hutcheson and Sarah McGuinness central to some positive Harps play. On a few occasions, Hutcheson and McGuinness looked to put Doherty and Abaigh Curran in as Harps counter-attacked, only to be denied by smart defending. From 70 minutes on, Harps weathered Bohemians pressure as they went with two up front in search of a home victory. Led by Fia Coyle, Alannah Curran and joint POTM Kaylagh Sweeney, Bohemians were denied cross after cross, and block after block. Lauren McArdle was introduced into nets and was a reassuring figure collecting a few crosses and dealing well with shots from distance. Harps who were intent on creating a real talking point in the league, by coming to Dublin and gaining a result, stuck to their task until the ref’s final whistle and can be elated with the point against the Dublin side. Emma Wallace and Kaylagh Sweeney shared the POTM award. The side look forward to hosting a Drogheda team who are travelling to Letterkenny on March 23rd looking for their 2nd win of their campaign (Letterkenny Community Centre, 3.30 KO), with all support appreciated!
16 Rhianna Doherty GK
3 Sophie Doherty
4 Scarlett Keys
5 Niamh Ryan
6 Sophie Canning
8 Kaylagh Sweeney
9 Caitlin Doherty C
10 Chloe Deeney
11 Sienna Bradley
14 Alannah Curran
15 Emma Wallace
Subs
1 Lauren McArdle GK
2 Alanna Graham
7 Sarah McGuinness
12 Fia Coyle
17 Abaigh Curran
18 Ainara Hutcheson
21 Eabha Daly
MU14s
Our 14s were involved in a 7 goal thriller at the Aura as they narrowly lost out to an excellent Bohemian FC team. Odhran McHugh, Jack O’Donnell & Jonah Cannon all found the net for Harps while Cahir Daly continued his superb recent form with a POTM performance.
1 Matthew Dowds GK
3 Jonah Cannon
4 Sean Gallagher
5 Cahir Daly
6 Finn Devine
7 Oran Daly
8 Adam McBride C
9 Odhran McHugh
10 Lukas Doherty
12 Lee McDaid
Subs
14 Luke O’Donnell
15 Marcin Pirch
16 Ben Farrell
17 Jack Byrne
18 Ronan McGranaghan
MU15s
It was a tough outing for the Harps MU15s as they took on Saint Patrick’s Athletic at the Letterkenny Community Centre last Saturday. The visitors took the points winning 3-0 on the day.
25 Noah Boyle GK
2 Rowan McGroarty
3 Callum Boyle
4 Eoin Gorman
5 Jack Davies
6 Blake Meredith C
7 Leighton Green
8 Illia Voronkin
9 Temple Akpo
10 Eanna Duddy
11 Shai Thompson
Subs
12 Thomas McHugh
14 Diarmuid Reid
15 Adrian Plata
16 Alex Ferry
17 Tadhg Mc Daid
19 Naoise Kavanagh
32 Cormac Crossan