Finn Harps.......2
Shamrock Rovers...1
THE dark cloud of relegation cast its shadow over Finn Park once again on Friday night as Finn Harps' bid for the great escape fell short by a single point on the final evening of the season.
With destiny out of their hands, Harps had their fingers crossed that UCD would do them a favour in Belfield by preventing Galway United from winning. In the end, Jeff Kenna's team won by a solitary goal and stayed up by a solitary point, dooming Harps to the First Division in the process.
Paul Hegarty's side knew that victory was imperative against Shamrock Rovers were they to have any hope of avoiding the drop. And a pair of first-half goals by Marc Mukendi and Conor Gethins gave them a two nil win to give them hope - but news of the result from Dublin was greeted with an almost resigned tone of the inevitable.
Having relinquished control last week following a hugely disappointing defeat in Galway, Harps were always clutching at straws and the fact that they had let a seven-point lead over the relegation zone erode away to nothing is something that will be the subject of many a post mortem in the North West over the closed season.
The 1-0 defeat in Bray earlier in the season, the night when a 2-0 lead over Cobh turned into a 2-2 draw late in the day, a demoralising 2-0 home defeat to Sligo (who also beat Harps 4-1 at The Showgrounds) and the tepid display in Galway last week are just among the list of games that will forever haunt the memories of 2008.
On Friday night, a decent attendance converged on Ballybofey, in the faint hope that their side would manage to defy the odds. Backed on by a tense crowd, Harps set out their stall early on, though the wintry conditions, combined with a badly dug-up Finn Park pitch, made fluid football an impossibility.
Shaun Holmes drilled wide from the edge of the box six minutes in, while Stephen Parkhouse opted for an unselfish cut-back rather than a stab at goal when Barry Murphy failed to hold a shot.
Chris Breen shot wide and Murphy did well to turn a Holmes free-kick around the post, before the home team broke the deadlock on 29 minutes. Holmes' corner was headed out by Pat Flynn, but his clearance was a poor one and Marc Mukendi pounced to drive home his first goal of the season.
Mukendi had missed the Galway game through suspension, but returned for Friday night in place of the banned Stuart Malcolm. In a second enforced change to the starting line-up, Chris Breen began on the left flank with David Tyrell unavailable due to a clause in the loan deal from Rovers.
It should have been two-nil four minutes after the opener, but Gethins shot at Murphy after being played into a one-on-one situation by a through-ball by Neil McCafferty.
But the Lifford man made amends eight minutes from the break when he found the far corner with a clinical finish, though by that stage word had filtered through of Jay O'Shea's goal for Galway at UCD.
Mukendi passed up a glorious chance to get his second and Harps' third in the 52 minute. A cross from the left flank picked out the full-back at the far post, but the Derry man failed to make a connection with the goal gaping at his mercy.
On the hour, Simon Madden was forced into making a goal-line clearance to prevent Stephen Parkhouse from getting the third after Mukendi helped on a corner from Neil McCafferty.
Parkhouse turned provider for Shaun McGowan soon after, but the midfielder saw his effort dealt with by Murphy.
The final 25 minutes or so were played in a quagmire and James Gallagher - playing his 140th and last game as he takes early retirement as a result of a troublesome knee injury - managed to keep a clean sheet as Harps took the win.
It just wasn't enough to keep their heads above water, though. After a season that has taken many twists and turns, Harps can cling to the hope that a difficult year for the League might meander in their favour yet. Staying up by default with talk of some others being penalised with relegation for breaches of financial regulations is now their only chance.
