Shamrock Rovers 1 Finn Harps 1
Dave Scully came to the rescue of Finn Harps at the Tallaght Stadium on Sunday, as the Ballybofey outfit played out an entertaining draw with 10-man Shamrock Rovers.
When Harps wing-back Ciaran Coll beat Brandon Miele to a long-ball on eight minutes, it looked like the danger had been diverted by the visitors. However, Coll's header was spilled behind for a corner by Harps goalkeeper Ciaran Gallagher, and Miele's subsequent corner from the left-wing was nodded home by the imposing Gary Shaw.
This was precisely the kind of start that the Donegal outfit were aiming to avoid, and Gallagher had to at his best to turned away a powerful Shaw effort in the closing stages of the half.
Rovers were ideally placed to claim all three points upon the resumption, but they were left shell-shocked in the 48th-minute - as an enticing cross from the left-flank was headed into the bottom right-hand corner by Scully.
This increased the pressure on the Hoops, and after Gary McCabe was shown a straight red-card for an off-the-ball incident 24 minutes from time, they had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Shamrock Rovers: Hyland; Madden, Cornwall, Heaney, O'Connor; McCabe, McPhail (Cregg 80), Brennan; Clarke (North 70), Shaw, Miele (Doona 85).
Finn Harps: Gallagher; Boyle (J Mailey 93), McNulty, P Mailey, McMonagle, Coll; Funston, Harkin, Hanlon (McNamee 71); Houston, Scully (McHugh 62).
Referee: A Buttimer (Cork).
