BY MATTHEW WILSON
FINN Harps under 15 manager Davitt Walsh is pleased with his side’s development as they progress through their league campaign.
The Finn Harps under 15 outfit were in action last Saturday when they made the trip to Ballisodare for a meeting with Sligo Rovers in a north-west derby.
Walsh was without the services of a number of players from the start of the contest which led the Harps boss to re-shuffle the pack.
In what was a thrilling encounter, the hosts led 4-1 and 5-3 at different stages but Walsh’s men remained determined.
They battled back to level terms at 5-5 and the character that the side displayed was something that pleased their manager.
“The day didn’t start off well. I got two calls from parents at 8.30 in the morning. One was from Charlie Bonner, who’s an Irish international, and he’d a vomiting bug.
“Then, I got a call from Danny Friel’s parents saying he’d a vomiting bug too, that’s two starters out of your team straight away.
“We arrived down and two starters, Jamie Lafferty and Josh O’Donnell, got a lift with Josh’s auntie and they got lost.
“They didn’t end up landing until half-time so it wasn’t the normal things that would be happening.”
“It’s a re-shuffling job then and the boys that got given the opportunity didn’t let me down. We went 1-0 up, Oliver Loughran scored a great goal from a set-piece. We conceded a couple of goals then and we got in at half-time. We were able to get the two boys on and we managed to get a bit of a strangle hold on the game.
“But we went 4-1 down and you’re thinking it’s damage limitation. But I’ve had this group for five years now and they never lie down. They’re a credit to themselves because they never give up, they keep going until the final whistle.
“We managed to get an unbelievable draw. The whole squad kept going and it was very proud to come away with a 5-5 draw.”
Finn Harps are joined in the league by Derry City, Drogheda United, Mayo, Longford, Athlone Town, Klub Kildare and last Saturday’s opponents Sligo Rovers.
They’ve played five games to date during their league campaign and they are currently positioned fourth in the table, registering seven points out of a possible 15.
They’re producing some good performances and playing some brilliant football, scoring 16 goals so far in their five games.
Speaking to the Donegal News, the Finn Harps under 15 boss hailed the progress being made, but insisted that player development is the priority at this stage of their young careers.
Some of the squad have already gone on to compete at age groups above them and the progress that they’re making bodes well for the future of the Navenny Street club.
“We’re relatively pleased. As much as it’s nice for the boys to be doing well in the league, they all know that the objective is for them to develop and push up the levels.
“There’s three players from my group that are playing regularly in the Under 17s, Ethan Buchanan, Josh O’Donnell and Charlie Bonner.
“Those players have been excelling at that level, for 15-year-olds to be doing that is fantastic. They’ve also made their debut for the Under 20s which is great.
“As good as it is to be in the position we’re in, the objective is to keep developing players. The goal is to get players to be good enough to play for Finn Harps first-team.”
Next up for the Finn Park residents is a meeting with Derry City next Tuesday night in what will be their second successive north-west derby.
The Candystripes have enjoyed a positive campaign so far in the league, securing maximum points from their five outings to leave themselves at the top of the table.
It’ll be a stern test for Walsh’s young outfit but one which they will relish according to the manager and they’ll be hoping to prevail on the day.
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve had ding dong battles at this age group with Derry. There’s never much in the games, it’s usually the typical derby games.
“We’ll be expecting a tough game, Derry are always very well drilled and they’ve some really talented players.
“It’ll be a tight battle but it’s something that my boys always relish. They love playing against Derry, you always want the bragging rights no matter what age group.”