Finn Harps edge out Sligo in five-goal thriller

Finn Harps came out on top in an action packed north-west derby against Sligo Rovers on a night of plentiful talking points in Ballybofey.

The nuts and the bolts of it - with St Patrick's Athletic beating UCD 2-1 - are that Harps move off the bottom of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division table while their defeated neighbours now have work to do if they are to rekindle their European adventures in 2023.

Barry McNamee, Ryan Rainey and Ryan Connolly scored the goals for the home team, with Rovers’ Aidan Keena grabbing a brace; two penalties were awarded and there were two red cards.

A McNamee screamer on 17 minutes put Harps into an unlikely lead, taking full advantage of the Sligo defence backing off and thundering a left-footed striker across Luke McNichloas from 25 yards at the Town End.

By that stage, Ollie Horgan had already been dismissed inside of 13 minutes when he picked up two bookings from referee Rob Hennessy in a matter of seconds.

The Harps manager made his dissatisfaction known with the decision of the official to give Connolly a caution and earned the same punishment himself. However, Hennessy didn’t appreciate the ironic clap of the hands from Horgan, so red it was.

Keena - who has scored five times against Harps in the previous three fixtures this term - drew a full-stretch save from James McKeown in goal just shy of the half-hour mark.

Four minutes later, Max Mata drifted in behind the Harps’ defence from a precise Lewis Banks diagonal ball and although the shot was enough to beat McKeown, Rob Slevin made a last-ditch clearance to keep Harps in front.

Harps, though, went one better at the other end to go 2-0 in front on 37 minutes, with Rainey rising highest amid a clutter of players in the penalty area to