Kevin McHugh celebrates his goal with Sean McCarron – Picture by Gerard McHugh.
A stunning effort from the edge of the box by goalpoaching machine Kevin McHugh puts Finn Harps on top of the Airtricity First Division.
Freezing temperatures and s swirling breeze made conditions difficult at Finn Park as Harps went up against fancied Longford Town.
Niggly fouls throughout saw the referee issue no less than eight yellow cards including six for the home side.
Longford, with a certain former Manchester United winger Keith Gillespie playing in midfield, started the brighter despite losing to players early on to injury.
Harps went ahead in the 22nd minute when Killea striker McHugh picked the ball up on the edge of the area.
The striker twisted and shook off a couple of tackles before unleashing a super left-footed drive into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 to the delight of the vast majority of the 700 or so fans.
Harps protected their lead until the break but Longford emerged the hungrier and almost leveled just a minute after the restart.
Keith Cowan gave away a free and Keith Gillespie rattled the crossbar before David O’Sullivan headed over the crossbar from the rebound.
Tony Cousins’ side dominated in midfield for spells but failed to break down a stubborn and determined Harps back four.
Gillespie was lucky not to get the line with an over-the-top challenge on Cowan for which he got a yellow.
Longford did continue to probe the openings and may have felt they deserved an equalizer.
Indeed they had appeals for a penalty turned down when McGonagle pulled down O’Sullivan.
The referee decided it was outside the area as Longford protested.
The resulting free kick found the head of Brian McCarthy who found the net but was ruled out for a foul.
Longford pressed right until the death but the Donegal side stood solid.
Finn Harps: Ciaran Gallagher; Damien McNulty, Keith Cowan, Thomas McMonagle, Matthew Crossan; Michael Funston, Aaron O’Hagan, Shaun McGowan, Marc Brolly; Kevin McHugh, Marc Brolly. Subs: Paul McVeigh (Brolly, 80 mins), Tommy Bonnar (O’Hagan, 84 mins). Unused: James Doherty, Mark Forker, Johnny Bonner, Michéal Doherty, Shaun Patton.
Longford Town: Chris Bennion; Noel Haverty, Brian McCarthy, William McDonagh, Willie Tyrell; Colm James, Keith Gillespie, Mark Salmon, Daniel Purdy; David O’Sullivan, Michael Isichei. Subs: Etanda Nkololo (Haverty, 5 mins), John O’Hanlon (Isichei, 14 mins) David O’Neill (Purdy, 79 mins). Unused: Chris Deans, Gary Cronin, Gavin Doyle, Paul Hunt.