Superb lob causes despair for Mervue

A superb lob by visiting attacker Marc Brolly midway through the second half gave Finn Harps all three points from their visit to Terryland Park to take on Mervue United in what proved to be a drab First Division encounter on Friday night.It was the third successive league win for the Donegal club and a set-back for Mervue who had put a recent run of eight successive defeats behind them with a draw against Wexford Youths and win over Athlone Town.Brolly provided the game’s one true moment of class when he lobbed Mervue goalkeeper Eoin Martin from just outside the box in the 79th minute, but the hero then turned villain for the Harps when he was sent off four minutes from the end. Ironically for Mervue, Harps also escaped from Terryland thanks to a late lob in their last game against the east side club.Harps’ team has changed radically since their relegation last season and it was the home side which enjoyed the brighter start, with Pat Hoban curling a free-kick just over the bar 17 minutes in, following a foul on Eric Browne, who had a shot blocked down by Seamus Sharkey in the early stages of the fixture.The visitors had to wait a further ten minutes before registering their first shot, as Brolly shot high and wide from outside the Mervue penalty area. In truth, Martin had little to deal with in the opening period.