'A decent point against a really good side': Finn Harps boss Darren Murphy

Darren Murphy felt a different kind of sickness as he reflected on a win that got away.

When all was said and done, though, the Finn Harps manager could be content with a point at UCD.

Sure, his Finn Harps side conceded a 93rd minute equaliser and had taken the lead three times against UCD only to be pegged back each time.

In an overall context, though, with Murphy's Harps squad, already stung by injuries, hit by a bug on Friday as they travelled to Belfield, a 3-3 draw wasn't a complete night of doom.

“That's a decent point against a really good side,” Murphy told Donegal Live.

“Probably a wee bit disappointed because we went ahead three times and we were pulled back three times.

“The manner of how the game finished made it a wee bit more disappointing, conceding in injury time. That makes it difficult, but it's a good point for us.

“We gave a really good account of ourselves. We hit the net three times. If you go away anywhere and score three goals, you should be coming away with three points, but you have to give UCD a lot of credit too.”

Success Edogun scored twice, including an 88^th minute penalty and looked to have sealed a victory for Harps.

Sean O'Donnell had scurried away to give Harps the lead after only 30 seconds, but William O'Connor's UCD bit back each time with Donal Higgins, Ciaran Behan and Eanna Clancy levelling three times for the Students.

Murphy said: “I always said there'd be bumps in the road because it's a very young group that has just been put together.

“The one thing I wanted was for them to be competitive in every game. We have a very loyal band of supporters and the one thing they want is effort and appreciation of the support. The players are told to remember who they are representing.”

Murphy was down Tim Hiemer, Chris Lotefa and Jamie Watson, who all picked up a bug.

Conor Tourish hadn't trained all week with an injury while Kevin Jordan, Aaron McLaughlin and Mark Mbuli are still a little bit away from returns and Max Hutchison remains a long-term absentee.

Murphy said: “One thing about this group, they never know when to say 'enough is enough'.

“They always keep themselves going and keep themselves in games. It's nice to come here and put on a performance with all that we had going on.

“It's nice to be where we are. We haven't set targets. I don't put pressure on the players. I just want them to go out and put in the effort. We're in a healthy position, but it's a very competitive League.”

An away trip to Kerry will present another kind of test with Tony McNamee set to miss out as he will get married the following day while Matthew Makinson is expected to be suspended having collected a fifth booking of the season on Friday.