Finn Harps defender Jamie Watson hails resilience of side's late win

Finn Harps defender Jamie Watson praised the fighting spirit of his side to produce a superb comeback and start their 2024 First Division season on a high with a late 3-2 victory over Longford Town at the weekend. 

The Donegal club found themselves two goals down after 13 minutes but fought back to win with a late goal. 

Success Edogan and Jamie Watson levelled the tie at 2-2 by the 67th minute, then a header from teenager Mark Mbuli sealed the win for Harps in the 90th minute. 

“The first 10 minutes, I think we gave away two soft goals,” said Watson. I think in the past, we might have gave up, but this year it’s a new group, it’s a new bunch of boys, and I think we were really resilient and as soon as we got the second goal, we knew we could push on and get that third, so it’s a great win for the lads overall. 

“We had a really good pre-season and that’s a credit to the coaching staff and the boys themselves. We kept it local and around the community which also helps. You can see the fans that travelled down, it was fantastic. I know that this is the nearest away ground to go to, but it’s still two hours on a Saturday, so it is great to see.” 

The 24-year-old played a vital role in the second half as he led the way from the defence and drew Harps level in the 67th minute, when Tony McNamee flicked the ball into Watson's path, who unleashed a spectacular strike from a distance. 

“I was happy with the goal, it was a good strike. I don’t think I get the chance to do that enough, so it was good to have that option. I don’t try and take too much out of the ball but when I do get on it, you want to try and create something,” said the Scottish native. 

“I just saw the space open up and just went for it. Lucky it worked out for me.” 

A vital aspect to Harps’ victory, that Watson points out, was the impact of the substitutes, one of which landed his name on the scoresheet. 

And Watson acknowledges that their energy levels will be needed to carve out results this season, just like they did at the weekend in Longford Town. 

“This is not about the 11 that start, it’s a team game. We had to try and use everyone against Longford. They were all so vital to us getting this win.  

“We utilised every player we had the best way we could. You look at the subs that came on, Mark (Mbuli) got his goal and I think Chris (Lotefa) was involved in the lead up to that goal. It was really important to have those players come on and hopefully we’ll have those big impacts off the bench for the rest of the year.” 

Finn Harps will open their 2024 home league campaign this Friday against recently relegated side Cork City, and it is one that Watson and his teammates are really looking forward to. 

“I can’t wait to get the home opener in Finn Park. I’m really buzzing for that game. We know it’ll be a tough game again, but all we can do is take it game by game and we’ll be delighted to see all the Harps fans at home against Cork,” Watson said.