Sligo Rovers

Striker grabs his eighth and ninth of the season either side of Karl O'Sullivan's second to give new boss John Russell a positive home victory.

The second-half was decidedly scrappy. The home side doubled their lead four minutes later. O'Sullivan latched onto Shane Blaney's long ball, took possession around Harps goalkeeper Mark McGinley and finished from close-range.

John Russell got his spell as permanent Sligo Rovers manager under way in ideal fashion as his Bit O'Red side saw off Finn Harps 3-0 at the Showgrounds.

McGinty had to atone for his own error before the break. There were chances for Rovers’ Paddy Kirk and Cawley before the interval, while Rob Slevin fired over from distance for the visitors 10 minutes into the second period as Harps looked to navigate a way back into this tie. O’Sullivan’s initial cross was repelled by the Harps defence, only for the ball to fall to Keena, who fired an effort from the edge of the area past a number of defenders, including a man on the line, who could do little about keeping the ball in play.

An Aidan Keena brace either side of the game saw Sligo Rovers send Finn Harps home with a 5th defeat in their last six games while Karl O'Sullivan ...

Sligo would get their third as O’Sullivan’s cross second time round found Keena and he towered over the Harps defence to head home his 9th goal of the season and his 5th against Finn Harps. Mata did well to play Keena through and the striker was through one-on-one but he hit his shot wide. The ball went out for a throw-in and Keena’s cross found Max Mata who forced a good save from McGinley but Mata was called out for offside. First, Keena dribbled into the box and when tackled, the ball fell to Fitzgerald but the shot was blocked. The striker’s shot from the edge of the box was low and hard, going straight into the far corner. A long ball from Donegal man Shane Blaney held up in the wind and the bounce fooled McGinley, while O’Sullivan was quick to pounce, getting to the ball first and tapping into the empty net.

O'Sullivan and Keena torments Harps in northwest derby at the Showgrounds.

The striker got his second of the night and his fifth goal in two games against Finn Harps at the Showgrounds this season, when he fired home in the closing stages to wrap up the win. Former Harps winger O’Sullivan scored one and was involved in both of Keena’s two goals, as the Bit O’ Red picked up their second home win under the watch of new boss John Russell. Karl O’Sullivan and Aidan Keena tormented Finn Harps as Sligo Rovers claimed the bragging rights in the northwest derby at the Showgrounds.