The First Division is heading for a photo finish

LEADERS Wexford Youths are making a kick for the First Division winner’s enclosure.

Finn Harps were thrown off course with three defeats in June but they are back in the saddle and making a move.

And UCD have studied the form and believe they can make it to the line out in front.

Two sides could make the jump to the Premier Division for 2016. It’ll be winner all right for the table toppers, who will grab automatic promotion. Wexford, Harps and UCD are all in the hunt and going well.

Second and third will meet in a play-off, with the winner getting to take on the second-from-bottom Prem side for the right to play in the top flight next season.

WEXFORD YOUTHS are determined not to fall at the final Furlong as the First Division club grow in tandem with their star striker.

Before this season, Wexford had not finished higher than fourth since joining the League of Ireland.

But with the country’s top marksman Danny Furlong in their ranks they are setting the pace.

Furlong scored Wexford’s first two goals in their dramatic 3-2 win over Cabinteely last Friday.

The brace brought his official tally to 21, although he is adamant he has scored 22, from 21 games.

Furlong explained: “I scored a goal away to Harps which was given to Conor English but he was nowhere near the ball. I think the club are trying to get it awarded to me.

“I set a target of 20. I’ve gone past that and I’d be happy if I didn’t score again if it meant we were promoted.”

One seems unlikely to happen without the other, with boss Shane Keegan outlining the 25-year-old’s importance to his side.

Keegan said: “Our team is set up with a simple game-plan.

“It is to restrict the opposition to as few chances as possible and to create as many for Danny because we know he’s going to take a lot. He appreciates the work the other players do because sometimes they’re laid on a plate for him.”

As a result, he has surpassed his career-best tally of 19 goals, achieved last season.

And he has kept up his record of having improved every year he has been at Ferrycarrig Park.

He has been there for all but one season of his career, with 2013 spent between Cork City and Waterford United.

Furlong said: “I learned more that year than I did in all the others. It gave me a different perspective, took me out of my comfort zone.

“The half-season I had at Cork, I took everything I could out of it. At Waterford, I injured my knee on the first day in a friendly against Crystal Palace and I don’t think I lasted a full training session after that.

“But I didn’t just sit back and lick my wounds. I came back to Wexford and picked up where I left off and if I could get to the Premier Division with my hometown club, it would be great.”

Wexford — like the other top-four First Division clubs — did not receive a Premier Division licence this year.

That suggests there is work to be done off the field as well to ensure they are ready for the top flight.

Keegan said: “As last Friday showed, we can’t get ahead of ourselves and we’ve a local derby against Waterford on Friday week.

“We’ve UCD on September 11 and 18, which could decide a lot, but only if we do the business in our games before and after those.

“But we’ll be ready for the Premier Division if we are promoted. Things are as good as they have been since I’ve been here. There’s a strong board in place.

“Our crowds have been the best they have been for a few years and you’d like to think more would come out if we did go up.

“We’d have the smallest budget in the Premier Division but we’re used to that. We wouldn’t be in the top four budgets in the First Division.

“Depending on where they live, some of our lads barely cover expenses. They’d be lucky to get €100 a week.

“But five or six of our squad had offers to go to Premier Division clubs at the start of the season.

“And they stayed with us because they enjoy it and I’d like to think they’d stick around if we did go up.”

COLLIE O’NEILL knows his UCD team face seven tough exams to win promotion.

But he believes that their Europa League Erasmus has them ready.

The Students are well-placed to secure promotion and are the form team in the First Division.

They are unbeaten in their last 17 games and sit second in the table, a point behind Wexford Youths.

What could have been the distraction of the Europa League in July has turned out to be a blessing.

The team has returned to league action with five wins on the spin, the latest a 3-1 victory over visitors Athlone Town on Monday night.

They scored two late goals to secure all three points.

O’Neill said: “They’ve become a machine lately.

“Even though it took until the 87th minute against Athlone, there was no celebrating in the dressing room, it was on to the next game.

“Europe helped us enormously. When you’re away spending time together, it builds things up quickly.”

That is different from the start of the season, when the Students lost three of their opening four games.

O’Neill added: “We don’t have a normal pre-season. The Under-19 league was on so we had players in that while the Colleges league and Collingwood Cup are also on.

“We didn’t have our full squad together until one week before the season. We started with three defeats in four but I actually thought we were the better team in those games.

“Then, as players got used to what I was asking, we’ve just kept on progressing.”

Now, most believe they are destined to win promotion, though O’Neill reckons it is easy to ignore the praise.

He said: “How many times have you heard that teams are too good to go down?

“It doesn’t matter if people say you are the best, you have to win games.”

The Students keep doing just that, though it took two late goals against Athlone on Monday night to preserve their winning run.

And O’Neill admits that struggle is a preview of the rest of the season for his team.

He added: “I’ve told them we have seven battles to go.

“When we face Wexford or Finn Harps or Shelbourne, we’ll both be looking for points for promotion.

“But the Athlone game, and Waterford as well recently, showed that those lower down are just as hard.

“They’re facing us under no pressure and that is just as dangerous for us.”

OLLIE HORGAN is keeping his feet on the ground as Finn Harps look to flee the First Division dungeon.

Harps were top for 74 days from April through to June but looked like melting away once the sun came out.

They lost all three games in June — to Athlone, Wexford Youths and Shelbourne — before they got their promotion bid back on track.

They have responded well with four victories from their last seven outings, including Friday’s 1-0 must-win clash against promotion rivals Shelbourne.

But manager Horgan knows his team still face an uphill battle to overtake both Wexford Youths — whom they face in their final game of the campaign — and UCD.

A lack of firepower has been a big problem for the Donegal men.

Horgan told SunSport: “Danny Furlong has 21 goals this season for Wexford Youths — we’ve got 30 between us. We’re a team that needs to win tight games.

“It’s a cliche but there are no easy games in this division and some good sides out there. We started well, had a terrible June but improved in July. We’ve got to hang in there now and see where it takes us.”

The Donegal-based teacher repeatedly says he is not trying to be negative, just realistic. Promotion rivals might call it mind games.

He adds: “While we don’t have a Robbie Benson or a Danny Furlong, what we do have is a group of players who make sacrifices and work very hard for each other.

“We’ve played Shelbourne three times and two of the games have been decided by penalties.

“The game we lost at Tolka Park in June, I thought we were hard-done-by. People say those things even themselves out, but I’m not sure. We’ll see over the next few games.

“At the start of the year, you set your ambitions out. Already, we are ahead of last year, when we had the cup run but were fifth, but well behind Wexford in fourth.

“This year we’re better. All you can do each year is improve and see where it takes you.”

Were the club to go up, the winter could prove a challenging period to get ready for top-flight football.

Construction work on the club’s new stadium in Stranorlar has been plagued by delays and Finn Park is likely to need work to be brought up to Premier Division standard.

On the field, there would also be challenges.

The last time the Donegal men were in the top flight, they had the financial clout to be full-time under then-boss Paul Hegarty. Not anymore.

Horgan added: “Because of our geographic location, we’re dealing with a smaller pool of players compared to other areas.

“But that goes with the territory and we just have to do the best we can with what we have.

“With the budget, as with everyone else in the First Division, you cannot make it financially attractive for players to come to us.”

His squad are mostly only getting paid expenses but he acknowledges that means that the commitment of his panel is a given.

He said: “I can’t ask for more than what they give me. You don’t play First Division football to get rich. You’ll get your diesel covered to get to training three nights a week and a home game on Friday, or to the pick-up point as we head off for Cobh, Wexford or wherever. It takes a lot of dedication.

“For us to compete, I think that we have to work hard, maybe harder than others.

“But, to be fair, everyone in the First Division is doing the same thing.

“There are better players at other clubs than what we have but if we stick together, we will give ourselves a chance of staying in contention.”

Horgan holds himself to the same high standard as his players. He can regularly be seen scouting opponents on any night his team is not playing.

Given that he lives in Donegal, it means he puts in lots of miles and hours preparing his team.

He shrugs it off though as part and parcel of the job and admits he often bumps into rival managers doing the same thing.

Horgan explained: “I’m not looking for credit. My players put in a huge effort, as does everyone at the club.

“I just do what is needed. There are a lot in the league who do the same.”