Finn Harps pegged back and have to settle for a point away to Cork ...

Finn Harps took a point home from their visit to Cork City but will regret the two left behind after Seani Maguire’s super-sub brace.

It took a true champions’ response to deny resilient Harps their breakthrough into the play-off places.

Tony McNamee and Success Edogun had rewarded an impressive performance with a two-goal half-time lead over an experimental City side. But it only lasted until the hosts’ big guns were called off the bench in front of 2,765 fans.

It made for an open yet hotly contested game with 11 yellow cards across the evening as Harps maintained their four-game unbeaten run.

Teenage goalkeeper Oisín Cooney produced two clean sheets in his four games since taking over between the posts and the Leaving Cert student began by parrying from Cian Murphy and Evan McLaughlin.

Harps grabbed the lead in the 11th minute. Kevin Jordan and David Cawley won back possession and the latter exchanged a one-two with Seán Patton before spraying wide to Patrick Ferry. His deep cross found captain McNamee ghosting in at the far post to nod home.

Harps had to hold out against a whirlwind of home pressure. McLaughlin came close when whipping a free-kick just outside the post before Cooney rushed out to spoil Matthew Kiernan’s shot.

An even better chance arrived when Barry Coffey was released into open country. Last week’s hat-trick hotshot unselfishly squared for Conor Drinan but the winger skewed wide from close range.

They were almost gifted a bizarre equaliser moments later. Noe Baba’s clearance cannoned back off of Max Hutchinson but Cooney took flight to claw the ball out of the top corner.

Having weathered the storm, Harps doubled their lead in the first minute of stoppage time. McNamee turned provider when sending Success Edogun into space and he skipped his fourth goal in three games into the far corner.

Up by two, Harps had the hosts well contained until the hour mark when a quadruple change turned the game.

Maguire didn’t wait long to make an impact. When Josh Fitzpatrick’s shot was repelled by Cooney, Maguire was on hand to turn home his third goal since signing for City.

And when Malik Dijksteel was fouled, Maguire stepped up to a free-kick which took a wicked deflection off the wall, wrongfooting the keeper on its path to the net.

Cooney made a double save from a McLaughlin free-kick and a Ruairí Keating rebound before the chance to snatch a win arrived on the counter.

Edogun and Max Johnston combined to send McNamee clear but he fluffed his chip wide.

The post denied Maguire his hat-trick with six minutes to play and he had another effort deflected away by McNamee, while Edogun struck the side-netting late on.

Cork City: Aidan Dowling; Cian Bargary (Cathal O’Sullivan 59), Niall Brookwell, John O’Donovan, Matthew Kiernan; Arran Healy (Greg Bolger 75), Evan McLaughlin; Josh Fitzpatrick, Barry Coffey (Seani Maguire 59), Conor Drinan (Malik Dijksteel 59); Cian Murphy (Ruairí Keating 59).

Finn Harps: Oisín Cooney; Jamie Watson, Noe Baba, Matthew Makinson, Kevin Jordan; Tony McNamee, Max Hutchinson, David Cawley (Bruce Strachan 62); Success Edogun, Seán Patton (Max Johnston 67), Patrick Ferry.

Referee: D Toland.