With only four games remaining, Finn Harps led the table by a point but losses away to Bray Wanderers and Dublin City handed the title to Dublin City and left Finn Harps in the now-dreaded playoffs once again. They disposed of Bray Wanderers in the semi-finals but lost in the final to local rivals Derry City, who had finished ninth in that season's Premier Division. Noel King lasted six games into the 2004 season before leaving the club by mutual consent, with the amount of travelling the Dubliner had to endure being cited as one of the main reasons for his departure. Sean McGowan, his assistant, once again took charge for two games but within ten days the club announced a shock replacement. Felix Healy, the former Derry City player and manager who had won all domestic major honours with his home-town club, would be the new manager. Fans viewed this as a bold move by the Finn Harps board of directors, considering Healy's history with the club's fiercest rivals. However, Healy - in the club's golden jubilee year - won the club's first First Division title and achieved the promotion to the Premier Division that had eluded so many managers before him. However, the following season saw the club struggle in the Premier Division and Harps sacked Healy in July. Anthony Gorman agreed to become player-manager until the end of the season. However, at the season's end and with Finn Harps relegated again, Gorman agreed to take the position on a full-time basis only to leave following the 2006 season as his efforts to lead the club to promotion failed. In 2007, after Paul Hegarty took charge of managing the team, financial difficulties that had nearly bankrupted the club some seasons earlier became more prevalent so the club - struggling in the lower half of the First Division - put all players on sale. The 2007 season started sluggishly with a number of defeats and "bore draws" (notably against Monaghan United), but a lengthy unbeaten run left the club in second place in the league, only one point behind Cobh Ramblers. They emerged as victors over Dundalk from the first round of the First Division play-off, with a 2–0 win. The first leg of the final play-off round against Waterford United ended at Finn Park with Harps taking a 3–0 advantage to the Waterford RSC ahead of the return