DONEGAL JUNIOR LEAGUE REPORTS
Downtown Cup Group A
Cranford United Reserves 2 Erne Wanderers 7
Erne started off strong with a strong wind in their favour and they went ahead with a header from Ryan O’ Brien. Cranford then came into the game but couldn’t get an equaliser. Erne started the second half on top and scored a second through David Gowan. Cranford got back into the game when Johnny Wilhare scored from the edge of the box. Cranford had a number of chances to equalise but Erne struck twice on the break through Ryan O’ Brien and Michael Ward. Andrew Kelly pulled another back for Cranford with a neat finish. Conor Shiels then hit the crossbar for Cranford. With Cranford chasing the game they got caught with late goals through David Gowan, Michael Ward and Dermot Slavin.
Milford United Reserves 1 Glenea United Reserves 2
Glenea booked their passage through to the quarter finals with a hard fought win in Moyle View. Glenea playing with the wind at their back pinned Milford in their own half for the first 20minutes. Their 1st goal came from a long clearance which found Lee O’ Brien who beat the defender and coolly slotted home. Milford came back into the game and had a few chances before Lee Burke found the back of the net after a goal mouth scramble in the 35th minute. The second half was only a few minutes old when Glenea got their second. Milford threw everything they had at Glenea for the rest of the match but were unable to find the equaliser.
Downtown Cup Group B
Fintown Harps AFC 3 Keadue Rovers Reserves 2
This game took place in wet conditions at Pairc Acla in Fintown. In the first half both teams found it hard to put scores on the board. Then in the last minute of first half Fintown were awarded a penalty. Daragh made no mistake in putting the Harps in front just before the half time whistle.
In the Second half Keadue Rovers started best. In the opening stages Cathal Duggan saw a gap in the Fintown defence and he had a pop at goal, making it all level at Pairc Acla. Fintown pushed hard to get regain the advantage and finally got what they deserved with Brian Delaney scoring two great goals in two minutes. Keadue answered with a goal from Dara Hanlon and they pushed hard to get the equaliser but it wasn’t to be.
Solid team performances by both teams. Referee: Andrew Mullan
Downtown Cup Group C
Gweedore United Reserves 3 Glenree United Reserves 2
This game played in difficult weather conditions saw the home side claim the three points after a hard battle with the Carrigart men. It was the Gweedore side who started the brightest against the strong wind and they made good early chances for Sean Paul Mc Mahon and Stephen O Donnell. The home side took the lead in the 19th minute when good work from Sean Paul Mc Mahon was well finished past Ian Mc Elhinney by Stephen O’ Donnell. In the 28th minute Glenree equalised when a well delivered corner from Eoin Mc Laughlin was headed into the net by Carl Mc Elhinney and the score remained one apiece until half-time. The home side with the aid of the strong wind in the second half went into the lead in the 49th minute when a clearance from a corner fell to Ciaran Gillespie who drove it into the back of the net from 18 yards to make it 2-1. Glenree however fought hard and both sides had good chances in the remainder of the half. It was the visitors who once again came from behind in the 72nd minute when Matthew Coyle was pulled down in the box and Eric Roberts scored the resulting penalty. It was end to end football in the last fifteen minutes. The home side scored the winner in the 84th minute when a good pass from Ciaran Gillespie fell to Sean Paul Mc Mahon who made no mistake and drove past Mc Elhinney to make it 3-2. Eric Roberts and Carl Mc Elhinney played well for Glenree while Sean Paul Mc Mahon, Hugh Martin Curran and Ryan Duggan excelled for Gweedore United.
Referee: James Malseed.
Downtown Cup Group D
Mulroy Celtic 1 Castlefin Celtic Reserves 1
Played in terrible conditions at Tri-a-Loch the game blew from one end to the other with both teams struggling to get their foot in the ball. Mulroy decided to go with the gale force win in the first half but it didn’t seem to help them as most through balls seemed to finish up over the end line. Former Finn Harps player Paddy Mc Grenaghan started in centre midfield for the home side and he proved to be the one shining light in the first half showing his worth when he beat three players on the edge of the 18 yard box and unleashed an unstoppable shot across the keeper into the bottom corner. Castlefin in the second half with the wind at their backs threatened on a few occasions. They got their reward when a cross from the left was well finished from a header. Both teams had half chances to snatch a winner but the game remained all square and both teams were glad to hear the final whistle. Battling performance from both teams.
Watson Hire Division One
Cappry Rovers 8 Arranmore United 1
Cappry Rovers’ Kyle Lafferty set a new club record when he became the first player to score six goals in a game when the home team put eight past the Islanders in atrocious conditions of snow, sleet, hail, thunder and lightning at Cappry Park.
Lafferty opened the scoring in the eleventh minute with a header off the post following a cross from Kevin Mc Glynn.
Darren O’ Leary got Cappry’s second in the seventeenth minute with a header following a corner.
The Islanders came close a few times but the Cappry defence held firm.
Lafferty got his second and Cappry’s third in the forty third minute with a low shot to the bottom right hand corner of the net.
Cappry kept the pressure on the visitors in the second half and Lafferty completed his hat-trick with Cappry’s fourth in the fifty second minute when he headed to the roof of the net.
Lafferty got his fourth goal and Cappry’s fifth on the hour mark when he outpaced the Arranmore defence to slide the ball past the advancing keeper.
Cappry got their sixth goal in the sixty seventh minute when Lafferty received a cross from Brendan Mc Laughlin and blasted the ball to the net from twelve yards for his fifth goal and a new club record.
Brendan Mc Laughlin got on the score sheet in the seventy fifth minute when he beat the defence and drove the ball to the net from ten yards.
Lafferty got his sixth and Cappry’s eighth goal in the eighty fourth minute after he beat the offside trap to score from close range.
Shane Elliott got a consolation goal in the eighty eighth minute for the Islanders when he scored from close range following a goal mouth scramble.
Six goal hero Kyle Lafferty was best for Cappry.
Team Performance with Paul Mc Garvey outstanding for the Islanders.
Referee: Liam Farren.
Cranford United 6 Drumoghill FC 2
This game was switched from Cranford to Tri-a-Lough in Fanad and
provided a bag full of goals and entertainment. Drumoghill opened the
scoring in the 10th minute when Richard Moore curled home from the
edge of the area. Cranford hit back almost immediately when Philip
Buchanan scored from the penalty spot after Danny McBride was fouled
in the area. Moore put Drumoghill ahead again on 20 minutes with a peach
from all of 25 yards into the bottom corner. However their lead didn’t
last long as Buchanan tapped home after great work between Chris
Duffy and Brian McVeigh. Before half-time Cranford took the lead when
Brian McVeigh and Danny McBride combined for the latter to score with
a superb finish.
The second half began with both teams battling hard but with no clear
chances being created. On 65 minutes Cranford extended their lead when
Shaun Mc Elwaine’s through ball was returned across by Buchanan and Brendan
Giles volleyed home from 10 yards out. 4-2 became 5-2 when Buchanan
tucked home a Chris Carr pass and Cranford got their 6th goal when
Mc Elwaine headed home a Conor Shields corner. Seamus Carr, Arthur
Lynch and Chris Duffy were excellent for Cranford, with Liam O’Donnell
Drumoghill’s best. Referee: Vincent Mc Laughlin.
Ballybofey United 2 Donegal Town 1
Ballybofey United recorded an important victory over Donegal Town on Sunday afternoon as the league enters it’s latter stages. Eoin Mc Auley had Ballybofey’s first effort at goal but Dermott Mc Cafferty smothered his shot. Joe Mc Intyre then cut in from the left wing before unleashing a fierce shot that Chris Patton in the home net did well to hold. With fifteen minutes on the watch Conor Doherty played a pass to Michael Lynch who slid the ball between two Donegal Town defenders for Alan Patton to run on to and he placed the ball between Mc Cafferty and his left hand post. Ballybofey United then doubled their lead when they executed the move of the match. Gavin Doherty did well to win the ball wide on the left before sending a pinpoint cross to the head of Chris Breen who glanced the ball into the path of John Gregg who volleyed the ball into the roof of the net from ten yards. Donegal Town had the lion’s share of possession in the second half aided by a strong breeze. Despite this Ballybofey defended well and could have extended their lead on a few occasions. JP Byrne set up a grandstand finish when he reacted quickest to a loose ball in the Ballybofey penalty area leaving the minimum between the sides but the home side held out . Credit to both sets of players for an entertaining open match in very difficult conditions. Referee: Paddy Duffy
CT Ball Division Two
Drumbar United 0 Kerrykeel ’71 F.C. 4
AWAITING REPORT
Whitestrand United 5 Copany Rovers 1
Whitestrand returned to winning ways with a convincing 5-1 win over Copany . The turning point in the game came late in the first half when the superb James Gallagher broke through and was fouled by the keeper. The referee had no choice but to point to the spot and then to add to Copany’s woes he produced a red card. Joint manager Paul Lynch stepped forward and saw his penalty saved but he rolled the rebound into an empty net . Lynch’s miss was the 3rd penalty miss in two games for the strand . The second goal wasn’t long in coming with Eamon Martin finishing off a lovely move after a magnificent reverse ball from James Gallagher . Jamsey then got a well deserved goal to put the result beyond any doubt, converting a fine cross from McGowan . Copany to their credit fought to the end and pulled a goal back to make it 3-1. Michael Sweeney then restored the three goal cushion with a composed finish on what was a frustrating afternoon for the Fanad man. Kevin Loughrey scored a fifth late on.
Best for Whitestrand: James Gallagher and SP Gallagher Referee: Ed Moore
Glenree United 2 Letterbarrow Celtic 0
This Division Two encounter between Two old rivals saw the Sheephaven Bay men edge out a Two nil win in what was payback for a defeat on the opening day of the season.
James Mc Grory’s men started brightly and their style of play created a few chances but they were easily dealt with by the Glenree rearguard.
An on-form Daryl Gibson in the home goals was commanding the 18yard box and his kick outs were finding his team mates every time. This solidified Glenree’s tactics and the creative flair of Andy Logue and Daniel Mc Groddy help their team unlock Celtic’s defence only to be denied by the visiting keeper.
As the half wore on the wind died down and Glenree maintained their offensive.
The half time Jaffa Cakes eased both teams into a more open 2nd half game but it was the introduction of Owen “quick feet” McLaughlin who made and intuitive run and picked up a cheeky Damien Coyle back heel to slot home Glenree’s first on 50minutes.
Glenree then settled but they found the Letterbarrow numbers 9 and 7 a handful at times and they kept everyone on their toes.
The second goal came on 65minutes when Damien Coyle pulled the trigger from 20 yards and the keeper got his fingertips to it for Danny Langan to fire home the rebound from 5 yards.
Young Langan presented Letterbarrow with a lot of headaches on the day and he shares the man of the match award with the midfield maestro Andy Logue.
A stern performance from Celtic and another positive footballing performance from JJ Mc Gettigan’s men in Red. Referee: Victor Rainey.
Ulster Junior Cup
Milford United 4 Gleneely Colts 0
Milford reached the last eight of the Ulster junior cup with a comprehensive win over Inishowen side Gleneely. Milford had a few chances with PJ Hagan hitting the crossbar and Anthony Mc Paul and Ciaran McGinley missing great chances. Milford took the lead when a defender deflected a PJ Hagan corner in to his own net. Milford made it two when Ciaran McGinley raced from the half-way line to slot home. Substitute Gareth Kerrigan finished an Anthony Mc Paul cross to make it three. Joey Cullen finished the scoring when he ran on to a Peter Doherty flick to to produce a great finish. Best for Milford was Anthony Mc Paul
Kilmacrennan Celtic 3 Glengad F.C. 2
Kilmacrennan find themselves advancing into the next round of the Ulster Cup following a hard fought game against a youthful Glengad side.
The hosts started brightly and could have been ahead in the first five minutes when the visitors appeared to be unable to handle the physicality of Kilmacrennan from set pieces. Glengad soon got into their stride and had Kilmac on the back foot for large parts of the first half. The opening goal came in fortuitous circumstances however. Kilmac defender Kieran Gorman attempted to clear a Glengad corner but the ball cruelly found itself in the back of the Kilmac goal with thirty five minutes played.
Glengad started the second half just as they finished the first half. The visitors had a few good chances to extend their lead in the opening ten minutes but were denied by Kilmac’s Mark Gallagher. The visitors were not to be denied on the hour mark however when Terence Doherty managed to get himself free and coolly converted from ten yards. The home side reacted quickly and grabbed a goal back five minutes later when the visitors failed to clear a Michael McLaughlin corner. The ball broke to Timmy Burke who volleyed home from the edge of the box and his shot somehow managed to go through a host of Glengad defenders and into the back of the net. This appeared to halt the momentum in the Glengad play and moments later they conceded from another set piece. The Glengad goalkeeper failed to deal with a Timmy Burke corner kick. The ball broke kindly to Eddie Doherty who made no mistake from close range. With twenty minutes remaining Glengad began to start controlling the game again and had the hosts on the back foot for most of the remaining time. However with two minutes remaining Kilmac won themselves another corner kick. Again the visitors failed to deal with the physicality of the host side and Caolan Kelly struck with the winner.
Team efforts from both sides.
Referee: Paddy Martin
Tags:
