THERE WAS A varied range of fixtures in the Donegal League over the weekend with league and cup action.
Saturday 29th October 2016
Ulster Junior Shield
Milford United Reserves 1 Illies Celtic 1
( Illies won 3-2 on penalties )
Milford welcomed Illies Celtic to Moyle View Park on a good day for a game.
Milford started the stronger and had a few chances before JJ Fleming broke the deadlock on the half hour mark. He outpaced the Illies defence before rounding the goalie and finishing smartly to put Illies one up.
Photo caption: Action from the Ulster Junior Cup match between Bonagee United and Glengad F.C. Pic.: Donegal Junior League PRO Gary Foy
It should have been 2-0 soon after with Conor Meakin sending in a good cross. JJ Fleming cushioned it down for Ciaran Blaney to smash home but the referee gave offside to the bemusement of everyone. Illies came back strong in the second half and got the equaliser in the 65th minute.
A free kick was sent into the box and an unfortunate Milford defender saw his headed clearance hit the post but Adrian Donaghey-Doherty was on hand to turn home. Both sides had chances to win it in normal and extra time but it would go to the lottery of penalties.
Both keepers pulled of great saves but it was Illies who came out on top 3-2. A great effort from both teams and played in a good spirit but it’s Illies who progress to the next round of the Ulster shield.
[adrotate group=”85″]Glenea United Reserves 9 Moville Celtic 1
The away side started the stronger and had most of the possession in the first 10 minutes.
Glenea settled and a good move from Tommy Rodgers down the left resulted in a free kick which was well finished by Eamonn Mc Hugh. Martin Ferry scored two in quick succession from inside the box after being well set up by Conor Mc Clafferty for both, Moville broke the offside trap on the stroke of halftime to leave it 3-1 at the break.
Glenea took control in the second half with Martin Maguire, Shane Ferry, Sean Mc Bride, Mark Harley, Ciaran Mc Fadden and Conor Mc Clafferty all scoring to put Glenea through to the next round.
Glenree United Reserves 1 Cockhill Celtic Youths 5
Cockhill took the lead five minutes into the match when the ball was delivered into the box and struck high into the home side’s net. Glenree should have been back on level terms by half time but they squandered too many chances.
It was the away team who took control in the second half and were four up by the 75th minute.
Glenree got one back when Damien Nelis fired one into the Cockhill net from close range.
It was the away team who finished the scoring for the day when they hit their fifth in the 88th minute and stride into the next round. Team effort from Cockhill. Best for Glenree were Conor Casey and Padraig Mac Ginty
[adrotate group=”38″]Orchard F.C. 5 Cavan Town 1
Orchard created numerous chances and broke the deadlock on 12 minutes after Michael Sweeney beat two defenders and scored in the bottom corner.
Cavan created a few chances but couldn’t beat Tommy Mc Laughlin in the Orchard net. Eddie Moore doubled Orchard’s advantage on 30 minutes. The third goal was scored after Joe Mc Carron took a corner which Rory O’ Gorman got his head to and buried it in the back of the net. The second half started and Cavan pulled a goal back through Kyle McKenna.
Orchard’s fourth goal was scored by Michael Sweeney again after he riffled a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box. Paddy Mc Laughlin rounded off the scoring for Orchard after a mix up in the box.
Saturday Reserve Division
Castlefin Celtic Reserves 2 Keadue Rovers Reserves 1
Castlefin secured a hard earned three points over a stubborn Keadue side in Parkview on Saturday.
The game started at a frantic pace with both sides keen to impress in the opening exchanges. The hosts created the first chance when Keith Nelis latched on to a Gary Mc Nulty through ball but he failed to convert from close range. Mc Nulty then had a chance himself but he poked his shot just past the post.
Keadue took the lead against the run of play when James Boyle’s shot trickled over the line with 40 minutes on the clock. The home side continued to press in the second half and equalised when Nelis flicked on a long clearance to Stephen Roulston who rounded the keeper to slot home with 60 minutes played.
In the 75th minute the hosts took the lead when a McNulty free kick found Marty Owens who unleashed an unstoppable shot into the net from 20 yards. Keadue piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser but the Castlefin defence stood firm.
Best for Castlefin: Stephen Roulston and Marty Owens. Best for Keadue: Ben Boyle
[adrotate group=”38″]Kilmacrennan Celtic Reserves 6 St. Catherines Reserves 3
Eddie Doherty scored after 7 minutes from the edge box.
On 12 minute Ryan Langan scored a header after a great cross from Dan Conaghan . Paul Mc Eldowney ran straight through on goal on 23 minutes and finished cool after fine ball from John Doherty.
Kilmac got their 4th on 36 minutes, again by the lively Ryan Langan. St Catherine missed a penalty on 42 minutes, shooting wide. On 47 minutes Stephen Leslie scored from a penalty . Kilmac then made it 5-1 and Ryan Langan completed his fine hat-trick, scoring from edge box. On 75 minutes a fine run by veteran Seamus Mc Laughlin set up Edwin Doherty to slot home.
Straight from kick off a great strike from inside his own box by Stevie Anderson sailed over Kilmac keeper.On 90 minutes Paul Mc Fadden scored great goal. Team effort by St Catherines and great display from hard working Kilmac team . Referee: Sean O’Donnell.
Sunday 30th October 2016
Ulster Junior Cup
Lagan Harps 2 Culdaff F.C. 4
For the second year in a row Culdaff overcame Lagan in the Ulster Junior Cup.
Lagan had started well and Chris Toner exchanged passes with Gavin Mc Glanaghey before forcing a good save out of Darragh Mc Laughlin. The resultant corner was headed off the line by a Culdaff defender. Lagan took the lead on twenty minutes when Frankie Mc Brearty split the defence for Kenny Doran to race clear and score.
Culdaff equalised on twenty eight minutes when a penalty was awarded for handball and Benny Mc Laughlin scored. Within ten minutes Mc Laughlin had completed his hat-trick when the Lagan defence twice failed to deal with long balls from the back and he raced through to score. Lagan went close when Michael Doherty’s free was palmed over the bar by Darragh Mc Laughlin.
Lagan were on top for most of the second half with Michael Doherty again forcing a good save from Mc Laughlin. Lagan got their second when Chris Toner found Kenny Doran and he side stepped a defender before firing home. Lagan pressed but couldn’t force the equaliser.
[adrotate group=”76″]Ballybofey United 2 Lifford Celtic 1
Ballybofey United brought their good League form into the Ulster Junior Cup for the visit of Lifford Celtic to the Twin Towns on Sunday afternoon.
It remained scoreless until the interval with neither side able to break the deadlock. Mark Griffin finally opened the scoring for Ballybofey on sixty minutes. The home side were guilty of missing several chances as they enjoyed having the upper hand on their fellow Division Two challengers.
Lifford then equalised when Johnny Mc Mahon netted from the penalty spot. Despite passing up on several further chances the home side eventually put the result to bed when Brian Lafferty did well to hold off the defender and burst into the penalty area before beating the outrushing Lifford goalkeeper.
Ballybofey will progress to the next round of the Cup and on this showing there will be a few decent matches in store between these two sides when they meet in Division Two of the Donegal Junior League.
Kilmacrennan Celtic 2 Cavan Town 1
Kilmacrennan Celtic advance to the next round of the Ulster Cup with a good solid victory over Cavan Town on Sunday. Conditions were perfect for football on the day and it was the home team that settled the quickest and forced the Cavan men to defend almost from the first whistle.
Cavan Town did defend well but the break through goal arrived in the 22nd minute when Mark Friel was in the right place following a clever pass from Timmy Burke and Friel rifled the ball past the advancing Cavan keeper. As hard as Kilmac tried, a second goal in the first half would not arrive and all credit must go to the Cavan defence.
The second half was a more evenly contested game as the Cavan men pushed further up the pitch forcing the Lurgysiders to defend their lead. As the game progressed Kilmac got the insurance goal in the 82nd minute when Ciaran Mc Ginley put Caolan Mc Daid through on goal and the young striker made no mistake when he was afforded the chance.
Credit to Cavan Town they pushed right up to the final whistle and never gave up but it is the Kilmacrennan men who go through to the next round. It was a good team performance from both teams while Kilmac’s Mark Friel was the stand out player on the day.
[adrotate group=”46″]Glenea United 3 Erne Wanderers 1
Game started off slowly with neither team creating much in the first 25 minutes.
Erne took the lead in the 27th minute when a well worked moved ended with David Dorrian shooting from 12 yards. Glenea equalised in the 44th minute when an Eamonn Mc Hugh pass split the defence for Lee O’ Brien to calmly find the back of the net from the edge of the box.
Glenea took the lead in the 60th minute when Mc Hugh assisted again to feed Ciaran Mc Geady who rounded the keeper to finish. Peter Boyle in the Erne nets saved well from an Eamonn Cannon shot, before Glenea were reduced to 10 men in the 75th minute.
Erne pressed but were caught out in the 80th minute when Ciaran Mc Geady latched onto a Ryan Mc Fadden pass to make it three for Glenea.
Bonagee United 0 Glengad United 3
Glengad should have taken the lead on seven minutes only for Terence Doherty to shoot wide from ten yards.
The visitors were awarded a penalty on fifteen minutes when Terence Doherty was fouled in the box and Adam Byrne’s spot kick was saved by Carr in the home goal. The visitors had chances through Shane Canning Nigel Mc Monagle and Stephen Mc Laughlin but Carr was in fine form in the home goal.
Noel O’ Donnell came close on forty minutes for the home team only for his strike on goal deflected wide. Lee Mc Monagle and Austin Marron for Bonagee were always a threat up front. Glengad took the lead on the hour when the ball was crossed to the edge of the box to Shane Canning and his strike from twenty yards found the bottom corner of the net.
They got their second on eighty minutes after great pay down the right by Nigel Mc Monagle who squared the ball into the box for Mark Smith to tap home from ten yards.
The home side had a few good chances on eighty three and five through Mc Monagle and Mc Gowan but there strikes on goal were deflected wide. The visitors got their third on eighty eight minutes when Terence Doherty broke clear of the Bonagee defence and shot home from the edge of the box. Team efforst by both sides.
[adrotate group=”37″]Cranford United 3 Killylough F.C. 0
It was a tight first half in Cranford Park with only a headed goal from Joe Gallagher separating the sides.
The second half started with Killylough having a good spell of possession but Cranford were able to see it out and got their reward with a good break with Andrew Kelly converting a through ball from Keelan Mc Gee. Cranford closed the game out and completed the scoring with another header this time Brendan Giles hitting the target.
St. Catherines 4 Clonmany Shamrocks 1
Clonmany started the brightest and deserved their 1-0 lead after eleven minutes when Jason Devlin slotted past the Saint’s keeper.
Daniel Breslin had two great chances and finally slotted home after twisting and turning the Clonmany defence to make it one apiece after 15 minutes. The home side grew more into the game and Paul Mc Fadden latched onto a cross giving the Clonmany keeper no chance with a powerful volley on 31 minutes.
Ryan Farrell scored two great individual goals in the second half to make the final score 4-1. The second of his goals a 25 yard screamer to the top corner really put the icing on the cake for a fine individual performance.
Best for Clonmany was Michael Harkin in the middle of the park and the home keeper , Shane O’ Gara.
Rathmullan Celtic 1 Gweedore Celtic 1
( Gweedore won 4-3 on penalties )
Gweedore Celtic emerged successful after a tense shootout at the Flagpole with goalkeeper Michael Mc Kelvey the hero for the men from Screaban.
Mc Kelvey produced some Bruce Grobbelaar-esque antics on the goal line throughout the shootout and duly saved two crucial efforts from the Hoops while he also fired past Sean Black with his own team’s final spot-kick.
After a scoreless first half in cold conditions it was the home side that edged in front midway through the second half. Niall Carruthers, lively all afternoon on the wing, was the man with the golden touch curling home from 20 yards past Mc Kelvey. Gweedore stuck to their task gainfully and they were rewarded with ten minutes left when Odhrán Mac Niallais sprung the offside trap to level the tie.
Jude Patton came closest to finding an elusive winner during extra time but it was to be dreaded shootout to decide this game. Rathmullan drew first blood as Black produced an outstanding stop top deny Mac Niallais but successful efforts from Jamie Boyle, Cathal Mulhern, Eamon McGee and the man of the moment Mc Kelvey gave Gweedore four from their five in the shootout.
Jude Patton, Eoin Sheridan and Kevin Doran were all successful for the home side but Mc Kelvey got his hands on the efforts of Derek Edwards and Ryan Connolly to send Gweedore on their way.
Gweedore United 2 Monaghan Town 4
This Cup clash was played in perfect conditions at Carrickboyle and it was Monaghan Town who progress to the next round.
It was the visiting side that started the quickest and took the lead in the 20th minute when Ronan Straite’s shot from 25 yards into the bottom corner passed Brian Gallagher in the Gweedore goals.
Monaghan Town doubled their lead five minutes later when a free kick from 18 yards was saved by Gallagher but Adrian Mc Anespie reacted quickest to tap home the rebound. Gweedore had an opportunity to pull one back in the 40th minute when Micheal Barry shot from 20 yards just went over the Keeper’s crossbar.
Gweedore started the second half better and were awarded a penalty in the 55th minute for a handball by one of the Monaghan defenders, Shane ‘Baggio’ O Donnell stepped up but the Monaghan keeper saved well but O’ Donnell reacted quickest to score the rebound to make it 2-1.
Gweedore were growing in confidence but were caught with a sucker punch in the 60th minute when Monaghan regained their two goal cushion when Sean Mc Crudden shot home from 12 yards to make it 3-1 to the visitors.
Monaghan got their fourth in the 70th Minute when Ronan Straite got his second of the game with a free header at the back post. Gweedore pulled one back in the 75th minute following a good one two between Ciaran Mc Fadden and Michael Barry left Barry one on one with the Monaghan keeper and he made no mistake from 18 yards.
That was to be the last goal of the game as Monaghan closed out the game and will enjoy their long trip back to Monaghan. Ronan Straite was excellent for Monaghan Town while it was a good team effort from Gweedore who will turn their attention back to League football after this cup exit.
Temple Domestic Appliances Division One
Cappry Rovers 2 Donegal Town 2
This game was played in perfect conditions in Cappry Park.
This was a real even contest but Cappry struck first when Conor Laverty played Calvin Bradley through in the 15th minute to finish well. Donegal got back level when they scored following a free kick, Aaron Slevin scoring at the back post. The game was still level at half time.
Donegal Town went in front when Aaron Slevin found the net again. Cappry tried to get back into the game and finally got level when Gerard Melaugh scored in the 85th minute. Cappry nearly won the game when Calvin Bradley had his effort in the 90th minute cleared off the line. Two team performances.
CT Ball Division Two
Kerrykeel ’71 F.C. 1 Eany Celtic 5
Eany went three up in this match before the home side finally found their feet and managed to grab a goal back. It was all too little too late unfortunately for the Kerrykeel lads as Eany went on to score another brace and win the game easily in the end.
Whitestrand United 2 Letterbarrow Celtic 2
Whitestrand United took on Letterbarrow FC at Mc Garvey Park.
Whitestrand were following two recent good away results. The game started with Letterbarrow on the front foot and this set the tone for the first half. They were well organised and took their first clear chance when a defensive mix up led to a goal from Alex Mac Niallais. Letterbarrow stayed on top and were rewarded for their play when Gerard Mc Brearty hit a superb volley to take a 2-0 lead into half time.
Whitestrand started the second half with renewed vigour and were rewarded when they were awarded a penalty which was coolly dispatched by Shane Mc Glade. The introduction of Kieran McLaughlin made a huge difference and the equaliser came when Liam O’ Riordan took his chance well when through one on one. Whitestrand pushed hard for a winner but had to settle for a point.
Best for the Strand were Kieran McLaughlin and Shane Mc Glade.
Dunkineely Celtic 4 Copany Rovers 0
Dunkineely Celtic pressed from the start and had a few good chances in the first 20 minutes through Adrian Nesbitt and Andrew Mackey with Paul Murrin hitting the bar and only for some fine goal keeping by Copany keeper Stephen Doherty kept the score level at the break.
Dunkineely came out for the 2nd half pressing high up the field and were awarded a free on the edge of the box in the 50th minute. Andrew Mackey put it into the top right hand corner giving the keeper no chance.
Celtic increased their lead in the 72nd minute when a good cross from Adrian Nesbitt was turned into his own net by a Copany defender. It was all Dunkineely and Mackey got the 3rd on 85minutes from a great pass from Paul Murrin.
Mackey was then taken down for a penalty and Martin Cunningham made no mistake from the spot. Best for Dunkineely were Adrian Nesbitt, Damien Quigley and Alistair Rodgers.
For Copany their keeper Stephen Doherty was outstanding and Stephen Brady. Referee: Brian o Kane
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