REIGNING CHAMPIONS St Catherine’s open their Brian McCormick Sports Premier Division defence with a single goal win at Cappry Rovers.
Brian McCormick Sports Premier Division
Cappry Rovers 0-1 St Catherine’s
St Catherine’s left Cappry Park on Sunday very fortunate to have the three points with them following a very good competitive game against a very resilient Cappry Rovers team who deserved at least a share of the spoils.
St Catherine’s opened the scoring in the 27th minute after the ball was blocked following a free kick and it went to Christian Mc Neilis who blasted it to the bottom corner of the net from 25 yards.
Cappry’s Darren O’ Leary had a header well saved by the visitors’ keeper in the 43rd minute when he dived full length to palm the ball away. Cappry pushed forward in the second half but once again couldn’t find the target. They created numerous chances and a few of these were well saved by the keeper. St. Catherines created a few chances also but without reward.
Milford United 4-2 Gweedore Celtic
Milford United got the better of Gweedore Celtic on Sunday evening at Moyle View Park.
The hosts  a comfortable 4-0 half-time lead with goals from Adam Serrinha (2), Gary Merritt and Kyle Black.
After the interval Milford seemed to tire and Gweedore Celtic introduced Odhran Mac Niallais from the bench. The Gaeltachta outfit dominated the second half and reduced the deficit through Jamie Boyle and Mac Niallais but they could not overturn the Milford tally of the opening 45 minutes.
Castlefin Celtic 3-1 Drumoghill FC
Castlefin started life back in Premier Division with a hard fought, come from behind victory over Drumoghill FC. Â
Drumoghill got off to a great start after five minutes when a cross from the wing found Gerard McGranaghan free in the box and he headed home from close range. Â
Castlefin equalised after 35 minutes, Johnny Doherty’s cross found Barry Tourish on the left wing, Tourish finished from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.
Castlefin took the lead a minute before the break, Johnny Doherty found Damien Mc Anenny free in the box, and he slotted home from six yards. Drumoghill started the second half brightly, searching for an equaliser, but could not get past the Castlefin defence.
Castlefin wrapped up all three points ten minutes from time when Corrie Bogan set up JP Malley who calmly finished from close range.
Glenea United  A-A Kilmacrennan Celtic
This game was abandoned due to a bad injury to Michael McClafferty and the club wish him a speedy recovery.
Kilmacrennan took the lead on 10 minutes when Kevin Mc Menamin squeezed the ball in at the near post after he reacted quickest to a Joe Coll save. Glenea equalised on 55 minutes when Aodhan Ferry headed home a Dean Mc Carry corner.  Glenea United wish to thank all those who came to Michael’s aid and the speedy arrival of the Ambulance and Now Doc services.
Rathmullan Celtic 3 Â Â Â Â Kildrum Tigers 1
Rathmullan Celtic got their new Premier League campaign off to a flying start with a hard fought victory over former USL stalwarts Kildrum Tigers.
Watson Hire Division One
Cranford United 5-2 Keadue Rovers
Cranford got the season off to a great start in perfect conditions with a big win over Keadue.
Cranford came out of the blocks quickly and should have been a few goals up in the first 20 minutes. The opening goal did come in the 25th minute, Pauric Morrison and Andrew Kelly linked up well and Kelly finished well from the edge of the box.
It was soon 2-0 when a great Lee Carr corner was met by Chris Carr who couldn’t miss. Keadue tried to get into the game but Brendan Logue was keeping them out when they did get through on goal.
Andrew Kelly added his second and Kielan McGee got in on the act finishing well to make it 4-0 at the break. Keadue started the second half better and got a goal back when the unfortunate Michael Heraghty turned a cross into his own net.
Cranford soon added a fifth through a Kielan Mc Gee finish while Keadue got another consolation goal. Best for Cranford were Kielan Mc Gee, Andrew Kelly and Lee Carr.Â
Bonagee United 2-2 Gweedore United
Four goals were shared in an entertaining clash between Bonagee United and Gweedore United.
The visitors came close on seven minutes when a Ciaran McFadden cross from the left fell to Padraig  Doyle on the edge of the box but his shot came off the crossbar.
Noel O’ Donnell, for the home side, saw his strike on goal on 15 minutes well saved by Liam Mc Fadden in the visitors’ goal.
 Gweedore took the lead on 38 minutes after a great strike from Liam McMullan from the edge of the box. Eamon Cannon levelled the match on 43 minutes after a great ball down the wing from Gareth Temple to Jason Burke who crossed into the box and Cannon shot home from 15 yards.
Bonagee got their second on 53 minutes after good play on the edge of the box by Burke he laid the ball off to Gareth Temple and his strike from 18 yards beat McFadden in the visitors’ goal. Michael
Barry got the final goal of the game on the hour to level the match when he broke through the Bonagee defence and shot home from 10 yards. Gweedore finished the stronger team and Carr in the home goal made two  great save first from Ciaran Mc Fadden and save of the day from Michael Barry.Â
Donegal Town 0-2 Lagan Harps
Lagan Harps opened their season with a decent 2-0 win at the Hospital Field against Donegal Town.
Lagan opened the scoring around 30 minutes with an excellent counter attack with was finished off neatly.
The away team doubled their lead midway through the second half when Philip Doran got on the end of a low cross and finished neatly into the Donegal net.Â
Raphoe Town 1-0 Lifford Celtic
Raphoe Town welcomed Lifford Celtic to the Deele College Grounds for a local derby that had everything as the two teams went hammer and tongs from the word go.
Lifford started the brightest with Patton and Gethins causing problems for Raphoe but the excellent Garret Quinn and Seamus Bogle kept them at bay. Raphoe started to take control and had Lifford under sustained pressure as Keelin Gillen, Peter Mc Glynn and Christy Bogle were creative in their play and Bogle had the ball in the net only to be ruled out by referee Con Mc Loughlin.
The second-half was a tight affair with chances at a premium until five minutes from time when super sub Micheal Quinn finished superbly. Raphoe finished with ten men but a great result and performance by the home team. Best for Lifford Dolly Martin and Stuart Carlin with Duke Quinn and David Craig excellent for the home team. Â
CT Ball Division Two
Curragh Athletic 1-4 Deele Harps
Deele Harps had hat-trick hero Shane Gallagher to thank for scoring a hat-trick in their win over Curragh Athletic in Killygordon.
Conor Catterson joined Gallagher on the scoresheet, while the Curragh goal came from Neil Lloyd.
Whitestrand United 3-0 Erne Wanderers
The season kicked off with Whitestrand United enjoying a 3-0 win against Erne Wanderers with Kevin McCarry scoring twice.
The first goal came when an excellent ball over the top by Ryan McCleary was tucked away neatly by McCarry. The second goal soon followed when a corner was cleared to the edge of the box and McCarry smashed home his second goal.Â
Whitestrand were well on top and made the pressure count when Sean Paul Gallagher headed a well-worked corner home. The second half was never going to be a tense affair, as both teams seem to accept the score as it stood.
Whitestrand had chances to add to their lead and were rarely threatened defensively but the game rather petered out and ended up a comfortable win for Whitestrand, which started their season on a positive note. Best for Whitestrand was Kevin Mc Carry
Letterbarrow Celtic 0-0 Copany Rovers
Eany Celtic 0-1 Ballybofey United
This match was switched to Saturday night and played at the Finn Valley Complex in Stranorlar.
There was little between the two sides over the piece. Damien Glackin, Ballybofey’s top scorer last term, got the only goal of the game in the first half. A good start by the Finnsiders while Eany will be anxious to get some points on the table over the next few weeks to avoid repeating their poor league finish of last season.
Glenree United 3-2 Dunkineely Celtic
In a very entertaining season opener Glenree United overcame Dunkineely Celtic by the odd goal in five.
The visitors took the lead midway through the first half through Declan Morris scored from a corner and Celtic doubled their lead when they picked up a loose ball in the box and finished well on 30 minutes.
Glenree missed a penalty on 40 minutes and it seemed it wasn’t going to be their day. In the second half a much improved Glenree team heaped on the pressure and pulled one back on 55 minutes via Patrick Mc Groddy when he cut in from the left and curled in from just outside the box. Glenree where reduced to 10-men on the hour mark and his seemed to have a galvanising effect on the home side and saw them push forward and win a penalty through Karl McElhinney.
Barney Boyce tucked away the penalty to make it 2-2. The home side continued to push forward and Colm Gallagher put them ahead when he drilled home a free kick from 25 yards. The visitors were awarded a penalty at the death but John Cunningham saved well to guarantee the home side all three points.
The Donegal Junior League would like to wish Michael Mc Clafferty of Glenea United a speedy recovery from his injury. A wholehearted player admired by many let alone his own club Michael will be missed by all until he returns to the Green and Black of Glenea.
