Reports: The low-down on Sunday’s Donegal League matches

THERE WERE NO fixtures in the Donegal League Premier Division today due to the Oscar Traynor Cup but there were games in the other two Sunday Divisions.

Temple Domestic Appliances Division One

Bonagee United 1-5 Donegal Town

The first half produced little however Donegal took the lead on the stroke of half time through Stephen Curneen. Raymond Mc Groary’s cross to the back post was headed back across the line by Declan Browne and Curneen made no mistake from close range.

Donegal doubled their lead at the beginning of the second half through Daniel McHugh. Bonagee failed to deal with a Donegal ball into the box and McHugh volleyed neatly into the bottom corner from 18 yards.

McHugh got his second midway through the second half. Danny Mc Garrigle’s ball over the top caught the Bonagee defence high up the field and McHugh was too fast to be caught. McHugh dinked the ball over the keeper from close range. The inform Gary Ward came on for Donegal as a substitute.

Ward’s confidence was high after scoring a hat-trick on Saturday and he made an instant impact scoring a 25yard rocket to put Donegal out of reach. Bonagee pulled one back but it was Donegal who finished the game on a high after Ward beat his man down the right hand side of the pitch and his inch perfect cross was finished from close range by Declan Browne.

Gweedore United 3-0 Convoy Arsenal

This game played in Gweedore saw the home side claim another vital three points following a disciplined performance.

It was Convoy who started brightest with Eunan Kelly being a threat from the off however Frank Mc Gee, Gavin Mc Bride contained the in-form striker and Joe Duffy in nets dealt with any effort on target. United had decent chances through John Mc Fadden and Michael Barry however Christopher O’ Donnell in goals for Convoy did well on each occasion.

The home side took the lead in the 24th minute when Ciaran Mc Fadden drove into the bottom right corner following a great run through the Convoy defence to make it 1-0. In the second half United upped their game and began to open the Convoy defence with decent efforts from John Mc Fadden, Gavin Mc Bride and Gary Mc Fadden however O’ Donnell saved well on each occasion.

The home side got their second in the 76th minute when Ciaran Mc Fadden drilled the ball into the net from 20 yards leaving the keeper with no chance. John Mc Fadden made it 3-0 for United in the 80th minute when he received a great pass from Frank Mc Gee to secure the points for the home side.

Convoy got their consolation in the 88th minute when Emmet Patterson headed into the top corner following a good cross from Ryan Carlin. Eunan Kelly, Shane Mc Laughlin and Christopher O’ Donnell played well for Convoy with Gary Mc Fadden, Paul Duggan and Frank Mc Gee excelling for United.

CT Ball Division Two

Dunkineely Celtic 0-3 Whitestrand United

Defensive errors cost the home side dearly in this encounter.

The early exchanges were fairly even with each side having decent possession without creating many chances. The breakthrough came on 22 minutes. Dunkineely failed to properly clear their lines and Shane Mc Glade pounced on a loose ball to curl home a fine effort from 18 yards. Dunkineely responded well and Emmet Kennedy saw his dipping effort from 20 yards go just over the bar.

Both sides continued to press and had good efforts on goal just off target. Dunkineely’s poor defending cost them again on 40 minutes when Mat Mc Nulty finished from six yards. Dunkineely dominated possession in the second half but found the Whitestrand defence difficult to break down. Aaron Byrne, Pauric Conaghan, Paul Mc Geoghan and Paul Murrin all had efforts go agonisingly close.

Despite their best efforts they could not find a way back into the game. Whitestrand closed out the game on 88 minutes when James Gallagher scored from close range following a break. 

Ballybofey United 0-2 Deele Harps

Ballybofey United lost ground on fellow promotion candidate’s Deele Harps when the pair squared up at the Finn Valley Complex on Sunday afternoon. S

hane Gallagher scored the Deele opener from the penalty spot during the 1st half and Paul Lynch wrapped up the points 15 minutes into the second half when he dispatched a well taken free past Chris Patton in the home net.

Copany Rovers 3-4 Curragh Athletic

Copany hosted Curragh Athletic in a goalfest in Killowen Park.

The home side were 2-0 up after 20 minutes, thanks to a Lee Johnston penalty and a neat finish from Glen Harron, but they couldn’t hold onto the lead as Curragh got back on level terms with Dan O’Brien and Gary Quinn finding the net. It was 2-2 at the break.

Curragh went 4-2 up in the second half with Sean Maxwell and Dan O’Brien finding the net. Stephen Mc Grory pulled one back on 80 minutes for Copany but despite all their efforts they couldn’t find the equaliser.

Glenree United 3-1 Erne Wanderers

On a cold an blustery day in Glenree Park it was the home side who triumphed.

It was a tough battle between two sides at the top of the table. Erne had the first real opportunity only for John Cunningham to save well. Barney Boyce opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Kevin Doherty was taken down in the 36th minute.  

It stayed that way until the 60th minute when John McClafferty set Colin Gallagher through and he cooly slotted past the keeper. Erne had an effort from a free kick hit the crossbar in the 67th minute but it was the only real effort that troubled the home keeper throughout the second half because of an excellent defensive display from the back four and midfielders.

The third goal came in the 75th minute when Joe Bray sent Karl Mc Elhinney clear to blast it into the bottom corner. Erne got a consolation goal with the last kick of the game when a penalty was awarded and was well finished.