Milford United keep survival hopes alive with huge win against St Catherine's

Brian Mc Cormick Sports Premier Division 

Milford United 3-1 St Catherine's 

Milford recorded a very important victory at home to St Catherine’s at a blustery Moyle View Park on Sunday to lift themselves out of the bottom two.  

They now travel to Gweedore Celtic next Sunday in a winner-takes-all encounter with the loser relegated and the winner will contest the play-off game.  

Milford took the lead on 24 minutes when Cathal McGettigan hit a rocket into the top corner from 30 yards after good work by Killian Mc Bride.  

Ryan Cunningham levelled matters on 40 minutes when he pounced on a poor Milford clearance to neatly tuck the ball into the bottom corner.  

Milford playing into the wind in the second half, played good football and were rewarded on 65 minutes when a Killian McBride cross was misjudged by Andrew Mullen at the near post and the ball ended up in the net.  

Five minutes later Jonny Logue headed home from a corner and despite a bit of pressure, Milford ran out comfortable winners. 

Keadue Rovers 1-1 Kilmacrennan Celtic 

Keadue Rovers and Kilmacrennan Celtic played out a 1-1 draw at Central Park in extremely windy conditions that made the game a bit of a lottery. 

 Keadue, aided by a very strong wind, were quicker to settle, playing the better football and with Peter McGee showing well on the left flank, he had two good chances in the opening 20 minutes, but neither came to fruition.  

Their better play was rewarded in the last 10 minutes of the first half as they pinned the visitors back and after 40 minutes some excellent wing play from Brendan McCafferty saw a cross into the box partially cleared before Chris Greene rifled an effort that deflected of Keadue's Aidan Brennan and into the net.  

The home side were good value for this one-goal lead but knew they'd face an uphill battle against a strong wind in the second half. At the start of the second period it was Keadue who were on top for the first 10 minutes, with both Peter McGee and Aidan Brennan missing what turned out to be crucial chances.  

As the game went on it became scrappier and Kilmacrennan started to win some of the midfield battles which forced Keadue into conceding a few free kicks around the hour mark.  

There were two in quick succession from close to the halfway line and while the first came to nothing Kilmacrennan's second free kick from Paul Bradley, aided by the strong breeze, found the top corner of the Keadue net to leave it 1-1. 

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Letterkenny Rovers 7-0 Cranford United 

Letterkenny Rovers moved a step closer to clinching the Division One league title with a comprehensive 7-0 victory over Cranford at a windswept Leckview Park.  

Lee McMonagle bagged a hat-trick and with Donegal Town dropping points, it means Rovers have secured promotion to the top flight and just need a point next weekend to be crowned champions.  

The hosts lead 3-0 at the break. McMonagle took just four minutes to open the scoring, linking up with Adam Murphy before drilling a shot low into the bottom corner of the net beyond Jason Hegarty.  

Henry Welles doubled their lead on 20 minutes, drilling home from close range after Hegarty made a fine save initially.  

Rovers were awarded a penalty with just over 10 minutes to go before half-time when Mc Monagle was upended inside the area. The in-form striker made no mistake from the penalty spot.  

Following the interval, Rovers made it 4-0 with their first attack of the second half courtesy of a rasping strike from Nathan Plumb and McMonagle quickly added a fifth to complete his hat-trick.  

Joel Gorman found the net with a well-executed strike on 65 minutes to make it 6-0 before substitute Nathan Bonner made a surging run into the penalty box before he applied a neat finish to complete the scoring in the dying minutes. 

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Cappry Rovers Reserves 1-3 Strand Rovers 

Cappry welcomed Strand to a wet and windy Finn Valley Centre on Saturday. Conditions favoured the away side in the first half, but it was Cappry who dominated the early exchanges with Jamie Fallon coming closest when his header rattled off the bar.  

Cappry broke the deadlock through a powerful David Carr strike from the edge of the box. Strand soon got their equaliser through a speculative effort from Mitch Ward who cleverly used the wind to his advantage and fired home from distance. On the stroke of half time Strand got their second when James McCole brought the ball down and cooly played through Cainan McDaid who slotted past the keeper.  

Although conditions got worse the game was still end-to-end in the second half with both sides coming close, Cappry getting the big chance of the half when Ryan McGhee struck the bar.  

But Strand secured the victory with 10 minutes to go when Shane O' Donnell slotted home from the edge of the box.  

Glenea United Reserves 1-0 Fintown Harps AFC 

In very blustery conditions for football, Glenea Reserves got the better of the Gaeltacht Lár side on a 1-0 scoreline.  

It was the home side that started with the aid of the strong wind and forced a number of corners but were unable to convert any of them.  

Fintown tried hard to get into the game as an attacking force but were unable to create any chances. Glenea continued to press, and Michael Ferry came close on 25 minutes when his close-range effort went over the bar.  

In the second half, despite playing against the strong wind it was the home side that continued to press, and on 50 minutes Michael Ferry saw his header blocked by away.  

As the half progressed Fintown came more into the game and Peter McGlynn saw his effort just clear the bar.  

Both sides continued to look for a lead goal and on 83 minutes PJ Doogan got onto a Luke McCarry through ball and he slotted past the keeper. In a frantic finish Fintown pushed hard for an equaliser but the home defence managed to keep them at bay for a hard-fought win.  

Oldtown Celtic 6-3 Arranmore United 

Oldtown took a big step to securing the title after a nine-goal thriller at the Letterkenny Community Centre.  

Drew Connolly headed wide early before Arranmore took the lead through Damien Weber with a shot from the edge of the box

Oldtown soon settled and Kevin McGrath fired home the equaliser. But Arranmore then took the lead for a second time when Alan Stevenson fired home from eight yards when Oldtown failed to clear a cross.  

The lead was short lived again as Anthony Browne equalised from a Luke Nelis cross before firing Oldtown in front from close range.  

Oldtown added a fourth before the break when Ciaran Gibson’s header bounced off Drew Connolly and into the net.  

Oldtown started the brighter in the second half and Kyle Gormley added a fifth with a 30-yard strike which fired into the top corner. Arranmore kept pushing and were rewarded when Glenn O’Donnell fired home from the spot when a penalty was awarded.  

But Oldtown added a sixth late on when Luke Friel turned his man and showed composure with a fine finish.