Letterkenny Rovers and Kildrum Tigers battle out Premier Division stalemate

Letterkenny Rovers and Kildrum Tigers couldn't be separated for the second time this season as the sides shared another scoreless draw at Leckview Park.

It followed on from their Brian McCormick Sports Premier Division stalemate in September at Station Road and the margins were narrow once again.

Both finished a man light with William Lynch sent off for the visitors having picked up a second yellow late on,  with Ryan Lonergan getting the same fate in stoppage time, again for a second caution.

Post match saw Letterkenny manager Stephen McConnell issued a red card after the game, while Kildrum's Keelan Gillen was earlier issued a straight red card after being substituted off when he left the dugout and handled the ball on the field before it went out of play following a Letterkenny Rovers clearance.

Kildrum Tigers were the closest to taking the lead in the fifth minute when Brian Breslin darted down the right wing to swing it low into the on-running Jonathan Robb, but the striker was just a second too late as the ball went past him 

Keelan Gillen then played a super ball through into Robb a minute later but Dean McCarry was on hand to put in a mighty tackle and put the ball out of harm's way. 

Letterkenny’s earliest chance was on eight minutes but it was only a half effort when Chris Malseed attempted a shot on the half volley but was placed left of the post. 

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BJ Banda nearly broke the deadlock on 15 minutes when he darted down the field on the right wing, twisted past Tiernan Brown, and fired off his left foot from the edge of the box in what looked like a shot that was about to rattle the corner of the net, but just edged wide of the post. 

The game was running at full pace from the off with neither team in the position to let their guard down. Kildrum almost snuck a goal in on the 20-minute mark when William Lynch swung in a ball which was headered down for Robb who fired for the net, but Mark McGinley was on hand to put his body in the way, pulling off a great stop. 

It would take until the half-hour point until the next big chance when Frank McBrearty floated in a lovely ball to Keelan Gillen, who nearly got a touch to it, but the ball just floated into the safe hands of McGinley. 

Banda’s header two minutes later just edged over the bar after Joel Bradley Walsh kicked in a high ball from a free, which Dean McCarry headed forward to Banda in what was the chance of the half but neither team could get in front as they both marched to the dressing rooms 0-0 at the break. 

Kildrum had the better chances in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. Firstly, when Robb broke through to fire for at goal, although the shot was straight at the Letterkenny Rovers goalkeeper. And on the 53rd minute  Robb played the ball wide to Lynch after by-passing three defenders and rounding the goalkeeper, but Lynch took too much time on the ball and by the time he fired for the net, McGinley regained his composure to pull off a save. 

By the hour mark Kildrum Tigers were very much on top and it was looking like nervy moments for Letterkenny. Breslin played a pass out to Luke Toland but was played out for a corner, while the second attempt saw Lynch head just wide of the post. 

Letterkenny’s best effort came in the 66th minute when substitute Conor O’Donnell drove in a superb ball leaving Banda to jump highest and head towards the goal only to be denied by the crossbar, with Bradley Walsh unable to catch the rebound, allowing Michael Lynch to put his body in the way and keep the Tigers in the fight. 

McGinley was again to the rescue for Letterkenny when he produced another great save from a Brown free just outside the box, causing the Rovers man to dive low and palm away to safety.  

Robb was causing a lot of bother for Letterkenny Rovers as the game approached its conclusion, but he just couldn’t find the target despite coming close twice. 

William Lynch was dismissed from the field when he received a second yellow card in the 86th minute for a pull on Gareth Doherty's jersey when he was breaking through the Kildrum defence limiting Kildrum to 10 men for the rest of the match.

Letterkenny's Ryan Lonergan nearly found the winner in the 90th minute, but Lynch's bravery prevailed to keep the game level at 0-0.

Letterkenny Rovers: Mark McGinley; Padraic Gilsenan, Joel Bradley Walsh, Dean McCarry, Keith Cowan; Chris Malseed, David O’Donnell (Ryan Lonergan, 60), Joel Gorman (Dylan Doogan, 85), Caolan McConnell (Conor O’Donnell, 60); Gareth Doherty, BJ Banda.  

Kildrum Tigers: Michael Lynch; Jamie McKinney, Tiernan Brown, Keenan Diver, CJ Clarke; Frank McBrearty, Luke Toland (Ethan Coll, 68), William Lynch, Brian Breslin; Keelan Gillen (Shane McGinty, 71), Jonathan Robb. 

Referee: Gerald Devine