Late Porter penalty sees Derry defeat champions Cockhill

Derry emerged on top in a fantastic advert for the Ulster Senior League at the Charlie O’Donnell Sports Grounds on Saturday.

Cockhill Celtic 2
Derry City 3

The game started with Cockhill forcing numerous corners but Derry dealt with them admirably.

On 13 minutes Derry had a chance when Caoimhin Porter fired wide after a flowing Derry move.

Cockhill were next to threaten when, after another corner, Garbhan Friel's goalbound effort was blocked by Ben McGonigle and Jason Breslin's acrobatic volley was just over.

Derry broke the deadlock on 25 minutes when Porter finished coolly from an inside right position after being played in by Sean Patton.

Finn Valley dominate team honours as Caolan McFadden shines again

Finn Valley won six of the 12 team golds at the Ulster Novice and Uneven Ages Cross Country Championships while Caolan McFadden scorched to victory ahead of Irish Championships on his home turf

Patton almost doubled the lead soon after when played through but Harry Doherty denied him with a smart save.

The second half started with Cockhill in the ascendancy but they were rocked by a second Derry goal after an extraordinary passage of play on 48 minutes.

A Cockhill corner from the right found Peter Doherty at the far post. His shot was cleared off the line. Cockhill kept the ball alive and when a cross was half cleared to the edge of the box.

Daniel Doherty's shot was deflected onto the post and cleared upfield where Porter raced clear and slotted past Doherty.

Cockhill continued to press and Stephen Duffy had a couple of chances to reduce the deficit but was narrowly wide on both occasions.

On 68 minutes, a Christy McLaughlin thunderbolt from 25 yards crashed off the bar before, at the other end, Derry forced a corner from which Daragh McCluskey hit the bar with a close range effort.

In the 90th minute Cockhill pulled a goal back when James Bradley volleyed home a fine Lee McLaughlin cross from the right.

The comeback was complete two minutes later when Duffy headed home from close range after a long throw was flicked on.

Unbelievably, Cockhill pressed for a winner but when Patton was released he held off a challenge to fire narrowly wide before the referee adjudged the challenge to be a foul and awarded a penalty, which Caoimhin Porter converted despite Doherty getting a hand to it.