Donegal League: All the reports, results and fixtures

The following are the match reports from the Donegal Junior League for the past week.

Wednesday 1^st May 2024

Brian Mc Cormick Sports Premier Division

Kildrum Tigers 3 v 0 Fanad United

(No Report Submitted)

Thursday 2^nd May 2024

Brian Mc Cormick Cup – Letterkenny Area

Bonagee United 1 v 2 (a.e.t.) Letterkenny Rovers

The first chance of the game came on ten minutes when a strike from twenty-five yards from Dean Larkin was saved by Mark Anthony in the visitor’s goal. The visitor’s first attempt on goal was a shot from Lee Mc Monagle from the edge of the box that went over the Bonagee bar on fifteen minutes. On twenty-two minutes Michael Funston broke down the right and his strike on goal hit the side netting from fifteen yards. Dean Mc Carry should have scored for Rovers on thirty-six minutes when he headed over from ten yards from a Rory Gallagher cross. The home side took the lead on forty minutes when Michael Funston headed the ball on to Ricky Guntrip and he beat the keeper to the ball to find the back of the net from twelve yards. Henry Welles saw his strike on forty-two minutes well saved by Carr in the home goal from thirty yards. Pauric Gilsennan saw his header from ten yards go wide of the post on forty-seven minutes. The visitors came close on fifty-three minutes when a header from Henry Welles came off the crossbar from ten yards. Fintan Hassan saw his strike from inside the box well saved by Mc Ginley in the Rover’s goal on sixty-five minutes. The visitors were awarded a penalty for a foul in the box on seventy-seven minutes and Lee Mc Monagle hammered home from the spot. Rovers thought they had taken the lead on eight four minutes when a great strike from Rory Gallagher from fifteen yards was deflected wide. In the second minute of extra time a cross into the box by Fintan Hassan was headed over by Aidy Mc Laughing from ten yards. The visitors got the final goal of the game on the last minute of the first half of extra time when a Rory Gallagher corner was headed home from ten yards By Adrian Delap. Team efforts by both sides. Referee: Paddy Martin.

Saturday 4^th May 2024

Old Orchard Saturday Division Two

Swilly Rovers Reserves 8 v 1 Gweedore Celtic Reserves

Amongst the goals were Jordan Mc Daid, Marty Mc Daid, Ryan Moore, Ian Ward, Mickey Kerr and Ryan Mc Daid with a hat-trick for himself. Swilly took a 4-0 lead into halftime with Gweedore creating a few chances for themselves. A goal from both sides at the start of the second half put a bit of nerves on the Swilly team but they weathered the storm and continued to play their football.

Voodoo Venue Cup

Ballybofey United Reserves 1 v 3 Drumbar F.C.

On a very wet afternoon in Dreenan, both Ballybofey and Drumbar played out a fantastic game of football and taking the match to extra time and penalties. It was a very physical battle between the two sides, with few clear-cut chances in the first half. Colin Kearns and Johnny Bell went close early on but their efforts went just wide. Both defences played a massive part clearing any possible threats with Micheal Scully, Cian Thompson, Odhran Byrne and Evan Sproule solid at the back for Ballybofey. Ballybofey started the second half brightly with the lively Kieran Thompson up top keeping the Drumbar defence busy. His early effort in the 2nd half went just wide of the post. The home side had a great chance to take the lead later in the half but their goal bound effort was blocked on the line. Drumbar had a few shots on target in the 2nd half but they were easily claimed by Daniel Crawford in the Ballybofey goals. It was helter skelter stuff in the final ten minutes with both sides going all out for the win, but they had to settle for extra time. Extra Time saw some fatigue kick in with every man putting in 110% effort, but neither side could break the deadlock, leaving the game to be decided on penalties. Drumbar won the penalty shootout 3-1.

Keadue Rovers Reserves 1 v 2 Strand Rovers

Strand Rovers emerged victorious in this Gweedore Area Shield Final with a narrow but deserved win over Keadue at Central Park on Saturday. Played in damp conditions in front of a big crowd, the visitors were on the front foot from the word go, pressing Keadue back and winning most 50/50 balls. The game was very competitive and quite edgy at times with referee Seimi Ferry having a busy time keeping control of things. Keadue lost Jack Doherty after fifteen minutes through injury and from that Strand got control of midfield with Matthew O’ Donnell influential. Left back Karl Magee was impressive and it was after one of his runs and crosses that the visitors went ahead on the half hour as the ball was played in and David Mc Carron arrived at the far post to head firmly to the net for a deserved lead. This seemed to spurn Keadue into action and some chances started to come with Oran Gallagher having his shot well saved by Kevin Mc Govern with other chances falling to Paddy O’Donnell and Daire Gallagher before half time as Keadue finished the half the stronger team. Into the second half and with the rain heavier, the game really opened up and after forty-eight minutes Paddy O’Donnell found himself on the end of a good right wing cross but it was parried by Mc Govern in the nets. A long-range effort from Ethan Mc Caffrey was saved and Daire Gallagher was proving very effective for Keadue with the balls over the top testing the away defence. Keadue eventually found the leveller their play deserved on sixty-seven minutes when a ball over the defence found Daire Gallagher and his shot clipped off Kevin Mc Govern and into the net for 1-1. It looked like Keadue would go on to win the tie with the swing in momentum but to be fair to Strand, they were the better, more cohesive outfit in the last twenty minutes, with Brendan Glackin proving particularly effective up front and after seventy minutes he hit a volley just wide followed closely by a Matthew O’Donnell header just over. Keadue were pinned back by the visitors and only for several good saves by Keadue keeper Denis Kostrikin, the visitors could have lead. With only 6 minutes remaining, Strand’s Karl Magee floated a dangerous free kick into the box and with a mix up in the Keadue defence, the ball found it’s way to the net to spark wild celebrations from the away fans. Keadue though did have two great opportunities to level, firstly from Danny Mc Glynn whose run in behind the defence saw his shot hit off Mc Govern and then off the bar, while Aaron Neely’s fine run also ended with McGovern pulling off a close range save.

In the end though, Strand deserved the win after a tight fought battle with Kevin Mc Govern in the Strand goals taking man of the match with a superb performance. They were also well served by Matthew O’Donnell, Brendan Glackin and Karl Magee. Best for Keadue were Daire Gallagher, Oisin Mc Kelvey and Aaron Neely. Referee: Seimi Ferry.

Letterkenny Rovers Reserves 1 v 2 Glencar Celtic

It was the clash of the two Eddie’s and their sides, Letterkenny Rovers and Glencar Celtic to battle it out to see who would advance from the Area Final of the Voodoo Venue Cup. The game kicked off with a promising start as both teams showcased their attacking prowess in the opening 10 minutes, with chances aplenty but nothing decisive materialising. However, it was Rovers who began to assert their dominance, stringing together impressive passing sequences and applying pressure on Glencar’s defence. Despite some long-range efforts from both sides, including a 30-yard shot from Rovers’ Kealan Dunleavy and a counter-attack initiated by Artem Tymoshchenko, the first half ended in a deadlock with the scoresheet reading 0-0. The second half saw Rovers come out strong, with Jason Doherty narrowly missing a chance early on. However, it was Glencar who broke the deadlock in the 48th minute, capitalising on a possession loss by Rovers to take the lead through Pajo Rafferty’s clinical finish. As Glencar gained momentum, they doubled their lead in the 71st minute courtesy of Jack Dwyer’s close-range header following a defensive mix-up by Rovers. Despite Rovers’ valiant efforts to claw their way back into the game, Glencar held firm, withstanding a late surge from their opponents. In the dying moments of the game, Rovers managed to pull one back through Pavlo Shevaniuk’s header from a free kick delivered by Luke Parke, but it proved to be too little, too late as Glencar emerged victorious. Referee: Damian McFadden

Sunday 5^th May 2024

Brian Mc Cormick Cup – Donegal Area

Donegal Town 0 v 3 Cappry Rovers