League heartache for Crusaders

The Crues went into the must-win game on the back of a mid-week 3-2 win over Dunloy. The Coleraine lads knew that they had to beat Raceview to keep their title dream alive but they found themselves 2-0 down at the break with goals coming from Gareth Mott on 34 minutes and Matt Boyd 10 minutes later.

The Crues got back into the game on 52 minutes thanks to Alan Sheppard's strike, and they had a couple of chances to level the game up before Raceview struck a telling blow inside a three minute spell.

First Bobby Hanna scored on 70 minuteS and David Tennant, who was having a very good game, scored on 73 minutes giving Crusaders an uphill task.

They got a lifeline when Ricky Close reduced the deficit on 79 minutes, but they had a man sent off shortly after this to leave them with a tough task again.

The game was then deep into stoppage time when the Crues had a second player sent off for a professional foul inside the penalty box with Philip McBurney scoring the resulting penalty kick to seal the win for Raceview.

*The next meeting will be held on Monday 10 May in the Michelin Athletic Club commencing at 8pm Sharp. All Clubs to be in attendance.

Teams wishing to be considered for membership in the 2010/11 season should contact the secretary on 02825644326 or 07718809314 for details. It is planned to decide in June the format of the junior divisions for the new season.

Fixtures:

Tuesday, May 4

McReynolds Cup Semi-final - Ballynure Old Boys v Coleraine Crusaders; Dunloy v Cookstown Olympic.

Thursday, May 6 League - Kilbride Swifts v Clough Rangers Athletic; Desertmartin v Coleraine Crusaders; Raceview v Rasharkin United.