Raining goals as matches survive wet conditions

Jason Cairns' side closed the gap on Michelin Athletic Club-sponsored championship leaders Brantwood after beating the yet-to-win Bannsiders at Knockan Road.

Fortunately the heavy rain showers on Saturday did not interrupt the fixtures though a couple of referees stopped their games for a few minutes to allow the surface water that fell near the end of their games to soak away - hopefully not a forerunner of things to come during the winter months.

FIXTURES

Matches involving locally-based sides this Saturday, September 18, are:

Intermediate League: Clough Rangers Athletic v Rasharkin United; Portglenone v Ballycastle United.

Irish Cup, round one: Raceview v Comber Rec.

Junior Division One: Carniny Amateurs v Chimney Corner Res.

Junior Division Two: 3rd Ballyclare Old Boys v Raceview Athletic.

Junior Division Three: Mallusk Athletic v Wakehurst Strollers.

INTERMEDIATE LEAGUE

Desertmartin 3, Clough Rangers Athletic 2: Clough, who had a good win over Brantwood the previous Saturday, took the lead after David Nicholl converted a penalty on the 5th minute.

The goal separated the teams until Lee Smyth scored the equaliser for Desertmartin on the 30th minute this being followed by a second goal scored by Brian Holmes on the 35th minute putting the home team in front.

Half-time was almost reached when David Cameron levelled the scores on the 45th minute.

The second half was a titanic struggle between the teams until the 86th minute when Andrew Kelso broke the Clough hearts when he scored the winner for Desertmartin.

Raceview 4, Portglenone 1: Raceview took a strong hold in this game during the first-half and at half-time lead by goals scored by David Tenant on the 21st and 43rd minutes and Jordan Lemon on the 28th minute.

Raceview extended their lead after Jonny Hume scored on the 62nd minute but full marks to Portglenone who never gave up pulling a goal back when Chris Kearns scored on the 68th minute but unfortunately for them they failed to capitalise on another couple of half chances before the end of the game.

Other results: Ballynure Old Boys 2, Ballycastle United 0; Cookstown Olympic 0, Kilbride Swifts 3; FC Ballynure 2, Dunloy 3.

JUNIOR DIVISION ONE

Carniny Amateurs 3, FC Larne 0: This was another good win for Carniny who have won the four games they have played while Larne are struggling a little due to having to completely re-build their team from last season.

In a very competitive first half no goals were scored then on the 62nd minute Adam Whitehurst opened the scoring for Carniny.

Larne then had to chase the game which suited Carniny who picked them off with two more goals scored by Graham Adams and Ryan Wilkinson on the 74th and 87th minutes.

Chimney Corner Reserves 2, Glebe Rangers Reserves 2: The surprise in this game was the number of chances not taken by both teams during the first-half resulting in no goals being scored.

This situation changed on the 46th minute after Jackie Morrison scored to put Glebe in front but the Corner came back quickly with Henry Nutter scoring the equaliser on the 55th minute.

The scoreline remained the same until Henry Nutter scored his second goal on the 80th minute and this appeared to have won the game before Neil McVicker nipped through with the equaliser for Glebe on the 89th minute.

Other results: Ballyclare Comrades Reserves 2, Ballymoney United Reserves 0; Newtownabbey FC 5, Finvoy 0; Newtownabbey Sevens 3, Tobermore United Reserves 1; Killymoon Rangers Reserves 0, Moyola Park Olympic 0.

JUNIOR DIVISION TWO

Results: Carnlough Swifts 1, Desertmartin Swifts 3; Cookstown Athletic Colts 1, Ballynure Old Boys 'B' 2; FC Ballynure Reserves 1, Ballyclare North End 2; Woodlands 2, 3rd Ballyclare Old Boys 8;

JUNIOR DIVISION THREE

Encore FC 0, Antrim Rovers 3: This was a level enough game during the first 45 minutes but at half-time the Rovers led by a goal scored by David Brownlees on the 35th minute.

The second half saw Encore push forward in search of the equaliser but they got caught with Alan Moore running through to score number two for the Rovers on the 59th minute.

After this the Rovers contained the Encore attacks then on the 90th minute Ricky Shaw sealed the game with the Rovers third goal.

Wakehurst Strollers 2, Red Star 1: The heavy rainstorms saw this game having to be stopped wisely by the referee for a short period of time in the second half to allow the surface water to get away. The Strollers took an early lead in the game with Conor Agnew scoring on the 5th minute and they held this until Glenn Williams scored for the Star on the 61st minute.

After this both teams had chances to score before the winning goal was scored by Jon Alexander for the Strollers on the 75th minute.

Other results: Grange Rangers II 4, FC Ballynure YM 0; Ballynure Old Boys 'C' 2, Mallusk Athletic 5; 14 th Newtownabbey 1, Castle Star 6.