Boyd is the match winner for Rasharkin

It is certainly very tight at the top of the Intermediate Division after Saturday’s results and similar in Junior Division Two.

In Junior Division One Killymoon Rangers Reserves are setting the pace with seven wins from seven and in Junior Three its 1st Mossley with five wins from five who are setting the pace.

INTERMEDIATE LEAGUE

BALLYNURE OLD BOYS 0 v 1 RASHARKIN UNITED

This was a hard fought game and Ballynure will look back and wonder why they did not take a point from the game.

Both teams started off well and on the 20th minute Ryan Boyd put Rasharkin in front when he converted a penalty. Ballynure came back strongly and had a great chance equalise when awarded a penalty on the 38th minute but surprisingly Ronnie Burns failed to convert the spot kick.

After this it was nip and tick up to the final whistle with Rasharkin holding on to take the points.

Manager Chris Peacock had this to say:

“After last week’s outrageous result and performance, it was important we got ourselves into the right frame of mind for this game, as away to Ballynure Old Boys is always a tough test.

“They’re a very strong, physical side who are always a threat from set-pieces. We had to be at our best defensively, in terms of organisation and being very competitive. We started ok, although there wasn’t much in the game until we took the lead following Ryan Boyd’s penalty. I thought William Beckett’s performance in the first half was outstanding, whilst Johnny Kempton’s penalty save on the stroke of half time was crucial.

“We started the second half well, and could of extended our lead on a couple of occasions, especially when Sammy McConaghie made himself a chance by some outstanding individual play, but their keeper did well to tip it round the post. Again, there wasn’t much between the teams in the second half until about the last 10 minutes or so when Ballynure threw everything at us. I have to say that I thought our back five, particularly Johnny Nicholl and Johnny Kempton, were top class. Johnny Kempton pulled off two saves back-to-back in the dying minutes that were nothing short of exceptional.” Referee Mr. David Appleyard

Rasharkin United face another difficult league match this week, at home to local rivals Dunloy.

DUNLOY 3 v 1 DESERTMARTIN

Dunloy had the better of the early attacking play and took the lead after Conor McKinley scored on the 26th minute and then went on to double this when John John McFerran scored on the 29th minute. Half-time saw Dunloy still two goals to the good but Desertmartin were never out of the game and on the 80th minute a goal scored by Lee Smyth saw them in with a chance of saving the game.

Time was running out quickly when on the 88th minute Desertmartin should have scored in front of an open goal but missed the chance resulting in Dunloy breaking quickly and Conor McKinley scoring his second goal on the 90th minute.

Referee Mr. Martin Taylor

NEWTOWNE 4 v 0 RACEVIEW

BRANTWOOD 7 v 1 FC BALLYNURE

CARNINY AMATEURS 4 v 1 KILBRIDE SWIFTS

JUNIOR DIVISION ONE LEAGUE

DESERTMARTIN SWIFTS 1 v 2 MALLUSK ATHLETIC

CHIMNEY CORNER RES 0 v 4 MAGHERAFELT SKY-BLUE RES

KILLYMOON RANGERS RES 7 v 0 LARNE OLYMPIC

JUNIOR DIVISION TWO

LEAGUE

FINVOY 4 v 6 FC LARNE

Goals were certainly the order of the day in this game in which Ryan Stewart scored on the 20th minute to put Finvoy in front.

Larne hit back with goals scored by Cameron Rhys and Chris Johnston on the 32nd and 38th minutes but as half-time approached Gary Trafford scored on the 40th minute to level the score.

The second half saw Larne score four more goals through Alan Burgess 46th, Steve White 48th, Gareth Mullan 62nd and Alan Burgess 82nd minutes but Finvoy came back with goals scored by Ryan Stewart and Gareth Burns on the 85th and 87th minutes.

3rd BALLYCLARE OLD BOYS 5 v 1 WOODLANDS

BALLYCLARE NORTH END 0 v 6 COOKSTOWN OLYMPIC

GRANGE RANGERS II 2 v 5 ANTRIM ROVERS

CRAWFORD CUP ROUND ONE

BALLYMONEY UTD RES 4 v 1 CARNMONEY FC

Carnmoney were early on the attack and took the lead after Ricky Thompson scored on the 9th minute and held this lead until Andy Atkinson equalised for Ballymoney on the 41st minute.

Half-time was almost reached when William Wilkinson shot Ballymoney in front on the 43rd minute this followed by a third goal scored by Gavin Gilmore on the 56th minute.

Carnmoney did their best to get back into the game then on the 90th minute Conor Reid scored number four for Ballymoney.

Referee Mr. Wm McConaghie

CARNLOUGH SWIFTS 3 v 1 GLEBE RANGERS RES

This game was brought to a premature end by the referee on the 80th minute after sending offs and a melee on the pitch.

Glebe took the lead on the 10th minute when Gareth Henry scored and this goal separated the teams until Ryan Mitchell converted a penalty for Carnlough on the 35th minute.

After this both teams had chances to score before Mark McLaughlin scored for Carnlough on the 70th minute followed by James Mellon putting them two goals in front on the 75th minute. An unsavory incident then took place on the 80th minute when Carnlough were down to ten men and Glebe down to seven when referee called it a day. The league will now await the referee report before deciding on the outcome of the game. Referee Mr. Adrian Dodds

CLOUGH RANGERS ATHLETIC 8 v 1 14th NEWTOWNABBEY

Fixtures:

INTERMEDIATE Saturday 1st October

League

Carniny Amateurs v Brantwood

Desertmartin v Race view

Newtownabbey FC v Ballynure Old Boys

Rasharkin United v Dunloy

FC Ballynure v Newtowne FC

McReynolds Cup Round 1

Clough Rangers Athletic v Kilbride Swifts

JUNIOR DIVISIONS Saturday 1st October

League One

Ballymoney Utd Res v Tobermore Utd res

Mallusk Athletic v Killymoon Rangers Res

Glebe Rangers Res v Chimney Corner Res

Magherafelt Sky Blue Res v Desertmartin swifts

Moyola Park Olympic v Larne Olympic

League Two

FC Larne v Carnlough Swifts

Wakehurst Strollers v Ballyclare North End

Antrim Rovers v 3rd Ballyclare Old Boys

County Antrim Junior Shield Round 1

Castle Star v Rooftop

Red Star v Bryansburn Rangers II

FC Penarol v Finvoy

Killough FC v Ballyclare Com Res

Ballynure Old Boys v Ligoneil