This was a week of massive games across the intermediate divisions, and in the three leagues that have yet to crown a winner, we are still no closer to finding out who will be contesting the playoffs for entry into the Premier Intermediate League for the 2018/19 season.
In the NAFL the games are coming thick and fast, with a number of midweek games taking place as the race for the title heats up.
East Belfast remain in the lead, but Crumlin Star and Rathfriland are hot on their tails with a number of games in hand. This week saw Rathfriland begin in 2nd spot with Star right behind them, and both sides got their busy weeks off to a good start. Rathfriland welcomed Shankill Utd to Iveagh Park and secured a 1-0 win, while Crumlin Star did the same, a 1-0 win on the road at Derriaghy.
Next up for the two sides was a huge head to head match up on Thursday night at Iveagh Park, with the reigning champions looking to make amends for a 6-3 defeat at the hands of Rathfriland earlier in the campaign. They did just that, coming away with what could be a huge 1-0 victory in the title chase, in the process jumping above their hosts into 2nd place.
On Saturday both sides were once again in action, Crumlin Star seen off Albert Foundry with ease, romping to a 6-0 victory. Rathfriland got themselves back on the winning trail meanwhile, with a hard fought 2-1 home win over Ards Rangers.
Elsewhere in midweek, Immaculata were looking to respond to back to back defeats in the league and they did so in the best possible way. Two midweek wins for the Grosvenor men, the first coming with a 1-0 win over 1st Bangor at the Drome, and they followed that up with a 2-1 win at home to Shankill Utd. The week ended on a sour note though, as they fell to a 2-1 home defeat to Derriaghy.
Downpatrick continued their resurgence with a brace of wins of their own, beginning in midweek with a 1-0 home win over Crumlin Utd, followed on Saturday by another victory, at the same venue and by the same margin, over 1st Bangor.
Lisburn Rangers relegation to 1A has been confirmed following the results from this week, and on Saturday they travelled to Drumaness Mills where they fell to their 18th defeat of a tough season for the Stanley Park men.
East Belfast were back in league action over the weekend, where they were held to a 1-1 draw away to Crumlin United. However they brought the busy week to a close with a massive 3-2 victory away to Rathfriland. The sides met at East Park on the opening day of the season, and the Belfast side got off to a flyer, romping to a 3-0 win as they began the season in style. They completed the double over the Iveagh Park men in style to keep themselves ahead of Crumlin Star on goal difference.
Star finished off the week with 12 points from 12 as they won 3-2 away to Albert Foundry, and they are level on points with the East men but have four games in hand.
In Mid Ulster only one of the top three was in league action at the weekend, with Dollingstown travelling to AFC Silverwood and laying down a marker for the chasing pack, winning 7-0 to stretch their lead to 7 points over Banbridge Rangers, and 9 points over Crewe Utd.
This week sees Banbridge play both of those games they have in hand, on Tuesday night they secured a 5-1 win away to AFC Silverwood on Tuesday, while Saturday sees them making the 120 mile round trip to Fivemiletown United.
On to the BPIL now and like the Amateur League a number of midweek games have been taking place. This week Glebe Rangers were in action against the bottom two on Tuesday and Thursday, comfortably winning both games to close the gap on St. James Swifts and leaders Bangor.
On Tuesday they welcomed bottom side Chimney Corner to the Riada where they won 3-0. This was followed up by a heavy 6-0 win away to Sofia Farmer, leaving the Ballymoney men two points ahead St.James and five behind Bangor. They completed a busy week with another big win, this time winning 5-1 away to Ballynure OB to lift themselves into second place in the table.
Leaders Bangor defeated St.James Swifts on penalties at Woodlands on Saturday in the semi-final of the O’Gorman Cup, and that was followed on Tuesday night by a league clash between the top two, this time at Donegal Celtic. Bangor romped to a 4-0 win this time around, making the gap between the pair 7 points, albeit with St.James having one game in hand.
Glebe, meanwhile, have one game in hand on St.James Swifts and three on Bangor, and now sit five points behind the leaders as the home straight approaches.
It was a bad week for Sofia Farmer, as they began the week with a 3-0 defeat at Ballynure, followed by that loss to Glebe, and they rounded off the week with an 11-0 hammering by Coagh United. The Farmers were one of the sides who had applied for promotion at the end of the season, but their results have taken a nosedive in the second half of the season, and allied with a number of discipline issues it has seen them drop to the bottom end of the table, only ahead of rock bottom Chimney Corner.
There were no league games this week in the NI Intermediate League, with the Challenge Cup quarter finals taking centre stage. League Champions Magherafelt Sky Blues fell to a 3-0 home defeat to rivals Strabane Athletic, while the remaining semi-finalists are Derry based trio, Maiden City, Newbuildings and Trojans.
Ballymena & Provincial Intermediate League
Tuesday 24th April 2018
Ballynure OB 1-5 Glebe Rangers
St James Swifts 0-4 Bangor
Coagh United 3-1 Cookstown RBL
Saturday 21st April 2018
Ballynure OB 2-0 Cookstown RBL
Desertmartin 2-3 Cookstown Youth
Coagh United 11-0 Sofia Farm
Thursday 19th April 2018
Sofia Farm 0-6 Glebe Rangers
Tuesday 17th April 2018
Cookstown Youth 4-3 St James Swifts
Ballynure OB 3-0 Sofia Farm
Newtowne 1-2 Dunloy
Glebe Rangers 3-0 Chimney Corner
Brantwood 0-1 Coagh United
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Bangor | 21 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 73 | 14 | 59 | 49 |
| 2 | Glebe Rangers | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 60 | 25 | 35 | 44 |
| 3 | St James Swifts | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 48 | 22 | 26 | 42 |
| 4 | Coagh United | 21 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 71 | 29 | 42 | 36 |
| 5 | Dunloy | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 45 | 28 | 17 | 31 |
| 6 | Newtowne | 17 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 27 |
| 7 | Desertmartin | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 36 | 58 | -22 | 27 |
| 8 | Cookstown Youth | 21 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 45 | 51 | -6 | 24 |
| 9 | Ballynure OB | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 27 | 41 | -14 | 22 |
| 10 | Cookstown Royal British Legion | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 31 | 50 | -19 | 20 |
| 11 | Brantwood | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 28 | 36 | -8 | 17 |
| 12 | Sofia Farm | 19 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 29 | 58 | -29 | 17 |
| 13 | Chimney Corner | 22 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 14 | 103 | -89 | 4 |
Northern Amateur Football League Premier Division
Tuesday 24th April 2018
1st Bangor Old Boys 5-2 Drumaness Mills
Albert Foundry F.C. 2-3 Crumlin Star
Rathfriland Rangers 2-3 East Belfast
Ards Rangers 1-3 Immaculata F.C.
Crumlin United 2-3 Shankill United
Saturday 21st April 2018
Downpatrick F.C. 1-0 1st Bangor Old Boys
Crumlin United 1-1 East Belfast
Crumlin Star 6-0 Albert Foundry F.C.
Immaculata F.C. 1-2 Derriaghy C C
Drumaness Mills 2-1 Lisburn Rangers
Malachians 2-1 Shankill United
Rathfriland Rangers 2-1 Ards Rangers
Thursday 19th April 2018
Immaculata F.C. 2-1 Shankill United
Rathfriland Rangers 0-1 Crumlin Star
Wednesday 18th April 2018
Downpatrick F.C. 1-0 Crumlin United
Tuesday 17th April 2018
1st Bangor Old Boys 0-1 Immaculata F.C.
Albert Foundry F.C. 1-3 Drumaness Mills
Rathfriland Rangers 1-0 Shankill United
Derriaghy C C 0-1 Crumlin Star
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | East Belfast | 23 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 74 | 38 | 36 | 48 |
| 2 | Crumlin Star | 19 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 55 | 22 | 33 | 48 |
| 3 | Rathfriland Rangers | 19 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 58 | 23 | 35 | 44 |
| 4 | Immaculata F.C. | 21 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 60 | 47 | 13 | 37 |
| 5 | Ards Rangers | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 42 | 38 | 4 | 31 |
| 6 | 1st Bangor Old Boys | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 38 | 40 | -2 | 30 |
| 7 | Shankill United | 20 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 39 | 40 | -1 | 28 |
| 8 | Albert Foundry F.C. | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 35 | 50 | -15 | 28 |
| 9 | Drumaness Mills | 20 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 29 | 46 | -17 | 26 |
| 10 | Derriaghy C C | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 35 | 43 | -8 | 25 |
| 11 | Downpatrick F.C. | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 47 | 42 | 5 | 24 |
| 12 | Crumlin United | 18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 33 | 41 | -8 | 23 |
| 13 | Malachians | 24 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 41 | 84 | -43 | 21 |
| 14 | Lisburn Rangers | 23 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 36 | 68 | -32 | 11 |
Mid Ulster Intermediate A
Tuesday 24th April 2018
AFC Silverwood 1-5 Banbridge Rangers
Hanover 2-2 Richhill AFC
Saturday 21st April 2018
AFC Silverwood 1-4 Windmill Stars
Ballymacash Rangers 3-0 Fivemiletown United
Camlough Rovers P-P Hanover
Tandragee Rovers 3-1 Richhill AFC
Tuesday 17th April 2018
AFC Silverwood 0-7 Dollingstown
Tandragee Rovers 8-1 St Marys
Valley Rangers 2-0 Moneyslane
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Dollingstown | 23 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 68 | 21 | 47 | 56 |
| 2 | Banbridge Rangers | 22 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 54 | 25 | 29 | 52 |
| 3 | Crewe United | 21 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 58 | 26 | 32 | 47 |
| 4 | Windmill Stars | 21 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 49 | 27 | 22 | 41 |
| 5 | Moneyslane | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 47 | 38 | 9 | 37 |
| 6 | Hanover | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 39 | 27 | 12 | 30 |
| 7 | Tandragee Rovers | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 44 | 33 | 11 | 25 |
| 8 | Fivemiletown United | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 27 | 46 | -19 | 25 |
| 9 | Valley Rangers | 18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 39 | 40 | -1 | 24 |
| 10 | St Marys | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 35 | 55 | -20 | 24 |
| 11 | Richhill AFC | 24 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 45 | 52 | -7 | 20 |
| 12 | Ballymacash Rangers | 21 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 39 | 51 | -12 | 20 |
| 13 | AFC Silverwood | 21 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 28 | 71 | -43 | 13 |
| 14 | Camlough Rovers | 18 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 77 | -60 | 4 |
NI Intermediate League
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Magherafelt Sky Blues | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 40 | 23 | 17 | 41 |
| 2 | Strabane Athletic | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 5 | 33 | 33 |
| 3 | Ardstraw | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 18 | 12 | 25 |
| 4 | Maiden City | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 22 |
| 5 | Dungiven | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 24 | 28 | -4 | 18 |
| 6 | Newbuildings Utd | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 20 | 31 | -11 | 13 |
| 7 | Trojans | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 22 | 34 | -12 | 12 |
| 8 | Ballymoney Utd | 13 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 34 | -20 | 6 |
| 9 | Oxford Utd Stars | 11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 39 | -26 | 3 |
