It was the Mid-Ulster where most of the action was this week as Hanover’s lead at the top of the table was cut by the chasing pack.
The game of the day saw first play second at Brownstown Park, with Hanover hosting Banbridge Rangers. Banbridge burst out of the traps and were ahead after just ten minutes when Brian Johnston headed home from a Stuart Mallen corner. It was two after 25 minutes when a Hanover free-kick was cleared by the Rangers rearguard, they broke down the left and as the cross came, in Mallen controlled before acrobatically hooking the ball into the corner.
In the second half, it was Hanover’s turn to make a lightning start. Barely a minute had gone when they pulled one back through Stevie McClelland. Hanover had won the ball back and his shot from outside the box nestled in the back of the net.
Hanover were now pushing hard for the equaliser, with Rangers soaking up the pressure and hitting the hosts on the break. Visiting keeper Bryan McMullan came into his own in the latter stages of the game though, making save after save to foil the league leaders.
The scoring was done there and this saw Rangers pull to within three points of Hanover, while still a point ahead of Crewe United. Eamon McCarthy’s men were also on their travels, a trip to St Mary’s ending with a 3-1 victory thanks to goals from Paul Brown, Ronan Brannigan and Denver Taggart.
Moneyslane also picked up three points on the road, tightening the top four even further. They took on AFC Richhill and after a tight game, secured the 1-0 win with a goal from Scott Larmour. Dan Thornton’s men are a further point behind Crewe, having played four more games so far.
At the bottom of the table, all three sides fell to defeats. St Mary’s’ loss to Crewe was joined by away defeats for AFC Silverwood, losing out 3-0 at Fivemiletown Utd, and Laurelvale who fell to a 2-0 defeat at Windmill Stars.
In the final game of the day in the Mid-Ulster, Valley Rangers made the 90-mile round trip to the Bluebell to take on Ballymacash Rangers where a Johnny Newell free-kick was enough to secure a 1-0 win.
In the NAFL, champions Crumlin Star were back in league action, and they triumphed 2-1 in a hard-fought encounter at the Hammer against Shankill United. Star found themselves 1-0 down at half-time but fought back to win the game through goals from Cormac Mullan and Aiden McNeill. With seven wins from the seven league games they have played to date, Paul Trainor’s men are looking hard to stop as they seek to make it a hat-trick of titles in the top flight.
Elsewhere, Albert Foundry and Drumaness Mills fought out a 1-1 draw at Paisley Park in a result that did neither side many favours. Mills are trying to push towards the top end of the table, while Foundry look to get away from the drop zone.
In the BPIL, there were also only two league games, and goals were in short supply for a change. Coagh United kept up their recent good form as they made the short trip to take on Cookstown RBL, though it took an own-goal to secure the three points for the visitors against the bottom side.
At the Ballymena Showgrounds, hosts Wakehurst were held to a 1-1 draw against Cookstown Youth, and it was goals early in each half that earned the pair a share of the spoils. Paul Stewart put the visitors in front after just six minutes, before Aaron Weir equalised in the 54th minute to complete the scoring.
In the North West, however, the two games saw 12 goals scored, with big wins for Maiden City and Strabane Athletic. City hosted reigning champions Magherafelt Sky Blues at Swilly Stadium. Goals from Declan McKeever (3), Aaron Kerrigan and Matthew Duffy put the champions to the sword.
Across town, Trojans were hosting last week’s Irish Cup heroes, Strabane Athletic, and the visitors kept up their good form with a thumping 6-1 victory that leaves them three points off leaders Newbuildings, having played three games fewer.
Warner Mullan was the hero once again as he notched a hat-trick, while Aodhan Doherty, Conal Crawford & Sean Lynch also netted for Strabane who had fallen behind to an early goal from home striker Emmett McCarron.
Mid-Ulster Intermediate League A
Ballymacash Rangers 0 – 1 Valley Rangers
Bourneview Mill 2 – 0 Tandragee Rovers
Fivemiletown United 3 – 0 AFC Silverwood
Hanover 1 – 2 Banbridge Rangers
Richhill AFC 0 – 1 Moneyslane
St Marys 1 – 3 Crewe United
Windmill Stars 2 – 0 Laurelvale
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Hanover | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 17 | 19 | 32 |
| 2 | Banbridge Rangers | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 40 | 15 | 25 | 29 |
| 3 | Crewe United | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 12 | 35 | 28 |
| 4 | Moneyslane | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 19 | 19 | 27 |
| 5 | Windmill Stars | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 38 | 23 | 15 | 23 |
| 6 | Valley Rangers | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 21 |
| 7 | Bourneview Mill | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 27 | 28 | -1 | 21 |
| 8 | Ballymacash Rangers | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 23 | 26 | -3 | 20 |
| 9 | Richhill AFC | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 26 | 18 | 8 | 19 |
| 10 | Fivemiletown United | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 17 |
| 11 | Tandragee Rovers | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 21 | 34 | -13 | 12 |
| 12 | Laurelvale | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 17 | 29 | -12 | 10 |
| 13 | St Marys | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 51 | -32 | 8 |
| 14 | AFC Silverwood | 15 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 8 | 78 | -70 | 1 |
Northern Amateur Football League Premier Division
Albert Foundry 1-1 Drumaness Mills
Shankill Utd 1-2 Crumlin Star
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Immaculata F.C. | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 29 | 13 | 16 | 32 |
| 2 | Shankill United | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 31 | 22 | 9 | 27 |
| 3 | East Belfast | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 7 | 36 | 22 |
| 4 | Ballynahinch Olympic | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 17 | 11 | 22 |
| 5 | Crumlin Star | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 | 21 | 21 |
| 6 | Rathfriland Rangers | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 11 | 21 |
| 7 | Drumaness Mills | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 40 | 30 | 10 | 20 |
| 8 | 1st Bangor Old Boys | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 29 | 24 | 5 | 17 |
| 9 | Islandmagee | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 17 |
| 10 | Ards Rangers | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 28 | -10 | 16 |
| 11 | Albert Foundry F.C. | 15 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 33 | -12 | 11 |
| 12 | Derriaghy C C | 15 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 16 | 40 | -24 | 11 |
| 13 | Crumlin United | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 31 | -13 | 10 |
| 14 | Downpatrick F.C. | 14 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 73 | -60 | 4 |
Ballymena & Provincial Intermediate League
Cookstown RBL 0-1 Coagh United
Wakehurst FC 1-1 Cookstown Youth
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Glebe Rangers | 15 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 12 | 29 | 40 |
| 2 | Bangor FC | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 7 | 33 | 28 |
| 3 | Coagh United | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 30 | 22 | 8 | 26 |
| 4 | St James Swifts | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 8 | 35 | 24 |
| 5 | Newtowne | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 13 | 12 | 20 |
| 6 | Ballymoney Utd | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 30 | 23 | 7 | 20 |
| 7 | Cookstown Youth | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 25 | 30 | -5 | 20 |
| 8 | Dunloy FC | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 21 | -1 | 15 |
| 9 | Wakehurst FC | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 24 | -2 | 15 |
| 10 | Donegal Celtic | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 24 | 54 | -30 | 13 |
| 11 | Brantwood | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 11 |
| 12 | Chimney Corner | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 30 | -12 | 10 |
| 13 | Ballynure OB | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 34 | -19 | 10 |
| 14 | Desertmartin | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 22 | 43 | -21 | 9 |
| 15 | Cookstown RBL | 15 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 51 | -36 | 4 |
NI Intermediate League
Maiden City 5-0 Magherafelt Sky Blues
Trojans 1-6 Strabane Athletic
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Newbuildings Utd | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 16 |
| 2 | Magherafelt Sky Blues | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 16 |
| 3 | Strabane Athletic | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 13 |
| 4 | Trojans | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 21 | -9 | 11 |
| 5 | Maiden City | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| 6 | Dungiven | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 13 | -3 | 7 |
| 7 | Ardstraw | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 18 | -9 | 7 |
| 8 | Oxford United Stars | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 20 | -17 | 1 |
