ACFL Division One
Lámh Dhearg 2-6
Naomh Éoin 0-12

GOOD Friday evening saw Antrim's top flight feast upon a West Belfast derby to begin an action packed bank holiday weekend of football, as Lámh Dhearg clung on at the death to salvage a draw after a late St John's resurgence in the tie.

The hosts were the architects of their own downfall as they held the lead by the minimum heading into stoppage time, but a moment of madness from the Lámh Dhearg backline saw a sliced pass effort back towards John Finucane which gave the Johnnies a chance to win the game despite Conall Quinn's best efforts, it only saw the Corrigan Park side prevail with a share of the spoils.

Early in the first half, St John's found their footing as their possession based game, tied in with the windy conditions, helped them maintain the pressure and mount a healthy lead on their opponents.

Paddy McBride split the posts for a green flag from a free to get the Johnnies up and running just before the tenth minute but Adam Murray soon replied for Lámh Dhearg as they began to find their way back into the game.

The hosts found themselves an early goal chance and they took it well as Murray would find himself in space and from close range he drilled an effort beyond Pearse Donnelly to flip the lead in favour of his side midway through the half.

McBride soon replied for St John's before Conchuir Adams got his account open on the evening firing a terrific two-pointed effort between the posts as once more the scoreboard flipped in favour of the Whiterock Road men.

St John's kept their opponents at an arms' length for the most part in the first half, refusing to part way with possession and with the wind howling at their backs it gave them enough in their sails to keep the score board ticking over with Sean Wilson and Conor McEvoy both seeing white flags raised for their side.

Adams found his scoring range once more as he floated a free and split the uprights, but the Hannahstown side were not for rolling over so easily as they found a second goal moments before the half-time whistle.

A long pass was floated into the danger area and St John's failed to clear their lines as the ball was collected by Jack Davitt who made no mistake as he fired his strike beyond Donnelly in the Johnnies' net and into the bottom corner for a second goal which cut the deficit to within the minimum, but Adams found another score for the traveller's on the whistle.

The second-half was a much more cagey affair and the disappearance of the sunshine followed by heavy winds made it hard for either side to gain momentum.

Adam Murray would find his range from a dead ball position for Lámh Dhearg in the opening stages to reply to Sean Wilson's curling effort which opened the second-half scoring.

Despite a frantic start, neither side could muster up much chances with the exception of two St John's efforts which found the net through illegal means, with the first being aided by a hand pass directly into the goal.

What remained of the game largely saw possession and key battles being won in the middle of the park and half-forward lines, with Lámh Dhearg rueing their several wide efforts which gave belief to St John's who now trailed following Murray's second free of the evening.

Mark Finnegan came off the bench to plant a great effort into the catch net as the white flag was raised and the hosts extended their lead to two scores.

Terry McCrudden's effort looked to have given the hosts an advantage that they would likely see out but a disastrous attempt at holding possession gave wind to the St John's counter-attack and Ronan Quinn looked set to make the mistake count but eventually a last ditch defensive clearance prevented the goal and after the scramble the ball ricocheted off the knee of Conall Quinn for a point to St John's.

Paddy McBride had the chance for some late heroics, but his free at the final whistle was met with a swirling wind that could not inflict anymore damage and the sides shared the spoils on Good Friday.

Lámh Dhearg: J Finucane; M McGarry, D Smyth, F Mervyn; B Rice, D Lynch, R Murray; C Boyd, P Fitzsimons; E McKeown, T McCrudden 0-1, D Martin; A Murray 1-4 (0-2f), C Murray, J Davitt 1-0

Subs: M Finnegan 0-1, P Mervyn, R Webb

St John's: P Donnelly; P McDiarmid, J Bohill, M Darragh; C McEvoy 0-1, S Wilson 0-2, O McAuley; S McDonagh, E McGurk; J Wilson 0-1, P McBride 0-3 (1xTPf), R Quinn; C Adams 0-4 (0-2f), A McGowan; C Quinn 0-1

Subs: C O'Neill, O Quinn, S McKee

Referee: Darren McKeown (St Gall's)