A midweek round of the All County Football League saw all three divisions back in action from a temporary hiatus after most games fell to a late cancellation last week following a surprise rainstorm, causing flooding to most pitches in North Antrim and Belfast.
Despite the cancellation of some huge fixtures, including a top-of-the-table clash between St Gall's and Cargin, this weeks action remained without postponement leading to some terrific ties and some important victories at both ends of the divisions.
ACFL Division One Results
St Mary's Aghagallon 3-11
Lámh Dhearg 1-14
Three early goals for the hosts inside the opening ten minutes laid the foundations for a great victory over the men from Hannahstown on Wednesday evening.
Ruairi McCann was hauled to the ground inside the first minute and the hosts were awarded a penalty, with the returning Adam Loughran striking beyond the Lámh Dhearg shot-stopper John Finucane.
Despite some early fightback in the form of scores from Declan Lynch and Conor Murray, it would prove less than effective to draw back to within their opposition after Jonny Hannon punched a McCann free and struck a second major blow.
Hannon once again proved too much to deal with for the away side, and found the net gifting Aghagallon their third goal in quick succession as the forward rounded John Finucane and blasted into the net.
The away side gave a better account of themselves late in the half with Marc Jordan striking and Adam Murray once more proving a star-man, but the early deficit gave them too much of a mountain to climb and they could not flip the game.
Sarsfield's 2-14
All Saints Ballymena 3-7
Sarsfield's secured their first top division victory in 25 years following a thrilling, hard-fought battle against Ballymena at the Bear Pit. Early goals for Ballymena gave the hosts a real worry that it would be another defeat in the top flight.
But in a game defined by dramatic momentum swings and an outstanding hat-trick performance from All Saints full-forward Benny McDonnell, the Paddies dug deep to overcome an early blitz and seal a famous win with a decisive late goal from Declan Barr to earn them a first top flight win of the century.
The away side held the lead at the break, and it was unchartered territory for Sarsfield's who, up to this point, had their nearly moments in every fixture so far, including half-time leads over Dunloy and St Paul's, but fourth time proved the charm for the Paddies as Barr's dramatic late goal saw the Bear Pit erupt after they sealed a hard-fought victory.
Eoghan McMenamin scored a crucial point for Rossa
St Brigid's 0-17
Cargin 1-15
St Brigid's suffered a second consecutive loss at home, following their Easter weekend defeat to St Gall's as Cargin came to town and clinched a single point victory at Musgrave Park, as the Biddies woes continued to plague them.
Cargin set the tempo early on with Jack O'Neill striking, and a white flag was soon raised straight from the throw-in. Niall Duffy soon replied to level a tie which would see the away side race into a healthy half-time lead when Benen Kelly, Tomas McCann and Callum Gribbin all found scores from range before the interval.
JJ Higgin's gave the home side a spark, and despite their best efforts of clawing their deficit back, Cargin did just enough and would find a goal right when St Brigid's least expected, with a point splitting the sides.
Despite the Biddies flipping the script and opening up an early second-half advantage of five points, corner back Fiontan Hardy finished off a great counter-attack for the North Antrim side and drew the sides level.
Tomas McCann then struck a handful of frees, holding his nerve and Cargin proved resilient in the defence to hold on to a single-point victory.
St Gall's 0-16
Dunloy 3-5
The men from Milltown managed to extend their unbeaten run against the county football champions at home on Wednesday evening and much of the credit must go to the late heroics of Chris Kerr despite the concession of three goals.
Dunloy managed to find a treble of goals and Charlie Cunning struck his second in the latter stages of the half as he dispatched two goals in short succession into the St Gall's net.
The home side rallied, and Danny Quinn continued to star once more for the Galls and his seven point personal tally accompanied with Barra McCaffrey's excellence in free-taking helped keep the net-bursting Dunloy at bay.
The away side were denied late on to win all two-points after Chris Kerr's terrific save late on to deny McGilligan in the final moments and help his side cling on to the win and continue their winning streak, which now sits at four.
Creggan Kickhams 0-15
Portglenone 0-8
Two of the three sides who entered the week still unbeaten would soon become one, as Creggan stormed to an early lead and that is where they would remain as Portglenone struggled to maintain any possession as they pursued the comeback.
Creggan proved clinical with scores from Liam Quinn, Teddy McKeown and Shay and Jamie McCann all striking without reply from Casement's who looked to be coming to an end on their win streak.
Despite the wind at their backs, and with many famous comebacks already this season, including a ten-point swing at Hannahstown, Creggan came out with the force to continue adding to their tally.
A resounding victory saw the hosts run out with almost double the tally, as Creggan continue to impress in the top-flight, sitting firmly on top.
Rossa 0-18
St Paul's 2-7
A true game of two halves, with the full report available on Belfastmedia.com.
Rossa rallied in the second period following a stunning first half from their rivals as Caoimhin Duffy led the charge with 1-2 to his name as St Paul's ended the half six points in front of their neighbours.
The return of county stars Dominic McEnhill and Thomas Morgan helped give the hosts a new lease of life leading to their second-half comeback accompanied with scores from Beattie tying the knot for the victory.
Glenravel 1-13
Moneyglass 2-8
Glenravel left it very late to level and eventually clinch the victory in a game that was dominated by a strong breeze blowing to the scoreboard end of Fr Maginn Park on Wednesday evening.
Aiden O'Donnell gave a huge lift to the home side by striking six points on the night, but it was the late heroics from Niall Hynds who punched the ball into the net and gave the home side a levelling score.
Callum Higgins fired the winner moments later and the home crowd rose from their feet as they managed to overturn an unlikely deficit.
St John's 3-13
Tír na nÓg 1-10
The Johnnies hosted Randalstown in Jordanstown whilst renovations continued at Corrigan Park.
The return of Conor Hand proved a boost for the hosts who managed to blitz a nine-point victory over their opponents in what was, without a doubt, the best performance Aaron Douglas' side have produced up to this point in the campaign.
A strong breeze assisted St John's on their route to victory, but Randalstown will have to look to correct their form as they continue to drop in the top-flight table.
