Honours even between St Catherine's and Bonagee in windy ...

St Catherine's 2

Bonagee United 2

Storm Ashley didn’t deter St Catherine’s and Bonagee as they served up a cracker in the Donegal League Premier Division clash at Emerald Park.

The hurricane was in a diagonal direction and was favouring the home side in the opening half but in fairness to both sets of players, they made light of the conditions.

Josh Maxwell had the first shot in anger, working Andrew Nicholls in the Bonagee goal from a free but it was Bonagee who opened the scoring on 18 minutes and it was no surprise that Gareth Harkin provided the crucial pass, sending Shay Maloney clear to slide home.

St Catherine’s, in their brand new strip, got back on terms on 25 minutes, their best player Ryan Cunningham, playing in a midfield role, sliding a pass for Alex McBrearty, who got a toe to it just before the ‘keeper and Storm Ashley did the rest, with a Bonagee defender unable to clear off the line.

Maxwell and Maloney had half-chances but the score remained 1-1 at the break.St Catherine's pictured in their new strip before the game Picture: Ronan Cunningham

The second half saw Bonagee looking very dangerous and Daniel Mullarkey became a busy man in the St Catherine’s goal. He was called on to save from Maloney after 49 minutes and then produced a magnificent full length save to divert a Jamie Harris effort out for a corner.

The home crowd in the stand were given something to cheer about on 61 minutes when a long clearance was brilliantly chased by Paul ‘Chicho’ O’Hare and he pulled it back to the right man, Ryan Cunningham, and his trusty left did the rest.

It was backs to the wall for the home side for much of the remainder of the game with ‘keeper Mullarkey and centre-half Odhrán McGuinness outstanding. Bonagee were limited to long range efforts from Gareth Harkin, Dan O’Donnell and Jack Parke.

The home side had a big call for a foul by Bonagee ‘keeper Andrew Nicholls when he seemed to play the ball with his hand outside his area.

The Bonagee pressure finally paid off when Jack Parke was in the right place to power home a header from a corner on 89 minutes.

There were a couple more hairy moments for St Catherine’s with their ‘keeper having a clearance blocked which went just wide and in added time Fintan Hasson blazed wide with their last chance.

Overall, a draw was probably a fair result with St Catherine’s picking up their first point of the season. Apart from those mentioned, Kyle McGeoghan and Paul O’Hare deserve mention while for Bonagee, Jack Parke and Jamie Harris were also prominent.

St Catherine’s: Daniel Mullarkey; Conor Knox, Kyle McGeoghan, Ryan Carr, Odhran McGuinness, Alex Cunnea, Alex McBrearty, Liam McLaughlin (Josh Cunningham (81), Josh Maxwell, Ryan Cunningham, Paul O’Hare.

Bonagee United: Andrew Nicholls; Ricky Guntrip, Kevin O’Donnell, Gareth Breslin, Jack Parke, Gareth Harkin, Jamie Harris, Dan O’Donnell, Deano Larkin (Fintan Hassan 44), James Henry (Aidy McLaughlin 73), Shay Maloney (Ultan McMonagle 73)

Referee: Patrick MartinBonagee United pictured before game in Killybegs Picture: Ronan Cunningham