Thursday:

Donemana 0 Cumber Claudy 0

Friday:

Glendermott 1 Donemana 1

The football team welcomed back Mr Scott to school today......and sent him away with a defeat!

In a very competitive game, Ballykelly, just resurrecting their team, should be very pleased with thier display. Both teams battled extremely hard throughout, and in the final shake up, only a single goal separated the two sides.

William McClintock turned from goal provider yesterday, to goal scorer today as he took the first goal with aplomb! Not too long afterwards, brother Gary was not to be outdone and added a second to the total.

A number of changes took place throughout the game, and at half time regular goal keeper Joe swapped places with William to allow Joe to stretch his legs............and for William to employ some interesting goal keeping techniques!

Finbar added a goal for Ballykelly with just a short time remaining in the game, and the game drew to an end with Donemana coming out the victors

Captain Kyle Robinson provided strength in defence throughout, and Ross Balck battled bravely through the first half, despite suffering with a belter of a sore throat all day!

Photographs again by Lee and Newmanda........

The football team today entertained St. Columba's Primary School from Newbuildings, and although they left it late, they did manage to record a 2-0 win over their hard working and competitive opponents.

Both teams battled out the first half, with neither team having an advantage, either in performance, or in goals scored.

The second half looked like being a repeat of the first until the McClintock brothers combined down the right hand side for Gary to slot home a very well taken goal.

Towards the very end of the game the ball fell kindly again to Gary, and despite the Keeper's best efforts, the ball was going nowhere other than the back of the net!

Take a look at the photos from today's game-they were taken by amatuer snappers Newmanda and Lee-not bad for their first ever attempt!

Thanks also go to the parents who provided both teams with a drink after the game!

Tomorrow sees Mr Scott return to Donemana, this time with a team from Ballykelly Primary School.

Six players, under the captaincy of Kyle Robinson, today travelled to Riversdale Leisure Centre to play in their annual indoor tournament.

The team played superbly to emerge unscathed from their group, not even allowing a goal against!

They recorded a 2-0 win in their first match against St Patrick's PS (Castlederg), a 1-0 win against St Mary's in their second group match, and a convincing 3-0 win in their final match against Bridgehill PS.

Robert Smyth scored all the goals in the first two matches, and another in the third game against Bridgehill PS, where Gary McClintock and William McClintock all chipped in with one each.

In the quarter finals the boys took on and were devasted when they bowed out to Ardstraw PS by a single goal. However, the boys fought hard throughout and played well in every game and should be pleased with thier efforts!

It was a case of third time lucky for the football team today. After two pleasing performances, though disappointing results, their hard work paid dividends today with a tremendous 7-1 victory away to Craigbrack PS. Not only was this their best performance of the year, it was probably their best performance in at least the last five years! Throughout the game the players passed the ball masterfully and, after an intial  start which saw the score remain at 1-1 for a short period, they were always dominant in possession and took their chances effectively, creating a number of good openings.

Robert Smyth opened the scoring with a really decisive strike early on after Dylan McDonald stole possession and then made a telling pass-a feature of his play throughout, capping an excellent performance by him. Indeed, again all players deserve great credit for their efforts, including the substitutes who all got on in the second half and added to the overall performance. Even Joe in goal, who didn't have a great deal to do, managed to show just how good a judge he was of which shots to leave.....!!!!

Special mention however must go to the McClintock twins who rounded off their days with a hat-trick each!

The next game has yet to be arranged, however the team should be jubilant following today's result and determined to put in another strong performance!

The football team were thwarted in their attempts to bounce back from defeat, with an away trip to Cumber Claudy ending in a really hard fought 0-0 draw. However, the boys should not be too disappointed, they dominated throughout and played some of the best football the school team has produced in recent years.

As well as hitting the post, several rasping shots from the McClintock brothers went very close and Robert Smyth battled strongly up front. Throughout the team there were very pleasing performances. Ross and Kyle at the heart of defence settled down well after a nervous start and came onto the ball with confidence and certainty. From very early on Joe Robinson, between the sticks, produced another accomplished performance, reinforcing his assuredness and composure as the last line of defence. Dylan McDonald made a very pleasing debut full of hustle and bustle and was never afraid to make a tackle.

Credit too must go to a very spirited performance by the young Cumber Claudy team. Facing relentless pressure they continued to battle very hard, and found a great outlet in a young right winger who several times threatened the Donemana defence, one of which near the end that required a last ditch tackle by William McClintock to avert disaster.

The team should take great belief from this performance, on another day they could have comfortably won, but there is a lesson to be learned about sport being a funny old game!

Thanks too to Sonia, Sylvia, Diane, Mark, Jayne and Lucy who all came along to watch......and Lee and Irene, though their loyalties were questioned!

The first game of the football season saw the team travel to Mullabuoy for a tough opening test.

The team had some players making their first start, but was mainly the same team that had won the league the previous year. The team settled reasonably quickly and began to dominate possession. Mid way through the first half Gary McClintock opened the scoring with a wel struck shot which clipped the post on its way into the goal.

Although under pressure, Mullabuoy battled hard and after having had little to do during the first half, the Donemana defence was all too easily prised open to allow Mullabuoy an equaliser.

The team had numerous chances, coming very close to scoring, but will hopefully have realised the importance of taking them. Mullabuoy cetainly took their chances-after another defensive error, Donemana found themselves 2-1 down with only a few minutes left.

The final whistle blew, leaving the players thoroughly disappointed. However, they played well for large periods of the game and should look forward to the rest of the season.

The football team played host to Cumber Claudy PS today-seeking to avenge their earlier defeat in the cup. The first half produced a tight encounter with Donemana having the early upper hand, and Claudy coming much more into the game at the end. The sides turned around level at one goal each-the Donemana scorer being captain, Timothy Dougherty and Cumber Claudy equalising after a goal mouth scramble.

The second half saw the continuation of the tight encounter, with Donemana stealing an advantage with five minutes remaining, courtesy again of a Timothy Dougherty goal-a cheekily pounced upon header-reminiscent of his hero, Robbie Fowler. A few moments later Claudy were awarded a penalty, the result of a hand ball inside the area, which was sadly for them pushed wide. The Claudy goalkeeper deserved praise throughout the game and continued to make further good saves in the remaining moments.

On the Donemana side, Man of the Match plaudits were split between Ryan Nixon for continued good work in defence, and the tireless work of double goal hero Timothy Dougherty.

The football team travelled to Cumber Claudy to play a first round Cup match today and sadly exited at the first hurdle. Playing a Claudy team missing several regulars, they came up against two very inspiring debutants for the Claudy team who should be very proud of their contribution. This was the first time the team got to wear the new kits-won for them by P7 pupil Kim Curry-and they hope it won't be a bad omen!

Sadly Donemana, although having beaten Claudy already this year, failed to perform throughout the match. All areas of the game were disappointing, and only Joe Robinson in goal produced a performance of note.

The team failed to register a worthwhile chance on target and will be looking to raise their game substantially in their next game-most likely to be against Claudy in the league!