Ballinderry find feet after Gilligan ripples Lavey net

Ballinderry will have to wait to see who they face in the Derry SFC final after two contrasting semi-finals at the weekend.

The three-in-a-row-chasing side progressed on Saturday by virtue of an expected victory over Lavey.

After a bright start from the underdogs, which saw them race into a 0-4 to 0-0 lead, Ballinderry slipped into gear and ended up cruising to a 2-20 to 0-11 victory in front of a crowd of 2,400 at Owenbeg.

Lavey protested they should have had a free out in the build-up to the first Ballinderry goal, but Conleith Gilligan didn’t stand on ceremony and lashed the ball into the roof of the net to make it 1-3 to 0-4.

By half-time, the game was gone from Lavey as they trailed 1-9 to 0-5.

Lavey made a fist of a recovery at the start of the second half and headed into the final 20 minutes still within six points, but Ballinderry kicked on again and Conleith Gilligan’s second goal put the seal on it in injury time.

The second semi-final last night was a tight, defensive affair as Coleraine and Ballinascreen eked out a 0-6 apiece draw.

The first period ended with ‘Screen 0-4 to 0-3 ahead but Coleraine, led by Barry McGoldrick after the break, dug out a draw.

McGoldrick kicked a superb score to make it 0-5 apiece and frees from Benny Heron and Ciaran McGoldrick were the only scores in the final 10 minutes. The sides will now meet for a third time in the championship on Thursday night.