Letterkenny Rovers came from behind to maintain their 100% record in League Two with a hard fought 3-1 win over a stubborn and dogged Whitestrand Utd at the Aura Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Tough overhead conditions made it a tricky 90 minutes for players and supporters alike but thankfully it was the prevailing wind rather than any rain which dominated matters but fair play to both sides for serving up an entertaining spectacle.
Whitestrand had the better of the opening exchanges with Jordan Nugent particularly prominent as he came close on two occasions to giving his side the lead while the nearest Rovers came was when Patrick Tobin almost netted following a corner.
Whitestrand then came close through a Nugent header before Conor O'Donnell forced a good stop from Whitestrand keeper Kyle Burns on 38 minutes after some fine play by Patrick Gahir.
The game really exploded into life on 41 minutes when a speculative effort from Nugent found its way home past Blake Forkan to the wild delight of the travelling contingent but Rovers responded immediately and drew level straight from the restart as Luke Parke did well on his left before his teasing cross cannoned off a couple of defenders past a stranded Burns.
Those cheers were magnified just two minutes later as Rovers took the lead when Darragh Morrison was alert to finish high past Burns from six yards after some decent buildup play from Rovers down the right hand side.
It was the home side who started the second half the brightest and Gahir and Conor O'Donnell fired just wide with decent efforts with Luke Parke also coming close after a neat run and shot.
Rovers also had a huge penalty claim waved away when Morrison appeared to be upended in the area on 51 minutes while Whitestrand did have a purple patch of sorts and piled on some pressure without really forcing Forkan in the home goal into any real saves.
The game though was still in the melting pot entering the final stages until the points were sealed for Letterkenny with a fine strike from O'Donnell as his 18 yard rasper gave Burns no chance.
A good win for the home side in what was their toughest game of the season to date and they now have a break from league action next weekend when hosting Bonagee Utd in the Brian McCormick Area Cup final.
Date: Sunday 6th Feb 2022
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Aura main pitch