Letterkenny Rovers left it late but kept their title defence on track with a dramatic injury-time winner against Kilmacrennan Celtic at Leckview Park.
Rovers started brightly, with Lee McMonagle forcing an early save inside the first minute, while at the other end Paul Bradley spurned a great chance for the visitors when he failed to hit the target. As the half wore on, Rovers gained control and went close through Simon McGlynn, BJ Banda and McMonagle, but the sides went in scoreless at the break.
The game opened up after the restart with McGlynn and Adrian Delap delivering a series of dangerous crosses that Rovers initially failed to convert. The breakthrough finally came on 68 minutes when a McGlynn cross found Dean McCarry, his effort was blocked, and the loose ball fell to the lively Padraic Gilsenan who drilled low into the bottom corner to put Rovers 1–0 up. McMonagle then had a chance to double the advantage but his header went off target, keeping Kilmacrennan in the contest.
Kilmacrennan were given a lifeline on 85 minutes when Mark Patterson went to ground in the Rovers box and the referee pointed to the spot. Matty McLaughlin made no mistake from twelve yards to level matters and set up a grandstand finish. Rovers, however, continued to press and were rewarded deep into stoppage time when a long Zach Gorman throw caused panic in the Kilmacrennan area; the ball broke to Delap who calmly rolled it into the path of Ryan Lonergan, and his superb 20-yard strike crashed in off the crossbar with the last kick of the game to seal a 2–1 win for Letterkenny Rovers
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