IN AN uninspiring, dull game, Wolfhill gained a valuable point against table toppers New Oak to keep them out of the relegation zone.

Neither side managed to create many exciting chances in either half, but it was obvious that Wolfhill from the start were determined to take something from the tie.

Early in the half Philip Brennan broke the off side trap on the left wing, however under pressure and from fairly close range he scoffed his attempt wide. At the other end the Boys applied the pressure, however on a good few occasions they were caught off side or Wolfhill defended strongly. On 15 minutes, excellent play by Paul Broderick saw him pull the ball back to Seamie Doran and from the edge of the box however, he sent his attempt over.

The breakthrough came on 37 minutes for New Oak, a ball was crossed into the box which a Wolfhill defender tried to clear but Sean Kelly for the Boys sidestepped his marker with the ball to side foot home from close range. Back came Wolfhill two minutes later, scoring the equalis er, and excellent goal by Mark Kelly. Liam Kelly and Philip Brennan managed to create further chances for Wolfhill, however the half ended 1-1.

The second half was not much better chances wise, particularly for New Oak. The visitors nearly took the lead early on when Alan Walsh went one on one with the Boys OEkeeper, Dale Kearney only for Kearney to make an excellent save. Then following excellent inter play by the Boy's Seamie Doran, Paul Broderick and William Kinsella to set up Eric McCormack who with a left footed shot from the edge of the box sent New Oak back into the lead on 72 minutes.

Wolfhill then pushed hard for the equaliser with Liam Kelly and Philip Brennan creating chances. When it look as if the Boys were going to take the three points, from one of many free kicks, Darren Kelly from the wing dropped the ball into the box for Alan Walsh to head home on 89 minutes to secure a very valuable share of the points.

James Brady, Sean Kelly and substitute David O'Shea had good performances for New Oak Boys. For Wolfhill Athletic, Philip and Jimmy Brennan and Mark Kelly stood out from what was a good team display by Wolfhill Athletic.

Bagenalstown FC 1 Stretford United 5

STRETFORD QUICKLY sought to put a lean spell behind them as they forced the Bagenalstown defence into retreat.

A stunning strike by Barry McDaniels cannoned off the crossbar and was cleared to safety. This proved to merely a temporary respite for the hesitant home defence which allowed Conor Dooley and John Ryan to carve out an opening for James Ryan to beat the advancing keeper and score on six minutes.

Stretford proceeded to enjoy much the better of the exchanges but were unable to translate this into scores with John Doyle, James Ryan and Patrick Dooley fluffing chances. Gradually Bagenalstown began to claw their way into the game and the home team almost equalised when a Danny Darcy corner was firmly met by Josh Doyle forcing united keeper Jason Carter into a flying save on the half hour. Bagenalstown were growing in confidence and another Darcy corner was met perfectly by the industrious Julian Mauplin whose header cracked off the visitors post on 38 minutes. Just before half time, an equaliser seemed only moments away when Stretford's Kieran Dollard broke from defensive duties and advanced into midfield before releasing to James Ryan whose harmless looking punt towards goal was misread by Town keeper Kieran Cunningham who is guaranteed sleepless nights as the ball found the net.

Stretford sought to seal the contest during the early second half exchanges and some enterprising play between John Ryan and Conor Dooley led to John Hajji Doyle looping a rare header over the advancing Kieran Cunningham on 55 minutes. Stretford were now in cruise control with Conor Dooley setting James Ryan to rifle a shot to the home net on 66 minutes to effectively wrap up the contest. During the course of the following exchanges Bagenalstown rallied with Danny Darcy arching a free to the top of the United net but the score materialised too late to change the outcome. Best for Bagenalstown were Patty O'Neill, Paul Breslin and Danny Darcy who could do little to prevent United adding another quality score late in the game through the introduced Paul Doyle.

Best for United were John Ryan, Kieran Dollard, Patrick Dooley and Jason Carter.