Donegal menovercome Roesiders

With a place in the promotion/relegation play-off against Bready up for grabs the stakes were high and the teams served up a cracking match to finish off another summer.

Drummond batted first and some really wayward bowling from their opponents gifted them a great start with half of their first 50 runs coming in “extras”.

Chris Moore and namesake Stevie then added to the agony for the Donegal men with a 93-run second wicket partnership as the batting side took command.

Richard McDaid is never far away when Drummond score heavily and the former Limavady man added 40 in the middle while an unbeaten 44 from Jamie Millar kept the board ticking over quickly. The final “extras” tally was a whopping 65, the biggest by any senior side for several seasons and all of that meant a chase of 290 for the Saints if they were to take the spoils.

The reply started slowly if truth be told- Andrew Fleming and Sachin Dixit both dismissed early before skipper Alan Macbeth teamed up with young Michael Rankin to turn the game. That pair posted a 140-run stand for the third and from then on the Boathole boys sensed they had a chance.

The batsmen picked up the run rate as they had to do but even after both departed, David Macbeth and Jassi Wallia were on hand to keep the momentum going.

Wallia fell late on having made 46 but his partner was still there on 30 not out when the Saints hit the winning runs with just two balls of the match left.

Cue celebrations in the Donegal side’s changing room while it was a different story across the hall as Drummond - on top for so long - pondered as to what might have been.

The Qualifying One fixture between Eglinton and Newbuildings that could decide the destination of the title will now be played as a T/20 fixture, possibly this midweek.