Action was thin on the ground for Division 2 sides at the weekend with just three games in total, two of which involved table toppers Ardmore who lost their unbeaten record at home to Creevedonnell on Saturday.

Batting first the Bleachgreen side looked to have matters firmly in hand as an Adrian Murphy century laid the foundation for a big total however despite 36 from Mark Chambers there was little other support around as the hosts ended on 233 for 9.

Given Murphy's efforts the home side will have been disappointed with that but even so they would have expected to be able to defend them. The visitors managed to stay in touch with the asking rate throughout the reply, however they too were losing wickets at key times as the game turned into a battle of nerve.

Alan Duddy made 35 at the top of the order and Gareth Falconer's 47 in the middle swung the game back Creevedonnell's way however the hero for Stephen Scroggie's men was to be former Irish International Gary Neely.

The strike bowler made an unbeaten 42 helping his side to hold their nerve and record a 3-wicket win that opened up the top of the table.

Ardmore then went into Sunday's game at home to Sion on level pegging with Drummond who are on a roll under another former Ireland pace bowler Gordon Cooke with Creevedonnell just two points behind.

St Johnston are also on the tails of the leaders after they proved too strong for still win-less Burndennett at the Boathole in Saturday's only other match. The Saints, who welcomed Bobby Rao back into the side after injury were dismissed for 180 by the visitors as only Sachin Dixit with 41, Ian MacBeth (35) and Andrew Fleming (34) managed to get among the runs.

Johnny Devine who claimed 3 for 22 and Eddie McGettigan with 2 for 34 helped Burndennett keep the Donegal men within touching distance. Burndennett have found runs hard enough come by themselves this season and it was the same again here despite McGettigan turning in a man-of-the-match performance by adding 37 not out to his brace of wickets.

Niall Devine made 26 but there was precious little help elsewhere as Rammohan Goud claimed 4 for 32 and Kushpal Singh 2 for 14 while former Indian Test star Rao announced his return claiming figures of 3 for 12. In the end Burndennett came up 73 runs short as their search for a first win goes on while St Johnston clawed back some of the lost ground on the leaders.

On Sunday it was Sion Mills' turn to visit the Bleachgreen as Ardmore didn't miss the opportunity to go back clear at the top of the table. That said, George Brolly's men made this a lot harder than it could have been as the visitors recovered from 110 for 8 to post a decent total of 203 all out.

Simon Galloway hit 32, John Gallagher 29 and Jim McGranaghan 27 while number 11 Nigel O'Neill finished unbeaten on 33 as Ardmore struggled to kill off the tail. Once again though that man Murphy was in the grove and he could quite easily stop now and pick up his third consecutive Division 2 batting award.

The West Indian delivered yet another century on Sunday, this one an unbeaten 108 as Ardmore won with plenty in hand. Tonight (Friday) sees Creevedonnell host Ardmore in the regional final of the Sperrin Springs cup with the winners going through to meet St Johnston in next Sunday's Grand Final at Beechgrove.

Stephen Scroggie's side has a good cup pedigree but will find the league leaders a tough nut to crack in that one if they hope to progress to the weekends big 20/20 showdown.

It is a big month for the Bleachgreen side in all competitions although they have no match on Saturday having been scheduled to meet Ballyspallen. Ardmore have had things pretty much their own way in the league to date and the poisoned chalice of promotion is already firmly in their grasp.

George Brolly's side goes to The Nedd on Sunday however and are sure to be given a rigorous examination by Vinny O'Hara's improving outfit. Kyle Morrow has been in particularly good form for the Kings Lane men in recent weeks and the same can be said of Alex Steele, Creighton Wilson and Johnny Murray so the visitors will have to be on their mettle if they hope to claim the points.

The Nedd are away at out-of-sorts Sion Mills on Saturday and will be favourites to get their weekend off to a winning start unless the Tyrone side can buck the recent trend. It has been a very difficult season to date for Sion, missing stalwarts John Brown and Lee McGonagle since the start and they look like a side who could already be doing with retreating and coming back fresh next year.

The Mill men are at home again on Sunday with St Johnston providing the opposition on that occasion and while David MacBeth's side has pulled up few trees in recent weeks they should still be much too strong for their hosts in this one.

The Saints have been without a few familiar faces themselves this season but the new boys have done quite well. Mike Ryan and Michael Ryan have both been to the fore in recent weeks as has Kushpal Singh and with the MacBeth and Fleming influence still available more would probably have been expected than has been the case thus far.

The Donegal club hosts another in and out performer this season, Killyclooney, on Sunday and you feel that anything less than maximum points from their weekend would end any chance of a title challenge for St Johnston. The visitors under Richard McMorris have been pretty unpredictable thus far but they do have enough quality to serve it up to the Saints if they put their best foot forward.

They have been heavily reliant on the form of Mark Gordon and Sammy McElhatton whilst James Colhoun has started to find his scoring boots in the past few weeks. Burndennett, without a league win this season will cross swords with two sides at the other end of the table in Drummond and Creevedonnell in another testing weekend.

Saint Johnston's indifferent league form has left the way clear for those two to keep Ardmore honest in the title push and with both of them playing just once this weekend they will be keen to ensure no slip-ups against the basement side.