The Northern Bank Senior Cup final meant there was no Division 2 action over the weekend but the race for promotion has certainly taken on new impetus over the past week.

Drummond's defeat of Ardmore has added to the Bleachgreen side's poor recent run of form and from going into July on the crest of a wave and unbeaten in the second tier, George Brolly has watched the wheels come off his team.

Three defeats to Creevedonnell in the Sammy Jeffrey, Sperrin Springs and in the league as well as reverses against The Nedd and now Gordon Cooke's side has certainly opened everything up at the top of the table.

They did bounce back with a comfortable win over St Johnston on Tuesday night, which effectively ended the Donegal side's promotion aspirations.

At present you could argue the case for any one of Drummond, Creevedonnell or Ardmore and with the last named pair set to meet on the final day of the season the race could easily go right down to the wire.

Game of the day this weekend sees two of that quartet square up as Stephen Scroggie's side host Drummond with the pair bidding for an advantage in the run-in.

Creevedonnell are on a roll at the minute and the form of Nicky Cooke, Gary Neely and Alan Duddy in particular has been behind their push for honours. Duddy has been among the runs almost every time he puts on pads and it is hard to argue that they are in the best form of all the contenders.

Their bowling looks strong but they will be thoroughly tested by a Drummond team that has also worked their way back into the mix. Strangely enough, two of Drummond's defeats have come against the bottom pair, Sion Mills and Burndennett and it is probably that fact that highlights their weakness.

Their record against the top teams is as good as any but they will know that another defeat at the Curryfree Road will probably blow a hole in their title hopes. Nevertheless we can expect a fiery contest between two sides with former International strike bowlers in their ranks and the winners will be bang in the mix as the season reaches its climax.

Elsewhere, Burndennett host The Nedd in a game featuring two teams to have got their acts together as the season has progressed. Vinny O'Hara's side has blown hot and cold all summer but showed in their win over the league leaders that they are no back number. Their bowling has been quite good with the Burns brothers, Keith and Gareth among the wickets while Jamie Millar, Creighton Wilson and Johnny Young have all been in form as well.

Surprisingly for The Nedd it has been their batting that has come unstuck at times and although there is no shortage of quality in that department with the likes of Kyle Morrow, Alex Steele and the Mehaffey brothers. Burndennett recovered from their horror first half of the season to record three wins on the bounce over Drummond, Creevedonnell and Killyclooney earlier this month before losing narrowly to Sion Mills last time.

There seems to be much more resolve about the team at the minute and despite a number of youngsters coming into the side this season they seem to be back on track now. This could be a decent contest as both teams can claim to be in some sort of form although the visitors would be very marginal favourites.

The final match on Saturday sees Ardmore bid to get back on tract after their awful run of results when they travel to Sion Mills. A month ago this one would hardly have been worth a full paragraph but such is the form of both sides that the game has taken on a life of its own. Sion had won just two games up until the last programme of matches but then accounted for both Drummond and Burndennett in the same weekend.

It has been a bold showing from the Tyrone side without Lee McGonagle and John Brown as Andy Lucas has enjoyed a good season but it has been the emergence of Kevin Gallagher that has really helped their cause. Gallagher is the younger brother of former Strabane opener Ryan Gallagher and he has scored heavily and bowled well in Sion's recent run.

It is of course a must-win game for Ardmore after all their recent tribulations and if the Bleachgreen side fancies another crack at the top flight then they have to be better than that and be winning games like these. Ardmore's problem seems to be a lack of runs apart from Adrian Murphy and a bowling attack that has lost its early season bite.

There is no shortage of quality here either and its difficult to put the finger on what's behind the loss of form but anything other than an away win will leave the visitors with an uphill struggle to finish the job they started so well.