Down maintained top spot in Senior Two with this vital win over derby rivals Saintfield at the Demesne last weekend.

But while the scoreline may suggest the league leaders were always comfortable, that wasn't the case. Down only scored two goals in the last five minutes to make sure of all three points.

Up until that point, Saintfield were always in with a chance of scoring an equaliser in what was a relatively tame, but highly tense derby affair.

Both sides had players missing. Saintfield, who were keen to preserve their unbeaten record at home, were without Willie John Heaney, Alan Buchanan, Johnny Poole and Gavin Kirkpatrick, while Down were missing defensive duo, Aaron Minnis and Alasdair Duff.

Down started brightly, with Mark Elliott and Ashley Gibson linking up well at the heart of the visitors' attack, with Chris Taylor providing the drive in the middle of the park. But Down's best player on the day was Paul Neill. Asked to play as an emergency full-back, he revelled in the role and turned in a magnificent performance.

For Saintfield, the experienced Davy Hobbs joined skipper Ivor Johnston at the heart of their defence, with full-backs Sammy Davidson and Nigel Calvin asked to press forward whenever possible.

Matt Owen was Saintfield's star man on the day, while the tireless Davy Johnston and Ian Weir led the forward line.

Down created a number of early chances and would have taken the lead in the 10th minute through Gibson, but his shot was saved superbly by Graeme Finlay, who had a terrific match.

Chris Taylor then saw his effort blocked by Finlay, with the rebound whizzing past Elliott's stick by a whisker. Sinclair White also had a short corner shot blocked and it looked as though it was going to be one of those days in front of goal.

But Down then conjured a goal out of nothing. A wayward Saintfield pass across the middle of the park picked out Stephen Ferguson. He drove forward, passing Davidson and Ivor Johnston and once inside the penalty area, unleashed a terrific shot which gave Finlay no chance.

The home side rallied and forced a number of short corners, with two Johnston efforts saved by Down's 'keeper who also kept out a deflected shot from Weir.

Back at the other end, Gibson looked as if he was about to increase his side's advantage with a superb flick which looked destined for the top corner of the net, but Finlay got his hand to the ball. Taylor and Elliott also went close, but the half ended with Down holding on to their slender advantage.

The second period was a dogged affair with Owen again providing the drive in the middle of the park for Saintfield alongside Chris Telford and the tireless Lawrence Murphy. But the home side created relatively few chances.

Gibson and Taylor were denied by Finlay and then Taylor blazed a shot over the bar when all he had to do was keep the ball low to defeat the 'keeper. Despite having the upper hand at this stage, Down still only led by a single goal and Johnston nearly grabbed an equaliser in the 56th minute.

Down's 'keeper forced the Saintfield striker wide as he powered into the penalty area and just did enough as Johnston's vicious shot struck the side of the goal.

With five minutes to go, the game was made safe when Elliott's hard work on the day was rewarded with a goal after some great build-up play involving Taylor, Gibson and White.

The goal was a sucker punch for Saintfield who had been hoping to score in a bid to salvage a draw. With three minutes to go, White worked his way into the penalty area before unleashing a ferocious shot which flew past Finlay.