Roche U17s headed out to Cooley on Tuesday eveningfor a clash of the two unbeaten sides in the Northern section of the Regional League.

Again injuries and unavailabilities played havoc with team selection but nonetheless a strong starting 15 was named.

The home side began the brighter in the damp conditions and ineffective defending allowed them to put 1-2 on the board without reply.

The boys in blue were struggling to retain possession and when sharpshooter Thomas McCarragher fired a rocket to Ozzie Nash's net, it gave Cooley a deserved 2.2 to 0.1 lead at halftime.

In fairness, the Roche lads lifted their performance considerably in the second period and began to dominate all over the field only for some awry shooting to let them down.

A punched Ryan Martin goal was controversially ruled out to further deflate the boys but the match ended on a score line of 3.05 to 0.05 to Cooley.

Joshua McGuinness and Luca Craig Haye put in tireless performances at the back while Ryan Martin couldn't have given any more in the middle of the park.

Fionn Connolly was again efficient upfront and Conor Litchfield put in a great shift on his return from injury.

The lads have Kilkerley and Geraldines still left to play and will be hoping to return to winning ways.