TWO wins in this week's matches away to Santos on Thursday and then home to Queens Grads on Saturday can secure already promoted 18th Newtownabbey Old Boys a play off for the 2B championship, after long term leaders Bangor Swifts were surprisingly held to a one-all draw at home by lowly Temple Rangers, while Ross Oliver's side were enjoying this seven-up away to Queens Seconds at the Dub Playing Fields Upper Malone.
Bangor, meanwhile, play already relegated Annalong Swifts in their final match
Newtownabbey were 6-2 winners over the same opposition just a week earlier, but expected this one to be more difficult, with Queens, in their last match, needing to win to hold any hope of avoiding the drop.
However, if anything, this one was even easier than that earlier Cloyne Crescent clash, with 18th racing into a second minute lead, with Mark Wilkinson, at the second attempt, tucking away Dale Fenner's right wing cross.
Four minutes later, Wilkinson returned the complement, threading the ball through for Fenner to pump home 18th's second
On 15 minutes, it was Wilkinson again, and his 35th of the season, finishing off Geordie Lynn's tailored pass. Mark, though, with only two and possibly three games left, still has some way to go to break Brian Greer's club record of 44!
Oddly enough it was Queens who came closer, with George Cooke pulling off a couple of useful saves, before 18th again set the scoreboard clicking just before the break – maybe not the cleanest of strikes from Ryan Beattie, though it was still enough to beat the keeper, with Lynn once more the architect.
There was another scoreless ten minutes after the break, before 18th again widened the margin, with a Simon Bennett cross pawed in off a defender.
As in the previous week, going five down was the cue for Queens to score a couple, the second of which looking suspiciously offside.
But it was 18th who rounded it all off with Darren Moran squeezing one in from a unpromising angle for the half dozen, before Bennett added the coup de grace with a 25 yarder just before the close.
18th Newtownabbey OB; Cook – Roughley (Hanna), McKee, McGuigan, T Young – Moran, Lynn, Beattie, Bamber (Bennett) – Wilkinson, Fenner. Sub (unused) Porter.