PORTADOWN, Northern Ireland (Interstat) — Limavady scored four goals and survived a late Annagh comeback to defeat Annagh 4-3 in a football match on Tuesday. Annagh was the home team, and Limavady was the visiting team. Limavady led for much of the contest and answered each Annagh surge. The visitors scored twice in the first half, added a third goal after the break and then found the winning goal after Annagh had drawn level. The match produced seven goals and one red card, with Limavady holding on after a tense final stretch.

Lewis Tosh gave Limavady the lead in the 30th minute. Annagh answered in the 31st minute through Xavier Sproule. Oisin Duffy put Limavady back in front in the 34th minute, and Limavady carried a 2-1 lead into halftime. John Butcher extended the advantage in the 54th minute with his first goal, making it 3-1. Annagh pressed after the break but did not score again until after a Limavady red card changed the match.

A. Mullan was sent off in the 75th minute, leaving Limavady with 10 men for the closing stretch. Annagh took advantage in the 76th minute when Ross Redman scored to cut the deficit to 3-2. Craig Taylor equalized in the 81st minute, making it 3-3 and setting up a tense finish. Butcher answered in the 84th minute with his second goal, restoring Limavady’s lead and ultimately securing the win.

The red card came after Limavady had built a two-goal cushion. Redman’s goal and Taylor’s goal came within six minutes of each other, and Taylor’s strike wiped out Limavady’s advantage. Annagh equalized at 1-1 and later at 3-3, but Limavady responded each time. Butcher’s second goal came three minutes after Taylor’s equalizer. Limavady then kept Annagh from scoring again in the final minutes.

Limavady’s goals came from Tosh, Duffy and Butcher, who scored twice. Annagh’s goals came from Sproule, Redman and Taylor. Butcher was Limavady’s top star with two goals in 90 minutes. In descending order of importance among the game’s key contributors, Sproule had one goal in 90 minutes for Annagh, Redman had one goal in 90 minutes for Annagh, Taylor had one goal in 90 minutes for Annagh, Tosh had one goal in 90 minutes for Limavady and Duffy had one goal in 90 minutes for Limavady. The six players were central to the scoring, and each played a role in the seven-goal match.

The result moved Limavady to 1 win and 0 losses in the competition and 3 wins and 2 losses across all competitions. Annagh fell to 0 wins and 1 loss in the competition and 2 wins, 1 loss and 2 draws across all competitions. The match was Limavady’s first competition win of the season and Annagh’s first competition loss. Limavady had entered the match with two wins and two losses in all competitions, while Annagh had two wins and two draws. Annagh had been unbeaten across all competitions before Tuesday. Annagh had beaten Armagh and Institute and drawn with Glenavon and Warrenpoint in its previous four all-competition matches. Limavady had beaten Cliftonville and Ballymena and lost to Portadown and Glentoran in its previous four. The previous results gave Limavady an even all-competition record before the match and left Annagh without a loss in its first four all-competition matches.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Annagh 1, Limavady 1 before the match. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Annagh with a 55.2 percent probability to win. Limavady had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.5. The total score of 7 went under the over/under line of 2.5. The final scoreline and total did not match the pregame projections.