Down’s senior side continued their push for promotion with another win at Malone Park.

The only disappointment was that the locals did not win by a more convincing margin. They dominated the game from start to finish and were denied hitting double figures by an amazing performance by the East Antrim 'keeper who pulled off a string of saves.

Down went into the game knowing they had to win to keep up the pressure on the other teams at the top of the table, but skipper, Jeremy McCready, was as forced to reshuffle his pack at the last minute, with Stephen Ferguson moving to full-back and Philip Brown coming in on the right.

Brown, who hadn't expected to play, was a revelation on the right wing; he never put a foot  wrong all afternoon and was instrumental in setting up one of his side's goals.

Normally played as a striker in the seconds, Brown had in a hand in Down's opening goal scored by Chris Taylor who gave the 'keeper no chance after he had managed to frustrate him on a number of occasions.

It was all one-way traffic, with Down 'keeper, Mark Johnston, able to relax and watch the action unfolding ahead of him.

The home side took a 2-0 lead when Mark Elliott did all the spade work to carve out a chance for Paul Tate who made no mistake with a thunderous shot.

Down were on top and with East Antrim forced to pull men back behind the ball, it was their 'keeper who kept them in the game with save after save.

In the second half, the 'keeper continued to dominate, denying Tate, Elliott, Brown, Taylor and Neill.

Down's third goal came courtesy of a little bit of magic from Brown who relished the opportunity of a run out for the senior side.

He skipped past two defenders and powered his way into the penalty area before slipping the ball to Elliott who took aim before firing the ball past the 'keeper.

But the East Antrim netminder continued to frustrate the home side as the game wore on, but he was powerless to stop Taylor scoring his second of the afternoon with a crisp shot.

A welcome three points for Down who are determined to go one better than last year and secure promotion. With plans for a new synthetic pitch at Malone Park, the side has a tremendous incentive to make it into Senior One.

The quest for the title continues this Friday night in Jordanstown when McCready's side takes on Parkview who will be keen to bounce back from last week's 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Saintfield.