2017 Senior Hurling Championship final preview
Dunloy’s last senior title came eight years ago in 2009 when they beat Sunday’s opponents Cushendall by 3-14 to 1-13 in a thriller of a game at Casement Park. In his report of the match in the Ballymena Guardian Jim Smyth wrote
“Champions Cushendall will curse the woodwork and the magnificence of Dunloy goalkeeper Gareth McGhee, while Dunloy will acknowledge they carried all the luck in this magnificent Antrim Senior Hurling Championship final at Casement Park.”
Dunloy may not have been as forthright in their admission that Lady Luck backed their win and no doubt would have argued that the very reason McGhee was between the posts was to pull off those brilliant saves. On that particular day the Cuchullains custodian not only prevented the ball entering his own net, but also stuck one into the Cushendall net at the other end, as well as adding a point into the bargain with a brilliant long range free.
Champions Cushendall were denied by the woodwork on a couple of occasions early on as first Neill McManus and then Conor McCambridge rattled the frame of the goal with McGhee beaten and Dunloy took control of the match when a three man move involving Sean Dowds and Gregory O’Kane set up Paddy Richmond for a brilliant goal. McGhee ran the length of the field early in the second quarter to blast a penalty past the three man wall to the Cushendall net and then danced all the way back in celebration and in first half injury time Darren Quinn grabbed his team’s third goal to send them to the changing room with a 3-6 to 0-7 lead at the break.
Cushendall faced an uphill struggle in the second half and though they had a few chance to get back into the game a Neill McManus penalty was saved for the second time in the game and though he did eventually find a way past McGhee it was too late to have any influence on the outcome as Dunloy coasted to their eleventh title. History was made that day as Gregory O’Kane and Alastair Elliott (who came on as a substitute) set a new record for winning their eleventh championship medals.
The Dunloy team that day was
Gareth McGhee (1-1), Mickey McClements, Damian McMullan, Kevin Martin, Malachy Molloy, James McKeague, Conor McKinley, Paudie Chivers, Kevin Molloy (0-2), Sean Dowds (0-3), Liam Richmond (0-2), Gregory O’Kane (0-2), Paddy Doherty (0-1), Paddy Richmond (1-1), Darren Quinn (1-1).
Subs – Colum Cunning, Cahir Cunning, Alastair Elliott (0-1), Leo Noonan
Cushendall
Ronan Kearney, Paddy McNaughton, Oran Scullion, Sean Delargy, Kevin Elliott, Arron Graffin, Donal McNaughton, Paddy McGill, Aidan Delargy, Neill McManus, Karl McKeegan, Eamon Laverty, Shane McNaughton, Conor McCambridge, Conor Carson
Subs – Steven McKeegan, John McManus, Declan McKillop, Martin Burke
Referee – Owen Elliott (All Saints)
Sunday’s line outs will contain ten players who saw action in that 2009 final. James McKeague, Conor McKinely, Paudie Chivers and Kevin Molloy for Dunloy and Sean Delargy, Arron Graffin, Donal McNaughton, Neill McManus, Conor Carson and Martin Burke for Cushendall
