O’Neill’s All County Hurling League Division 2St Enda’s Ruairi Diamond in action against Cloughmills John McGuckian. Pic by John Lawell

Naomh Éanna: – 3.20  Cloughmills – 2.8

By Seamus MacDomhnail

St Enda’s recorded their first win of the season when they scored a comprehensive win over Cloughmills in Sunday’s league game in Glengormley. After losing heavily to table toppers Ballycastle in their opening game, the Hightown men had pushed Sarsfields all the way last time out only to lose out by a single point. However this time around they got their season up and running in impressive fashion as they ran up a big score against their Cloughmills visitors and in the end they were not flattered by their fifteen point winning margin.

As the team took to the pitch the recent rain and lack of any drying made the going heavy and the ground sticky but the home team were unfazed, and within a few minutes they were four points to the good, with Ruairí Diamond, John McGoldrick and two from Ruairí Crummey giving them an early cushion. Furhter points from Big Joe Maskey and Cormac Jennings stretched their lead to six before the visitors got on the scoreboard, which cut the lead to six, but it was soon out at seven again as the Saints added a seventh.

Goalkeeper Marty Curran’s  clever use of the ball, which saw the home side quickly transfer of possession from defence to attack gave John McGoldrick the chance to increase his team’s lead and he duly obliged and when Diamond got in on the scoring act the lead was out to 0-9 to 0-1. By the twentieth minute all six forwards were on the scoreboard for the home side and when midfielder Eoin Conlon scored the point of the match the gap was out to nine points.

The visitors were in bad need of scores, but they were hard to come by against a resolute St Enda’s defence, though Mickey Devlin did add a second when he slotted over a 65 but St Enda’s hit back strongly and Cormac Jennings grabbed his team’s first goal to help his side to a 1-15 to 0-3 half time lead.

Heavy rain marked the start of the second half but it in no way dampened the attacking play of the home side who drove on with more scores through John McGoldrick and Joe Maskey to stretch their advantage to seventeen points. The scores continued thick and fast as the Glengormley men continued their dominations. Cloughmills did give themselves brief hope with a goal and two points in a five minute spell, but St Enda’s soon restored their grip on the game and went on to run out winners by 3-20 to 2-8 to get their season firmly back on track.

Next up for St Enda’s is Glen Rovers Armoy, a team they beat in the opening round of last season’s Intermediate Championship. The men from Armoy will prove tough opposition, but with last season’s win still fresh in the memory they Glengormley men will feel they can travel up to North Antrim and get a result.

Naomh Éanna

1. Martin Curran
2. Michael “Eggy” McQuillan
3. Matt O’Hare
4. Michael McNicholl
5. Eddie O’Connor
6. Manus Mullan
7. Joe Maskey – 0.03
8. Eoin Conlon – 0.01
9. Cormac Ross
10. John McGoldrick – 1.08
11. Killian Jennings
12. Cormac Jennings – 1.02
13. Ruairí Crummy – 0.02
14. Ruairí Diamond – 1.02
15. Brendy Cormican – 0.01

16. Conor McSteen – 0.01 for Brendy Cormican
17. Jason Higgins for Eggy
18. Philly Curran for Joe Maskey
19. Matthew Muldoon
20. Eoin Jennings
21. Micheál McGivern for Eddie O’Connor
22. Eoin Maguire
23. Ruairí Donaghy for Killian Jennings

Pics by John Lawell.