Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship
Ruairi Og’s, Cushendall vs St John’s
Saturday September 29
Venue: Pearse Park, Dunloy
Throw In: 4.30pm
Referee: Colum Cunning (Dunloy)
Brendan McTaggart previews St John’s vs Cushendall in the SHC Semi-Final
Neill McManus dashes the hopes of St John’s with a late goal in their classic championship meeting in 2015.
The breakthrough season for Ruairi Og’s Cushendall as they won their first All-Ireland semi-final before coming up against the talents of Na Piarsaigh in the St Patrick’s Day show piece. A memorable run for the men from the ‘Dall but the dream could have been over before it started.
Their opening match in that Champsionship was against Saturday opponents at the same venue. Six points down, starring into the abyss going into the last minute of normal time, Cushendall pulled off one of the greatest championship ‘smash and grabs’ ever witnessed within the Saffron County and beyond. A breath-taking contest when St John’s looked to have made their own breakthrough but the result was to typify the character within the Ruairi’s for the remainder of the season. They didn’t know when they were beaten.
If we get the same quality of game on Saturday, we’re in for another treat. Both sides had to record wins in their last matches of the inaugural championship group stages to reach the semi-finals. Cushendall recovering from a one point defeat to Dunloy before cruising past Sarsfields in the Bear Pitt while St John’s suffered defeat in Loughgiel before overcoming near neighbours and great rivals Rossa in Corrigan Park.
Cushendall will start the semi-final as favourites but Saturday’s contest will be St John’s fifth championship match of the year. The two game playoff against Ballycastle and group matches makes the 2018 championship the longest run the Corrigan Park side have had in the championship since they last won the Volunteer Cup, 45 years ago! They have built momentum and have had an excellent year but all that will be put to one side on Saturday for 60 minutes of hurling. We caught up with the Johnnies and Ruairi’s management teams as we look ahead to the first semi-final….
Barry McFall celebrates after scoring a goal in the 2015 clash in Dunloy.
St John’s manager – Tony McNulty….
There’s been an air of inevitability about St John’s reaching the last four this year. Having performed well in the league, they were expected to account for Ballycastle over two legs ahead of the group stages. Now in their fifth match of the championship, manager Tony McNulty has praised the new format of the Antrim championship: “The format of the championship this year from our perspective, has been perfect. This will be our fifth match under championship conditions and we haven’t ever had that. I think when we last won the championship in ’73 we only played four games but in terms of this current crop of players development, it’s exactly what they required.
“In the last three years, we’ve played three championship matches so we’ve even played more matches in this championship run than the last three years combined. These things make a difference when you’re working with a young crop of players.”
They have been playing with an assuredness that comes from momentum and momentum breads confidence. McNulty told us that their confidence is brimming but they are continuing to learn from previous campaigns: “We feel now that we’re better prepared for any encounter than we ever have previously. These lads have been playing at the championship tempo and intensity. It’s something that hurt us last year against Dunloy and a few years ago against Cushendall. We feel that we’re in a better position now than ever.”
A three point defeat in Loughgiel preceded a win over Rossa on the Whiterock Road. McNulty gave us his assessment of the two matches: “We pushed Loughgiel hard and were really disappointed to come away without a win on the day but it adds to the experience for these lads. They have come away from a place like Loughgiel and are disappointed not to get the win. That hasn’t been the mindset of too many St John’s teams in the recent past and showed where we are as a team now.” He continued: “The Rossa match against Loughgiel was a one off. We were never going to replicate that type of result again but although we went behind in the second half at one stage, I felt like we controlled that game. With 10 minutes to go when they went ahead it could have been different but the lads showed character to bounce back.”
Saturday’s encounter marks their first meeting since that epic six goal encounter in Pearse Park three years ago in the quarter final. The Ruairi’s won that 4-10 to 2-15 but had to rely on two late goals from Neil McManus and Sean McAfee to come though in injury time. A classic encounter with the Ruairi’s breathing a sigh of relief but McNulty doesn’t see that match as the robbery others have: “Some people have said that we were robbed that day, we’re looking on it that we didn’t perform for the 60 plus minutes that’s required to beat a team like Cushendall in the championship. I can tell you one thing though, if we’re six points ahead in the closing stages, these boy’s have learned from their mistakes. We’ve learned not only from that match but even the Dunloy match last year when we started the second half well but couldn’t finish the job.”
Two of the St John’s dangermen on Sunday, Donal Morgan and Conor Johnston.
With their name coming out of the hat first, their was talk of the semi-final taking place in a city venue. The Johnnies have had to settle for Pearse Park and McNulty has no qualms over the venue: “We wanted the match in the city but circumstances dictated otherwise for us. We’re delighted to be playing the match in Dunloy though. It’s a great pitch with superb facilities. It’s probably a better playing surface than any pitch in the city other than Corrigan but look, it’s a pitch the same size as the rest with two sets of posts at either end. It doesn’t matter to us where the match was to be played.”
McNulty was happy to report a clean bill of health for his side before concluding with his assessment on what might transpire on Saturday: “Everyone is fit and well. Simon (McCrory) is back and available while Ciaran Johnston is 100%. My son Ryan (McNulty) is in University in Liverpool and is due back on Friday evening but he’s fit as well. We had a sweat on last Sunday with seven of our players starting for the footballers in the championship against St Teresa’s but they came through unscathed.
“We’re going to have to be at our best on Saturday to get the result we want but I think Cushendall will have to be at their best as well. We know them as well as they know us. They are a very good side with the nucleus of players that got to the All-Ireland final not that long ago. We’re taking nothing for granted that’s for sure but as things stand, we’re having trouble picking the starting 15.
“We’re quietly confident coming into the match and travelling with an expectation. In previous years St John’s teams might have been coming into a match like this looking to limit the damage but not this weekend. We’re going with the knowledge that if we bring what we can to the table we won’t be far away.”
Sean McAfee caused the Johnnies double trouble in 2015. The Cushendall fans would settle for a return like that this weekend.
Cushendall coach – Ciaran Kearney….
Beaten finalists for the last two years, the Ruairi’s have went for a new management team headed by Ciaran Kearney and Eamon Gillan. It’s fair to say the Cushendall management team couldn’t have foreseen just how much of a firefighting job they had on their hands when they were handed the reins in the depths of winter.
A contingent of players missing due to county commitments coupled with the fact they have had an unbelievable list of injuries, it hasn’t been an easy first year for Kearney and Gillan but former Antrim minor manager Kearney told us that just like every dark cloud, their was a silver lining for the Ruairi’s: “Me and Eamon had a yarn at the start of the year. Both of us had expressed an interest but decided that we would go together and see how things go. We had a good preseason with the squad and set out to use the league as a platform for the championship but it’s been a really unusual season for us.
“We had eight players away on county duty and then a freak set of injuries has curtailed us somewhat. It’s been difficult to get any momentum going but it’s been a blessing in disguise. It forced our hands with bringing in younger players and playing lads who perhaps we wouldn’t have thought on beforehand.”
A home defeat to Dunloy came before a thumping victory against Sarsfields in the Bear Pit. Kearney gave us his assessment of their group stage encounters: “It was a long time since we had a ‘home’ championship match and it was definitely one that we wanted to win and one that we felt could have and should have won in the end. We only had 18 fully fit players that day but we were happy with the 15 lads that started and the lads that came on. We had four or five 18 or 19 year olds starting that Sunday evening and I thought they gace a great account of themselves. There were positives to be taken out of the match but we didn’t want any moral victories. Ultimately we were disappointed with the end result.” Kearney added: “Sarsfields game was important to have the right mindset. We wanted to put in a 60 minute performance. At the end of the day if we were beat that was our championship over. We were wary of Sarsfields. A lot of players maybe hadn’t been to the Bear Pit before and Sarsfields would have wanted to put on a good performance on their own pitch. They have very good facilities up there now with the new changing rooms and that but apart from the first 10 or so minutes, I felt like we got what we wanted from that game.”
Cushendall dangerman Paddy McGill
The 2018 league has seen both sides record wins against each other but Kearney was far from happy when giving his assessment of the two encounters: “We played up in Corrigan Park on a Wedneday night earlier in the summer and they beat us. They were deserving of the win on the night and it was a disappointing performance by us. A couple of weeks later we won in Cushendall but we weren’t overly pleased with that performance either. The two matches this season against St John’s hasn’t seen us at our best, we’re hoping and expecting better on Saturday.”
Two of the Ruairi Og stalwarts, Eoghan Campbell and Paddy Burke
The treatment room in Cushendall finally appears to becoming less congested and while Kearney and Gillan will have a full hand to pick from, Kearney said they have a serious headache ahead of selecting their starting 15 for Saturday: “Our injuries are clearing up and we have a fully fit squad to chose from. It’s given us a tough job to pick the starting 15. You have boys like Martin Burke and Arron Graffin available again but the boys who have been playing have done very little wrong and deserve some form of loyalty. The likes of Stephen Walsh, Niall McCormick, Fred McCurry and Ed McQuillan have played very well all year for us while Cormac McClafferty has cemented his place in the team as well. We’ve had 30 boys in training for the last couple of weeks and that’s been a fairly unique position for us to be in this year.”
Kearney concluded by giving his assessment of the Ruairi’s opponents before sending a warning to his own squad, beware of the sleeping giant: “They have pace but they bring a cuteness to their game. They have a good crop of players who have came up through the ranks and trained through the ages together. They have a particular style of play and it’s one that we’ll have to be wary of and try to counter. They’ll have a plan to come up against us as well, they’re a team who are methodical in their preparations and have a tactical focus. They won’t be bringing a helter skelter game plan, they are very good at setting up against teams and playing to a game plan but they can adapt too.
“Looking back at that match in Dunloy, they’ll feel like they were robbed on the day. They might be coming into the match on Saturday like they owe us one. I know from speaking to a lot of neutrals in the county that there’s a lot of people out there who see St John’s as a developing force and it’s only a matter or time before they take a big scalp, we’re hoping that their time doesn’t arrive on Saturday afternoon.”
Verdict….
There’s so many permutations and variables ahead of this game, it makes it really difficult to call. If Cushendall are at full strength and go for the tried and trusted with Graffin, Burke, McAfee etc will those guys be up to championship tempo? If they stick with the lads who have got them this far, will they be able to cope with a St John’s side who have their tails up? They have exceeded expectations in the league while gathering momentum in the championship. St John’s, like Kearney said, are on the verge of taking the scalp of one of the big three who have held a monopoly on the Volunteer Cup for the better part of two generations. Will that day arrive on Saturday? It will be close and it might take another outing. If I’m going to place my bets, it’s hard to look past the experience the Ruairi’s have of these types of matches. Sometimes you must lose one to win one – this could be St John’s semi-final to lose before greater things. Cushendall to edge a tight encounter.
Martin Hurls will present one of their hurls to the man of the match in Saturday’s semi-final
