Bathshack.com Senior Hurling Championship
Preliminary Round – first leg
Rossa 1-22 Ballycastle 0-11
Brendan McTaggart reports from Rossa Park, Belfast.
Emphatic. A simple three syllable word but it best describes the Rossa win in the first leg of this senior championship preliminary round. No-one saw this coming. A quick survey before the game with some of the patrons at Rossa Park and the neutrals in attendance couldn’t separate them before a sliotar was thrown in.
A first half performance that saw Rossa first to every ball and win what felt like every second ball, the Jeremiah’s dismantled Ballycastle. Mickey Armstrong at the centre of everything for his side and three points from play to boot. Gerard Walsh, Rossa’s go-to man to keep tabs on Ballycastle dangerman Ciaran Clarke. He didn’t give Clarkey a sniff all game. Chris McGuinness at full back and Stephen Shannon just in front of him dealt with every high ball that came their way with what felt like consummate ease. Off course it wasn’t but they were influential in keeping the McQuillan’s to just five points from open play.
The Shaw’s Road men were more astute with their use of the sliotar. Shrewd with their delivery and never let the Ballycastle defence settle. The pace of Thomas Morgan, the nous of Callum McVeigh on the three quarter line and the work rate of Conall Shannon and Seaghan Shannon exemplary. The only time Ballycastle looked threatening was in the closing stages when Rossa had built a substantial lead and looked dead on their feet such was their efforts for 55 minutes.
Eight points separated the sides at half time, far from an unassailable lead but Rossa were relentless after the restart and Mogan’s 34th minute major ensured the home side would remain in control and carry a healthy advantage into the second leg at Páirc MacUílín in two weeks time.
From the first whistle the home side were dominant. Ciaran Clarke did manage to score the opening point of the 2019 senior hurling championship, his first of six frees over the 60 minutes but the normally accurate McQuillan’s man had an off day from placed ball. Rossa and Deaglan Murphy were the opposite. Eight of his 10 points came from placed ball with just one missed over the hour. It was his accuracy from placed ball and open play that helped Rossa into a four point lead after the opening ten minutes. Mickey Armstrong bagging a couple of inspirational scores in the same time.
Stephen Beatty, raiding in rucks and brilliant in loose play, added a brace of white flags before Clarke scored Ballycastle’s second point of the tie. Again from placed ball and the McQuillan’s first for close to 15 minutes. Ballycastle were getting no joy from a water tight Rossa defence and they had to wait until the 18th minute before scoring their first from play – Kevin Barry McShane in response to another free from Deaglan Murphy.
Rossa’s dominance continued throughout the first half and they opened up a healthy advantage by the short whistle. Clarke (free) and Conor Boyd landed scores for the Town but the white flags from the outstanding Aodhan O’Brien, two delicious back foot points from Tiarnan Murphy and another brace of frees from brother Deaglan ensured an eight point advantage for the home side at the interval.
Half time: Rossa 0-14 Ballycastle 0-6
The first half was all Rossa. No question from minute one to the short blast of the whistle from referee Colm McDonald. In games of this magnitude, both sides have a purple patch and Ballycastle needed theirs at the start of the second half.
It didn’t happen.
If anything Rossa put the result of the first leg beyond doubt after the opening 10 minutes of the second half. Beatty and Morgan taking the Rossa lead to double figures before the Rossa full forward bagged the only goal of the game. Conall Shannon with the darting run before feeding the sliotar into the path of Morgan and he did the rest. Firing the sliotar into the top corner at a rasping rate and giving Ryan McGarry no chance in the Ballycastle goals.
James McLister fired over the Town’s first score of the second half in the 37th minute but Rossa were in cruise control. Four white flags of the hurl of Deaglan Murphy (three frees) were answered to a couple of points from Clarke (one free) and going into the last ten minutes, the McQuillan’s management were already giving the orders to drop the sliotar short in search of goals. They didn’t come. McGuinness was imperious and Armstrong was always in the right place at the right time. Deaglan Murphy and Seaghan Shannon finished the scoring for Rossa while Clarke took his tally to 0-8 with another brace of frees.
It may be half time in this tie but it’s already got the feel of ‘job done’ for Rossa. For every question posed by the Town, Rossa gave an answer and responded in kind. Ballycastle couldn’t live with their city counterparts in midfield while the Jeremiah’s half back line were imperious. Ballycastle couldn’t get a footing at all and Rossa made hay in the sunshine that basked Rossa Park on Friday evening. 14 points is the Rossa advantage, a case of deja vu for Ballycastle from their outing in last years championship at the same round. On that occasion it proved insurmountable, will it be the same case this time around? It will take something special from Ballycastle to derail the Rossa charge. They will need everything to go their way and Rossa to not reach the heights in intensity and have an off day.
Too many permutations but you never know, this is championship hurling and as I was reminded leaving Rossa Park on Friday night, if the wind howls a gale and the weather takes a turn for the worse, you could make a case for the Town to reel in those 14 points.
As it is, it’s advantage Rossa.
TEAMS
Rossa: Matt Devlin; Niall Crossan, Chris McGuinness, Aidan Orchin; Gerard Walsh, Stephen Shannon, Aodhan O’Brien; Michael Armstrong, Conall Shannon; Seaghan Shannon, Callum McVeigh, Stephen Beatty; Tiarnan Murphy, Thomas Morgan, Deaglan Murphy.
Subs: Manus Smith for A Orchin (inj); Ryan O’Neill for C McVeigh (inj).
Scorers: Deaglan Murphy 0-10 (8 f’s); Thomas Morgan 1-2; Michael Armstrong 0-3; Stephen Beatty 0-3; Tiarnan Murphy 0-2; Aodhan O’Brien 0-1; Seaghan Shannon 0-1.
Ballycastle: Ryan McGarry; Oran Kearney, Matthew Donnelly, Sean Kelly; James McLister, Tiernan Butler, Conor Boyd; Kevin Barry McShane, Shane McCarry; Saul McCaughan, Ciaran Clarke, Ciaran Butler; Dairmuid McShane, Owen Kinney, Oisin McAuley.
Subs: Ronan McCarry for S McCarry (28); Lorcan Donnelly for S McCaughan (HT); Eamonn Elliott for C Butler (43); Thomas McIlroy for KB McShane (53).
Referee: Colm McDonald (St Galls)
