Bathshack.com Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final Replay

Cushendall vs St Johns

Venue: Pearse Park, Dunloy – Throw In: 1:30pm

Referee: Colm McDonald (St Galls)

By Brendan McTaggart

What is it about Cushendall and St Johns in the championship?  It’s really turning into something special.  60 plus minutes of championship hurling and they couldn’t get a winner so we head to Pearse Park on Sunday to try and separate them.

Last Sunday was everything we had hoped for.  Brilliant scores, superb comebacks, thrills and spills and contentious decisions.  Mum’s the word, eh?

Cushendall, as was expected, improved from their previous championship outings.  Their defence was watertight but in attack they got it right.  Isolating Alex Delargy with the impish Ruairi Og man using his trickery and agility to cause havoc.  Del had a stormer while Paddy McGill wasn’t far behind him as they rotated positions with fluency.

St Johns weren’t at the races and two early goals from Delargy and McGill gave the Ruairi’s the upper hand.  It took them a while to settle but the Corrigan Park side improved immeasurably as the half progressed.  Padraig Nugent’s frees, the brilliant Shea Shannon and Ciaran Johnston beginning to stamp his authority on the pitch, they reeled the Johnnies in.

The closing stages were like something from a comic book.  Winners, equalisers, brilliant scores and drama with the last poc.  Was a draw the fair result?  Absolutely.  It’s the oldest cliché in the game itself but no-one deserved to lose that game.  A draw, another replay for St Johns.  They love a good replay on the Whiterock Road, don’t they?

Where did it go right or wrong for both sides?  For St Johns, it may be a simple case of getting off to a better start.  Getting to championship intensity and speed without giving away a handicap.  The Ruairi’s were eight up before St Johns starting to play anything like themselves.  Alex Delargy’s movement and agility creating the first goal, something the Johnnies will be wary off on Sunday and McGill’s major was just down to a poc out going astray and an unfortunate error by Simon Doherty between the sticks.  I’d never criticise a ‘keeper, it’s an incredibly lonely position.  You could have a top game but be remembered for your one error.  Further out the field, you could get away with that sort of thing and to Doherty’s credit, he did little wrong the rest of the game.

St Johns have the attack to trouble the hugely talented Cushendall defence but they weren’t firing as they know they can last Sunday.  I can’t see Conor Johnson, Michael Dudley and Michael Bradley coming away with just three points between them again.  Mickey Johnston, Tony McNulty et al will be hoping for more and less of a reliance on Padraig Nugent’s frees.

Once their defence got to grips with the Cushendall inside forward line, the Corrigan Park side dealt with the threat imposed by the Ruairi’s significantly enough to look like producing a winner.  They almost did, twice!  Cushendall isolated either McGill or Del superbly and left space for either and sometimes both to work out off.  The Johnnies management team will be keeping a watchful eye on that from the throw in.

With all the youthful exuberance in the Cushendall team, it was the experience of Natty McNaughton coming off the bench that settled them as St Johns turned the screw in the second half.  Another string to their attacking bow, he breathed impetus when they needed it most.  His first point was something we’ve witnessed many times from that same angle through the years and lifted the Cushendall voices in the large crowd.  Wide on the right, hugging the side line and with a flash of his hurl, the sliotar was over.  He’s just coming back from injury so Natty may be resigned to another cameo performance at the weekend. 

The Cushendall attack although starting brightly, were dampened shortly after half time.  Natty’s introduction sparked something and while that can be down to the Johnnies rejigging their defence to counter the threat imposed, the Ruairi’s management team will be hoping for another improved performance up front.  Ryan McCambridge was involved in plenty of rucks but didn’t impose himself on the game like we know he can.  Another who can quite easily walk off the pitch with four or five points from play but just hasn’t reached that level we’ve seen in the past.  He was taken off in the second half but I’d imagine he will have his place in the starting 15 in fact, I can’t imagine either side wavering too much from the 15’s that started last Sunday. 

Sean Delargy starting was out of left field, as was the introduction of Natty and Arron Graffin late in the game.  Not a bad calibre of hurler to call upon for Ciaran Kearney and his team if required.

Who wins?  Urgh, prediction time.  Placing my head on the chopping block, I think Cushendall will edge it.  It’s such a tough call to make and after witnessing that last hour of hurling, it hasn’t helped me make the call.  It’s quite easy to make a case for either to reach the final but in the championship it’s always difficult to back against Cushendall and while I expect another incredibly close match, I think the Ruairi’s will reach the decider on Sunday week against Dunloy.

Wait, can I change my mind?  No, I’m sticking with it.  I think.

Cushendall to win and I think we’ll need extra time to sort it out.