Saffron Gael’s Brendan McTaggart is an avid Dunloy fan, having grown up steeped in the traditions of the green and gold. Althought he has since moved across the border into Co Derry his heart is still in Pearse Park and on Sunday he hopes to see the Cuchullain’s claim back the title. The people of his native parish will be hoping he is right but a lot of others in Cushendall.. and beyond..who may well have other ideas.
By Brendan McTaggart
11 matches later and the race for the Volunteer Cup has come to the final hurdle. Cushendall, reigning champions and Dunloy, the 2017 county kings in Páirc Mac Uílin in a winner takes all 60 minutes of hurling. A repeat of the final from two years ago but more about that later.
First, we’ll take a look at the Ruairi’s in more depth. A team who maybe don’t get the recognition their exploits deserve. Perennial finalists yet a team who have went through changes in recent years. From the team who reached the All-Ireland final just over three years ago, 10 from the 15 who started against Na Pairsaigh started against St Johns in the replay. The Cushendall management have elected for Conor McAllister between the sticks, Eoin Gillan occupying a place on the bench while David Kearney, Shane McNaughton, Conor Carson, and Sean McAfee are not part of the panel anymore for one reason or another. Natty McNaughton, Arron Graffin and Christy McNaughton were on the starting 15 and they have all been making their way back from injury but have featured at some stage in this years championship.
Even from last years county final, the Ruairi’s are likely to have just 10 players in their starting 15 on Sunday. For a team to continue to be as successful as the Ruairi’s have, to go through as many changes as they have in a relatively short space of time is a serious achievement in itself.
I suppose their one constant through the last number of years has been their defence. Backboned by the Burke and McCurry brothers and the intelligence of Eoghan Campbell at centre half, it’s no wonder the Ruairi’s are and have been the team to beat. The experience and graft of Sean Delargy and the emergence of Stephen Walsh this year have been the scourge of many attack in Antrim throughout 2019. A quick look at the stats from their semi-final against show they conceded just 1-10 from open play in their two matches against the Johnnies. A St Johns team who have a plethora of attacking threat and a St Johns team plenty had backed to make this years final.
If Cushendall have had any weakness this year, it’s in their attack. They’ve shown glimpses of brilliance, notably Alex Delargy in the drawn semi-final and Paddy McGill when their backs were against the wall in the replay. But they have made improvements in that area as the championship has progressed. A sign they have timed their run to Páirc Mac Uílin to perfection.
Bringing Conor McAllister in as ‘keeper has added to the Ruairi’s game plan. The Ruairi net minder possesses a huge poc out and by enlarge is accurate from his restarts. Very rarely does he go short as they play to their strengths, leaving space for Alex Delargy and Paddy McGill on the inside although they elected for Cormac McClafferty last Sunday. Aiden McNaughton will be a loss if Sunday comes to soon for his wrist injury. His performance against St Johns in the drawn game was exemplary around the middle of the pitch while the Ruairi’s could be forced into a change in their defence pending any potential appeal over Joe McCurry’s red card.
The talent coming through the ranks in Dunloy has been no secret. Four minor championship winning sides in a row is one thing, transferring that potential into a senior shirt has been the conundrum for the Dunloy management team. The Pearse Park side have been getting it right behind the scenes however. They’ve been integrating those players throughout the league and against Loughgiel in the semi-final, they had eight players in their starting 15 who won the minor championship four years ago, seven from three years, three from two years previous and one from last years team. Two more made an appearance off the bench while one sustained a long term injury towards the end of the league campaign. The age profile of the Dunloy team is young and they are a team who are still learning. A team that have yet to reach their potential yet the team many have had installed as the pre-championship favourites.
They won the 2017 championship with 20 minutes of breath-taking hurling against Cushendall in the final before losing to Slaughtneil in the Ulster championship. Perhaps that match was the initial blueprint that Loughgiel perfected last year when they ambushed the Cuchullains at the semi-final stage. Flood the midfield and defence, suffocate the space and work, work, work. Dunloy learned from that encounter last year and met fire with fire against the Shamrocks to reach the final. The Cuchullains had been famed in recent times for their fast, fluent and stylish brand of hurling but against Loughgiel they went into the trenches. Much of their attacking play for the past two years came from Ryan Elliott’s poc outs, in the semi-final the Cuchullains targeted the rucks, upped their work rate and intensity while using the guile of Paul Shiels and the experience of Kevin Molloy to supply their forward line. A forward line who can take the game away from their opponents in the blink of an eye, as Cushendall know. The frightening fact of it all is they’re nowhere near their potential. Conal Cunning and Keelan Molloy are not the finished article but are two of the brightest attacking talents in the county. Seán Elliott is still a pup and in his first full year as a senior player while Eoin O’Neill is back in the ranks after a summer in America but a full season with the Antrim county team behind him where he didn’t look out of place in a Saffron shirt.
For all the youthful exuberance the Cuchullains possess, the older hands in the squad are vital cogs to the Dunloy machine. Conor McKinley at full back and Kevin Molloy at centre half have been through the bad and good times in a Dunloy shirt while Chrissy Brogan’s move out the field has been an inspired move by the Dunloy management team. His ability to catch clean ball and outright stubbornness to win dirty ball in rucks shone against Loughgiel and will be vital on Sunday.
Where will it be won? That depends largely on what Dunloy show up on Sunday. The attacking team who play a frightening brand of ‘no fear’ hurling or the pragmatic Dunloy who will meet fire with fire and go into the trenches with Cushendall. Two years ago, ‘Option A’ did the trick while they needed to develop an ‘Option B’. They’ve done that and it was enough to make the final, the trouble with Option B however is the Ruairi’s are the master of it.
The match in Dunloy at the start of the championship saw Dunloy change their game plan and although they got the job done on that occasion, the Ruairi’s were short a few. Yes, it was a phoney war of sorts with the nature of the round robin format and a flat occasion despite the large crowd in attendance but Dunloy may see it as the eye opener they needed. Maybe it’s time to stick to the tried and trusted. There aren’t many who go into the trenches against Cushendall in the heat of the championship and come out smiling.
Prediction time. You won’t get me backing against my own team. I joked last weekend that if Dunloy were to play Tipperary I’d make a case and argue it through for them coming out on top but I do think they will overcome Cushendall on Sunday. Their defence has conceded just 1-22 from open play in their three championship matches while the Dunloy attack has averaged over nine points from play and just over 18 points per match overall. Games aren’t won on averages but Dunloy have the players capable of winning the big moments and players capable of the pieces of brilliance finals like these can be decided upon. ‘Big Ears’ to come home.