Antrim Senior Camogie Championship – Round-robin
Loughgiel 4-10 Dunloy 2-7
Loughgiel had nine points to spare over neighbours Dunloy in Tuesday evening’s Senior Camogie Championship Round-Robin game which was played in dreadful conditions at Fr Healy Park. Playing against the wind and rain Loughgiel had a two point lead at half time after a hard fought and well contested opening half. Dunloy’s Nicole O’Neill cut the gap to a single point in the opening minute of the second half but slowly but surely Loughgiel began to get on top and with Roisin McCormick and Caitrin Dobbin controlling matters up front for the Shamrocks they edged away from the visitors, and when McCormick scored a great individual goal in the 53rd minute there was no way back.
The game was only two minutes old when Roisin McCormick picked up a ball out on the right touchline before soloing in along the endline and firing a shot to the Dunloy net from a narrow angle. Five minutes later Lucia McNaughton broke through and found Caitrin Dobbin with a neat pass in front of goal and as the Dunloy goalkeeper advanced she hand-passed the ball to the net.
Dunloy now had a mountain to climb but they reacted really well and they were given a massive boost less than a minute later when teenage start Aine Magill soloed through and crashed the ball to the Loughgiel net, and when Nicole O’Neill added a point from a free soon afterwards they were back in the game. Christine Laverty grabbed a Loughgiel point in the 12th minute but back came Dunloy and after Nicole O’Neill added a great point from out on the left wing corner forward Michaela Elliott grabbed her team’s second goal, following great approach work once again by Aine Magill.
That score put the visitors a point clear and for the remainder of the first half it was score for score. Roisin McCormick brought Loughgiel level and Orlagh Laverty put them back ahead but a great solo point from Magill restored parity once again. The crunch score for Loughgiel came five minutes before the break when Ciatrin Dobbin ran clear of two Dunloy defenders and though her initial shot was well saved the ball wasn’t properly cleared and in the ensuing scramble Dobbin showed her footballing skills to scramble the ball over the line. That put the Shamrocks three clear, but Nicole O’Neill closed the gap with another pointed free to leave her team trailing by just two points at the break. (3-3 to 2-4)
O’Neill’s cut the arrears back to a single point with another coverted free in the first minute of the new half but next three scores came off the stick of Roisin McCormick, one from a 45 and two from frees. O’Neill kept Dunloy in touch with another point on 44 minutes but McCormick was now running the show and after adding two more from frees she sealed the win for Loughiel with a brilliant individual goal on 53 minutes.
