Antrim Hurling League Division 1

Ballygalget 0-20 Ballycran 2-17

It was another closely contested fixture between these tw Down hurling rivals to open their respective campaigns for the 2021 season.

Ballygalget made the most of the wind at their backs in the first half, scoring the first 8 points without reply before Cormac McAlister registered Ballycran’s first score in the tenth minute. The Galgets had a great chance to extend their lead when John Hughes was put through on goal but his effort was matched by a good save from Cran keeper, Declan Ennis.

At the water break, the scoreboard reflected the dominance of the home team, it was 0-10 to 0-2 and Ballygalget continued to pile on the pressure when the game resumed. They registered a score immediately after the restart before a goal from Ballycran’s Niall Breen cut the deficit and gave Ballycran a bit of hope heading towards the end of the first half. The teams traded scores to end the half and at the short whistle the scoreline read 0-16 to 1-4 in favour of Ballygalget.

On the restart, a Ciaran Watson free extended the Galgets advantage to 10 points before a point from Phelim Savage and a goal from Connor Dorrian were really able to eat into the Galgets lead, it was now down to 6 points and the momentum seemed to shift towards Ballycran. The home team responded with another Watson free but the Crans scored the next 6 points without resply, Savage, Breen and McAlister all combining to cut the deficit to the minimum. A Ballygalget free put them up by 2 before Savage and Patrick Hughes responded for Ballycran and finally got them back on a level footing heading into the final 10 minutes.

A pointed free put the Galgets back up by 1 but 4 points in a row from Ballycran sealed the game for the away team.

Ballycran now face another local rivalry game against Portaferry on Tuesday evening while Ballygalget will make the trip up to Glengormley to face Naomh Éanna.

Ballygalget: Eoin Clarke; Eoin Pucci, Eoin Coulter, Joe Smyth; Cathal Coulter, Ciaran Watson, Michael Toner; Paul McManus, Oran O’Connor; Finnbar Kelly, John Hughes, Conall Fay; Caolan Coulter, Gavin Burns, Cormac Coulter

Subs: Jon Fisher, Rory Coulter, Rossa McGrath, James McGrath

Scorers: Cormac Coulter 0-6 (0-5F), Ciaran Watson 0-6 (0-6F), John Hughes 0-4, Cathal Coulter 0-2, Caolan Coulter 0-1, Conall Fay 0-1

Ballycran: Declan Ennis; Brad Watson, Thomas McManus, Rory Brown; Brett Nicholson, Patrick Hughes, Aaron Dorrian; Sean Ennis, Phelim Savage; Cormac McAlister, Michael Ennis, Niall Breen; Huw Flynn, Connor Dorrian, Stuart Martin

Subs: Darragh Kelly

Scorers: Phelim Savage 0-6 (0-4F), Niall Breen 1-2, Connor Dorrian 1-1 (0-1F), Stuart Martin 0-2, Cormac McAlister 0-2, Aaron Dorrian 0-2 (0-2F), Patrick Hughes 0-1, Huw Flynn 0-1 (0-1F)