Antrim Hurling League Division 1

Loughgiel 0-19 Cushendall 1-19

Five minutes before the end of Sunday’s Antrim Hurling League Division 1 game in Fr Healy Park Loughgiel appeared to have the points wrapped up, as they led by five points. However the home team failed to raise another flag in the five minutes, plus injury time, that remained and Cushendall slowly but surely clawed their way back. A Ryan McCambridge point two minutes into injury time tied the scores up at 0-19 apiece and it appeared the points would be shared, but there was still time for a winner and substitute Niall Cormick snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when he fired home the only goal of the game.

Loughgiel had started the game well and were 0-4 to 0-0 ahead after si minutes as Michael McGarry, Maol Connolly (2) and ‘Bickey’ McGarry fired over.

Mark Donaghy got Cushendall on the board by the seventh minute but Eddie McCloskey and Donal McKinley pointed for the Shamrocks to put them 0-6 to 0-1 clear. By the quarter hour mark it was 0-8 to 0-2 but five in a row from the visitors through Eoghan Cambell, Andrew Delargy, Paddy Burke, Scott Walsh and Fred McCurry cut the gap to a single point, before Eddie McCloskey came back with one in first half injury time to give the Shamrocks a two point cushion at the short whistle

Points from Eoghan Campbell and Paddy Burke in the first two minutes of the second half put Cushendall ahead for the first time, but the Shamrocks responded well and three from Eddie McCloskey and two from Maol Connolly swung the game back the home side’s favour.

Loughgiel held that lead for the next fifteen minutes and when they went five clear with the finish line in sight the smart money would have been on them. However when their back were to the wall the Ruairis showed their experience and points from Ryan Cambridge (2), Fred McCurry, Scott Walsh and Paddy Burke brought them level before Niall McCormick delivered the killer blow.