Antrim Junior Championship Camogie  semi-final

By Liam Tunney

Rasharkin 4-7

Loughgiel 6-9

Loughgiel booked their place in the junior camogie championship decider after emerging from a ten-goal thriller against Rasharkin in Ballymena on Sunday.

A four-goal haul from full forward Rebecca Higgins ensured the Shamrocks came out on top, despite a spirited second-half comeback in which St Mary’s reduced an 11-point lead to just five.

By the end of the first quarter, the crowd at Slemish Park had already witnessed three goals.

Kerrie Darragh’s opener for Rasharkin was cancelled out by a similar finish from Rebecca Higgins, who added her second midway through the half.

A Cora Henderson rasper saw St Mary’s respond, but with a stiff breeze at their back, the Shamrocks cut loose towards the end of the half.

Hannah McKeague found the net on 21 minutes, before Higgins completed her hattrick to leave Loughgiel in a commanding position at the break.

Henderson rifled a free to the net six minutes into the second half as Rasharkin began to climb the mountain, and a 51^st minute Jade Henry goal cut the deficit to just five points.

The Shamrocks regained their composure however, with McKeague and Higgins adding late goals to finally break a stubborn Rasharkin resistance.

The South West side had started strongly when Jade Henry flashed an early effort to the left of the Loughgiel posts, but it was Alana McKendry who opened the scoring at the other end on 4 minutes.

In the 8^th minute, a dropping ball was batted out by Shamrocks’ netminder Catherine Connolly, and Kerrie Darragh reacted sharpest to sweep the ball home.

Eimear O’Neill added a point from the resultant puck out as Rasharkin shot into a 1-1 to 0-1 lead, but Rebecca Higgins pulled to the net to level matters on 11 minutes.

Sinéad Carroll and Jade Henry then swapped frees as the game warmed into championship intensity, before the former nudged Loughgiel back in front in the 14^th minute.

Their lead was extended two minutes later when Higgins found the net a second time, latching onto a breaking ball and finding the corner of McMullan’s net.

Hannah McKeague opened her account on 17 minutes to stretch the Shamrocks’ lead to five points, before a St Mary’s goal reduced the gap to two.

Cora Henderson collected an Aoife McFerran hand pass, ran straight at Connolly’s goal and hammered a low driven effort into the bottom corner to leave her side trailing 2-2 to 2-4.

Loughgiel responded though, and after McKeague found the net on 21 minutes, the Shamrocks sprung into action.

Points followed from Alana McKendry and another Carroll free, before Higgins wrapped up her hattrick in the 27^th minute.

The full forward collected the sliotar, held off the challenge of Noeleen O’Kane and again rattled the top corner of the net.

Colleen Connolly wrapped up the first half scoring on 29 minutes, stepping out of a ruck of bodies and spliting the posts to leave her side with a 4-7 to 2-2 half time lead.

St Mary’s required a response, and with the wind now at their backs, they started the second half with a flurry of attacks.

First Jade Henry and then Kerrie Darragh threatened to burst through, but dogged Loughgiel defenders managed to spare the net until the 36^th minute.

Cora Henderson stood over a free 25 yards from goal and fired a bouncing effort into the bottom corner of the net.

Rasharkin closed the gap to seven points two minutes later as Eimear O’Neill raced 60 yards through the middle of the Shamrocks’ defence to raise the white flag.

Loughgiel hit back through a Shauna Deery free on 40 minutes, before Eimear O’Neill plucked a ball from the air and slipped in Danielle McAllister to point in response.

Substitute Sinéad Hasson then came close to finding the net, almost pouncing on a handling error from Catherine Connolly, but the keeper recovered to clear for Loughgiel.

Rasharkin then had raised pulses of their own, with Noeleen O’Kane forced to scramble the ball off their goal line, before Hannah McKeague drew a fine save from McMullan with a low shot in the 47^th minute.

McKeague took her tally to 1-2 in the 50^th minute, before a fourth Rasharkin goal looked to have set up a nervy finale to the game.

Jade Henry collected the ball from a ruck, rounded the defender and squeezed the ball inside Connolly’s near post to leave the gap at five points with nine minutes remaining.

Loughgiel immediately stalled the momentum however, as a Hannah McKeague shot dropped under the bar rather than over it with the next attack to leave her side 5-9 to 4-4 ahead.

Rasharkin though refused to go quietly and battled back with points from Sinéad Hasson, Jade Henry  and Henderson free, but a fourth goal for Rebecca Higgins ended the conversation in the final minute.

The forward again showed good strength to fend off the tackle and slot the ball into the bottom corner to copper-fasten her side’s place in the junior championship final against Cushendall.

Rasharkin: Saoirse McMullan, Bronagh McFerran, Noeleen O’Kane, Christina Smith, Niamh Mooney, Kate McFerran, Ciara O’Neill, Aoife McFerran, Eimhéar Hardy, Cádhla McLernon, Eimear O’Neill (0-2), Jade Henry (1-2, 0-1f), Cora Henderson (2-1, 0-1f), Kerrie Darragh (1-0).

Subs: Roisín Hardy for Christina Smith (24), Danielle McAllister (0-1) for Niamh McFerran (27), Sinéad Hasson (0-1) for Kerrie Darragh (38), Niamh McLernon for Niamh Mooney (43)

Loughgiel: Catherine Connolly, Ellie Glackin, Roisín Cummings, Claire McKeown, Ella Sullivan, Aine Doran, Zoe Cassley, Shauna Deery (0-1f), Colleen Connolly (0-1), Hannah McKeague (2-2), Sinead Carroll (0-3f), Neala Clarke, Aoife McMullan, Rebecca Higgins (4-0), Alana McKendry (0-2)

Subs: Erin Connolly for Aoife McMullan (40), Niamh McCaughan for Ellie Glackin (51)

Referee: Tommy Toland (Davitt’s)

Player of the Match – Hannah McKeague

Rebecca Higgins provided the cutting edge with four goals, but it was McKeague’s industry and finishing that gives her the nod. Involved in much of the build-up play for the Shamrocks, the half forward was both provider and finisher, ending the game with 2-2 from play.

Turning Point – McKeague goal

Rasharkin had emptied the tank in the second half to haul themselves back into contention with Jade Henry’s 50^th minute goal, but McKeague’s somewhat fortunate effort immediately afterwards restored the eight-point gap that would prove the winning margin. A real sucker punch for the Dreen girls.

Score of the Match – Henderson goal With the game succumbing to the frenetic energy of championship, Cora Henderson collected a hand pass from Aoife McFerran in the 17^th minute, speeding away from her marker and hammering a low finish so hard into the bottom corner that it hit the stanchion and rebounded