Antrim Hurling League – Division 2
Cushendun 7-19 Sarsfields 4-5
Pics and report by Micky Morgan
Sarsfields travelled to Cushendun on a windy Easter Sunday, but were simply blown away by a rampant Cushendun side in this Div 2 All County Hurling League game.Scoring 7-19 from nine different players, Cushendun had simply too much for an understrength Sarsfields side all over the pitch. Barring a seventeenth minute goal from Orin Coleman, all Sarsfields scores came from placed balls and the stick of Kevin Mc Kernan. Cushendun on the other hand were able to take scores from all over the field, including 1-02 from Connloath Mc Neill sideline cuts.
Playing with a stiff breeze, Cushendun raced into a seven point lead before Sarsfields got their first, and only score from play in the 17th minute, when Oisin Coleman fired to the Cushendun net, despite ‘keeper Gareth McGhee getting a stick to it. The Emmets replied immediately, when McNeill’s sideline cut made its way through a crowded square to find the back of the Sarsfields net, and when Harry Kilgore pounced on a short Sarsfieds puck out three minutes later and raised another green flag, the Emmets were 2-08 to 1-00 ahead. Mc Kernan got his first goal a minute later, when his 60 yard free somehow manged to find the net after some confusion around the edge of the Cushendun square, but Cushendun finished the half with three more points from Dominic McQuillian, Donal O’Hara and David Kilgore to give them a 2-11 to 2-00 cushion at half time.
When Kevin McKernan goaled from a free in the first minute, hopes of a comeback were on, but a Fintan Mc Quillian point and two well placed David Kilgore goals in two minutes ended any hopes they had. Four converted frees from Mc Kernan followed, but a well struck thirty yard free from Connloath McNeill for Cushendun’s fifth major and points from Colm McKeegan(2) Fintan Mc Quillian and David Kilgore in five minutes put the Emmets on the front foot once again. David Kilgore completed his hat-trick with another well taken goal with ten minutes left on the clock.
As the game entered injury time, we still had time for two more goals. Cushendun were caught napping when the brilliant McKernan converted a quickly taken free to complete his hat-trick and Harry Kilgore scored his second when he converted from a narrow angle. Just as referee Kevin Park put the whistle to his mouth , Eoin Magee completed the scoring for the day with well a taken point from midfield.
All in all, Cushendun will be happy with this convincing win, although ten wides with the first half breeze and conceeding 3-05 from frees will give them something to think about. Sarsfields will hope for better days when their county players are available for club duty.
Cushendun’s new management team will be pleased with their overall start to the season. After losing their first game in a tight finish to Tir na nóg, they were under a bit of pressure, but they have bounced back with good wins against Cloney Gael’s, and now Sarsfields, and are really in the mix for the league title race.
Scorers:
Cushendun: D Kilgore 3-05,C McNeill 2-03, H Kilgore 2-02, F Mc Quillian 0-03, C McKeegan 0-02,C McHugh 0-01, D. Mc Quillian 0-01, D O’Hara 0-01, E Magee 0-01
Sarsfields: K McKernan 3-05, O Coleman 1-00
