Cushendall retained their McMullan Cup title when they beat Loughgiel by 3-17 to 2-9 in Sunday’s final at Feis na nGleann in Dunloy. Though they trailed in the early stages of the game Cushendall soon settle into a rhythm and boosted by a Connlaith McNaughton goal on 20 minutes they lead by 1-08 to 0-4 at half time.
A goal in the first minute of the second half from Dylan O’Boyle and a Liam McGarry point brought Loughgiel back into the game but Cushendall were able to respond and a goal from Conal Og Traynor in the fourth minute and another from Nicholas McLaughlin on 51 minutes saw them push on to victory.
Liam McGarry and Logan McConville game Loughgiel a good start and it was seven minutes before Dylan McNaughton got Cushendall’s first score. Loughgiel had a good goal chance a minute later but Cushendall managed to scramble the ball away and two pointed frees from centre forward Cahir McCambridge got their noses in front for the first time. Two points from Liam McGarry put the Shamrock back ahead but a third point from McCambridge on 18 minutes levelled up the scores.
The young Ruairis struck a telling blow on twenty minutes when corner forward Connlaodh McNaughton got the first goal of the game and when Cahir McCambridge, Connlaoth McCambridge (2) and Dylan McNaughton all added points they gap was out to eight, though Caolan McCollum pulled on back for Loughgiel in first half injury time. (1-8 to 0-4)
When Dylan O’Boyle got a Loughgiel goal just after half time, and Liam McGarry added a point the Shamrocks were back to within three. It stayed that way after Dylan McNaughton and Coalan McCollum swopped points, but when Conor Og Traynor grabbed Cushendall’s second goal they were back in charge. Cahir McCambridge added a point before Nicholas McLaughlin hit a real purple patch, adding three points in a row before grabbing his team’s third goal to stretch their lead to twelve.
Loughgiel kept battling away as Dylan O’Boyle and Logan McConville sent over points and Dylan O’Boyle got his second goal, but Cushendall never panicked and Cahir McCambridge, Dyaln McLaughlin, Nicholas McLaughlin and Shane McQuillan all added points to seal the win
CUSHENDALL
Shane Coulter, Shann McKeegan, Paddy Morgan, Jake Laffan, Charlie McAlister, Conor McCann, Callum Quinn, jack O’Reilly, Dylan McNaughton, Brian McNeill, Cahir McCambridge, Shane McQuillan Nicholas McNaughton, Conal Og Trainor, Connlaoth McNaughton.
LOUGHGIEL
JJ McGarry, Conor McCann, Aaron Gillan, Joe McFadden, Joe Deery, Eunan Johnston, Con McCullough, Domnhall McKay, Liam McGarry, Dylan O’Boyle, Logan McConville, Joseph Kinney, Cian Higgins, Caolan McCollum.
Antrim secured their place in the semi-final of the Tailteann Cup and will be off to Croke Park next weekend after coming out on the right side of a 1-19-1-15 score line against Carlow at Corrigan Park on Sunday afternoon.
Dominic McEnhill kicked the Saffrons on after a slow start and a Ruairi McCann goal before the break ensured that Andy McEntee’s side held a 1-08-0-05 lead at the midway point.
The sides largely cancelled each-other out in the second period and Antrim looked relatively comfortable until Micky Bambrick shot to the net with ten minutes plus injury-time to play and reduced the deficit to four-points.
Marc Jordan, Antrim breaks the challenge of Carlow’s Colm Hulton as the Saffrons advanced to the semi-final of the Tailteann Cup when they beat the Leinster side at Corrigan Park today.
It was a nervy and frenzied finish that saw Eoghan McCabe and Ronan Boyle black-carded along with Carlow’s Jamie Clarke – but Antrim held out to book their place in the last four next weekend.
Carlow opened the scoring inside of two minutes through an impressive Ross Dunphy point and weren’t under any serious pressure until a series of frees helped Antrim find their feet.
Dominic McEnhill restored parity from the placed ball on 10 minutes and would tap over another close-range effort within 60-seconds.
A tug-back on Adam Loughran led to McEnhill making it three from three and by the 15th minute the Rossa corner-forward had kicked his side into a 0-04-0-01 lead after referee John Gilmartin spotted holding inside.
The Saffrons moved further clear with goalkeeper Mick Byrne coming up to kick an angled free over with the help of the breeze.
Carlow hit back with quick-fire points through Darragh Foley however. The first after Peter Healy was penalised for holding and the full-forward dropped his effort over. Foley then took a lay-off on the loop and doubled his account for the half shortly after.
Carlow’s Mikey Broderick fires to the net despite the best efforts of Ronan Boyle and (Right) his shots sails past Antrim keeper, Michael Byrne
The sides then traded scores, Marc Jordan popped the ball off to Cathal Hynds to drop a fine shot over and Foley converted his second free of the afternoon in response.
Antrim moved three ahead again after Jordan fisted to Paddy McCormick to land a nice point and things got better for the hosts when they found the games opening goal on 32 minutes.
Paddy McBride sent a high ball across the square from an acute angle and Aghagallon’s Ruairi McCann got a touch on his pass and found the net to move his side 1-07-0-04 to the good.
Ross Dunphy sent a dipping effort over in response and Dominic McEnhill then landed his first from play of the afternoon.
A second goal was almost forthcoming in first half injury-time when Marc Jordan slung in a pass that was palmed down by Ruairi McCann, McEnhill took the layoff- but his low shot was smothered by the legs of Johnny Furey as it remained 1-08-0-05 at the interval.
Darragh Foley converted his second free of the afternoon as Carlow reduced the deficit upon the resumption.
Antrim’s Ruairi McCann comes under pressure
Peter Healy would swing over a response at the other end it was the first of three successive scores, Marc Jordan roamed forward and popped over and a foul on Ruairi McCann led to Dominic McEnhill notching his fifth free of the contest.
Niall Hickey would reply after taking a pass from Aaron Amond and firing over, only for Creggan’s Ruairi McCann to point at the other end when a goal should have been the outcome.
Adam Loughran bustled his way through and saw his goal-bound effort steered off the line by Seánie Bambrick, McCann ensured there was a point at least and moved his side 1-12-0-07 ahead.
Conor Crowley, Darragh Foley and Ross Dunphy conjured up three consecutive scores to keep Carlow on the periphery with twenty minutes remaining.
Points from McEnhill and Rossa club-mate Mick Byrne afforded the hosts some breathing space though.
Conor Crowley doubled his account for the afternoon and his side found a lifeline with little over ten minutes remaining.
Having received treatment for a niggle, Mick Byrne’s kick-out failed to elevate and was gobbled up by a Carlow jersey and after going on the attack Micky Bambrick shot low to the net to bring the visitors within four-points at 1-15-1-11.
Dermot McAleese takes a blow to the face from Carlow’s Mark Furey which forced his withdrawel early in the first half. Antrim will be hoping that he and Conor Stewart, who was aso forced to withdraw, will be fit for next weekend’s semi-final
Byrne was replaced by Luke Mulholland the Ahgagallon club-man had to scramble across his goal to keep out a scuffed effort from Conor Crowley.
Talisman McEnhill cooled the nerves slightly with his seventh converted free of the contest after a foul on Eunan Quinn.
Ross Dunphy replied with an excellent swing inside the far post and the Antrim nerves ramped up when Eoghan McCabe was shown a black-card for a late tackle.
Carlow were unable to take advantage of the numerical advantage before they= too were reduced to 14-men after Jamie Clarke caught Paddy McBride high around the neck and received the same fate as McCabe.
McBride would assist in substitute Patrick Finnegan slotting his side five to the good again and an angled Dominic McEnhill point from play looked to have given the Saffrons some breathing space again.
Five minutes were added at the end of the half and it wasn’t plain sailing as Darragh Foley kicked his fourth free of the afternoon.
He would add another in quick succession after Ronan Boyle stopped a dangerous attack and received a black-card for his troubles meaning the Saffrons were again at a numerical dis-advantage.
Foley converted his third injury-time free to make it a three-point game and only when Dominic McEnhill slot over from Jordan’s pass in the 75th minute did Corrigan finally breath a collective sigh of relief.
The full-time whistle blew shortly after as Antrim sealed their place in the semi-final and will be off to HQ next Sunday.
Winning team! The Antrim management team get together for a photograph after today’s win over Carlow in the Tailteann Cup quarter-final at Corrigan Park
Antrim: M Byrne (0-02f), P McCormick (0-01), P Healy (0-01), E McCabe, D McAleese, D Lynch, M Jordan (0-01), C Stewart, C Hynds (0-01), R Boyle, A Loughran, R McCann (0-01), P McBride, R McCann (1-00), D McEnhill (0-11, 0-07f). Subs: J Finnegan for D McAleese (8), E Quinn for C Stewart (19), G Walsh for P Healy (49), C Johnston for A Loughran (56), L Mulholland for M Byrne (60), P Finnegan (0-01) for R McCann (65).
Carlow: J Furey, S Buggy, M Bambrick (1-00), M Furey, N Hickey (0-01), S Bambrick, J Clarke, C Doyle, J Morrisey, C Crowley (0-02), J Moore, R Dunphy (0-04), C Hulton, D Foley (0-08, 0-06f), A Amond. Subs: J Dunne for S Buggy (45), E Molloy for C Hulton (52), D Curran for N Hickey (70), F Kavangah for C Doyle (70).
Rasharkin secured their third straight win to move into fourth place in the table with a 5-21-1-13 win over Lámh Dhearg at Rasharkin on Wednesday evening.
Although it took four minutes for the hosts to register their first score in the form of a Conor McFerran point- they never looked back and dominated the game for long spells.
Conor McKeever floated over his sides second of the evening and then converted a 65’ a few minutes later.
Lámh Dhearg replied after Fionn Mervyn was felled and Adam Murray converted the resulting free.
Mervyn turned provider for his sides next score with a popped pass to pick out Daniel Murray and he pointed from range.
Approaching the midway point in the half, Rasharkin found the net for the first time in the evening through a low Donagh Quigg strike into the corner that gave his side a 1-03-0-02 lead.
The visitors would chalk up three points in succession to make it a one-point game once again.
Adam Murray dropped over a 65’ and then converted his second free of the evening. Then Chris Nolan sent a pinpoint pass down the channel that Micky McGuigan got on the end of and swung over the bar.
McKeever would convert his first free of the evening in response and then turned provider for a Cathair Henderson point that ensured Rasharkin were 1-05-0-05 to the good.
Lámh Dhearg briefly cut the gap through a third Murray free, though the hosts put significant daylight between the sides with 2-03 in the space of five minutes.
Conor McKeever had the chance to grab his sides second goal but opted to kick over the bar instead- the goal would come in time, however.
The full-forward added his fifth point and then found the net after Cathair Henderson had dropped a high ball into the danger area where McKeever swung low past Rhys Camlin to open up a 2-07-0-06 advantage.
Rasharkin’s talisman made it four points unanswered with a second converted free of the half and a minute into injury time Donagh Quigg doubled his goal tally, reacting quickest to the loose ball breaking and stabbing home to make it 3-08-0-06.
Paddy Mervyn hit back with a point before half-time after a link-up with younger sibling Fionn- though the Hannahstown side were 3-08-0-07 in arrears with work to do.
The sides traded the opening few scores of the second period, McKeever added a further point to his increasing personal tally and Cathair Henderson dropped over his second point of the evening.
In-between times Paddy Mervyn saw his shot rise over the bar and Adam Murray landed his fourth placed ball.
Rasharkin claimed their fourth goal on the 35th minute after Henderson launched a high ball that Conor McKeever got on the end of, Rhys Camlin did well to deny McKeever’s initial shot, but Donagh Quigg was on hand for the simplest of tap-ins to claim his hat-trick and give his side a 4-10-0-09 lead.
Paddy Mervyn notched up his third point in response and the Lámhs captain gave his side a slight glimmer of hope, meeting Dan Murray’s pass and leading the charge that would end with him firing a low angled shot past Liam Tunney in the Rasharkin goal.
The visitors could have further closed the gap when referee Colm McDonald awarded them a penalty, but Adam Murray scuffed the opportunity wide of the target.
Conor McKeever got his side back in the ascendancy- converting his third free of the evening and a point from play followed through Tiernan O’Boyle.
Adam Murray would atone for his penalty miss with another conversion from the placed ball and after a short water-break further scores were traded.
O’Boyle doubled his tally with a long-range effort and Daire Cunningham dropped over an angled point in reply.
Adam Murray would also conjure up a magnificent, angled score that had three goals separating the sides going into the final ten minutes (4-13-1-13).
It was one-way traffic thereafter as Rasharkin chalked up with 1-08 without reply to make the outlook more empathic.
Conan McMullan would start the late scoring burst; Conor McKeever added a further point from a free and substitute Terry McGregor made an impact from the bench.
Goal scorer Quigg added his first point of the evening before the steering home his fourth goal of the evening to make it 5-17-1-13 a minute from time.
Donagh Quigg nets his sides fifth and his fourth of the evening
Talisman Conor McKeever hit three scores in succession, two coming from free and another from play. Conor McFerran started the evenings scoring and ended it with a late point that wrapped up a comfortable night’s work for his side at the conclusion.
Rasharkin: L Tunney, J Higgins, A McKeever, C Higgins, R O’Boyle, S Hasson, C McMullan (0-01), E McFerran, D Hasson, C Henderson (0-02), C McFerran (0-02), T O’Boyle (0-02), C Maria, C McKeever (1-12, 0-06f, 0-01 65’), D Quigg (4-01). Subs: T McGregor (0-01) for C Maria (43), J Quinn for C Higgins (48), C Donaghy for E McFerran (56).
Lámh Dhearg: R Camlin, C Nolan, J Brady, T McKenna, D Murray (0-01), O Waldron, F Mervyn, N McGarry, E Stanley, A Murray (0-07, 0-05f, 0-01 65’), P Mervyn (1-03), A McCague, D Cunningham (0-01), M Lynch, M McGuigan (0-01). Subs: A Ferris for E Stanley (44), C Tumelty for A McCague (54), M McGarry for M McGuigan (60), C Megraw for M Lynch (60).
AIDAN McSparran’s high visibility red helmet seemed to be everywhere on the move, covering the concrete hard pitch at a blistering pace to help fire the Emmet’s young guns to a landslide victory – and through to the semi-finals of the McCaughan Cup.
Even the notorious swarms of ‘midgies’ at Maginn Park stayed clear of this one-sided slamming until Cushendall referee ‘Skinner’ McAlister mercifully brought the bombardment to a close.
McSparran played a robust role in the midfield as Cushendun hit turbo attacking mode from the sundown start.
The high speed Emmet’s operation virtually swamped Con Magee’s second string from the early seconds when motor mechanic Conrad Duffin picked off the opening two points.
The Emmet’s never looked back. Ruthless finishing corner forward Colm McKeegan pounced on a defensive mix-up in the seventh minute to thump a low volley to the empty Glenravel net.
The home boys did not get to grips quickly enough to cope with Cushendun’s direct attacking style.
Glenravel players tried manfully, but were punished for indecision and wasted openings mainly through too many sideways hand passes – and were often caught in possession by the nippy, always eager Cushendun hopefuls such as wing back Pearse McKeegan, midfielder McSparran and the up front menace of the excellent Eoin ‘Cubby’ Magee and the roving Colm McKeegan.
Moments before the break ‘Cubby’ galloped down the left wing to fire a low drive off the firm surface.
Brave goalie Aidan McAuley blocked the sliother with his foot, but the ball rebounded into the path of the pacey predator McKeegan to blast the ball home.
The game was really up for Glenravel, the issue as good as over . . . the high energy Emmet’s leading by 3-8 to 0-2 at the interval.
The final scoreline is self explanatory.
Con Magee’s had honest hearts and willing hands – but could not cope with fiery finishing of four-goal Colm McKeegan.
The hosts had individual industry and solid stickwork in the form of Fergus Donaghy, Odhran McAleenan, hard grafting Sean Woulahan, enterprising Ciaran McIIfatrick and sideline cut expert and free taker Conor Duffin, .
In the opposite camp, the class and potential of Aidan McSparran and Colm McKeegan was richly illustrated in the second session.
McSparran broke up a home team push – and took off on a flying run down the left flank. His crisp pass from the wing was batted home by the inrushing McKeegan. Just to emphasize the gap between the teams, McSparran rounded off the evening’s one-sided argument with a splendid individual goal.
CON MAGEE’s: A McAuley; P O’Hagan, S Kerr, S Atcheson, A Cotter O Faloona, F Donaghy; C Lennon and O McAleenan; C McIlfatrick, S Woulahan, C Duffin; C McAuley Ciaran Laverty, Conor Laverty.
Subs used: F Hodgson, E Butler,
Scorers: C McIlfatrick 0-3,C Duffin 0-2, O McAleenan 0-2.
EMMET’S: E McSparran; M McHugh, M McSparran; J J O’Connell, D McKernan, A Breslin, P McKeegan; A McSparran and O McMahon;C O’Hara, R McCurdy, E Magee; C McKeegan, C Duffin, M Dunne.
Subs used-C Magee, P McAuley, C Campbell.
Scorers-C McKeegan 4-1, A McSparran 1-1, E Magee 0-4, C O’Hara 0-3, C Duffin 0-2, O McMahon 0-1, P McKeegan 0-1.
Jimmy Gaston of Feis na nGleann presents the Junior Feis Camogie Cup to Rossa captains Louise McMullan and Caoimhe McNiece
Rossa scored a runaway win over Ballycastle in the Junior Camogie Final at Feis na nGleann in Dunloy on Saturday. Ballycastle who did well to get a team together after half the team was ruled out because they had played in the Senior Feis semi-final earlier in the week, did well field a team, and they struggled against a very good Rossa side.
Star of the show was Rossa left half forward Caitlin Armstrong who overall scored 4 goals and 9 points in an incredible performance, while right half forward Eimear Byrne also proved a real handful for the Ballycastle defence.
Player of the match Caitlin Armstrong sends over a point
Byrne got her team’s first goal in the ninth minute and Armstrong the other three as the Belfast girls hit 4-11 in the first half.
Ballycastle came back with points from Amy Hunter, Rianna McBride and Laura Dallas in the second half but hit the net two more times through Caitlin Armstrong and Natalie McGuinness to run out convincing winners.
ROSSA
Sophia Erskine, Cara McKiernan, Niamh Semple, Emily McGurk, Caoimhe McNeice, Muirin Quinn, Caoimhe Wylie, Sarah Armstrong, Eimear Matthews, Eimear Byrne, Natalie McGuinness, Caitlin Armstrong, Riona Matthews, Louise McMullan, Orlagh McCall.
BALLYCASTLE
Erin O’Hara, Caira Boylan, Orla McIlroy, Caoimhe McShane, Christina Hamilton, Emma Connor, Aoife McCaughan, Laura Dallas, Orla Mooney, Eimear Donnelly, Grainne Hunter, Tara McAfee, Caoimhe O’Hara, Riana McBride, Caitlin Hunter.
