Andersonstown Social Club Intermediate Hurling Championship
Glenariffe 1-13 Creggan 3-16
Creggan got their Intermediate Hurling Championship campaign off to a winning start when they travelled to Glenariffe on Sunday and beat the Oisins in a bad tempered game. When the sides met in the league early in the season Creggan were struggling to field a team, such was the extent of their injuries, but most of those absentees were back on board this time around, including county star Conor McCann who played his first game of the season following a long injury lay-off.
There was nothing between the sides in the opening ten minutes as both teams hit three points Oran McCann (2) and Laim Cann getting the Creggan scores while Alex O’Boyle (2) and Seanie McIntosh grabbed the points for the home side.
However the middle ten minutes of the opening half changed the game completely and Creggan hit a goal and seven points without reply to take the game away from the Oisins, Morgan Nelson getting the goal which Liam McCann (2), Diarmuid Mulholland, Oran McCann, Sean Duffin, Kevin Rice and Conor McCann added the points.
Things got heated in the run in to half time and match referee Declan McGarry issued red cards to Creggan’s Liam McCann and Morgan Nelson, plus the Oisins Donal Kearney, but when play resumed Diarmuid Mulholland grabbed a Creggan point, while Alex O’Boyle and Brogan O’Connor got two for the home side to leave them trailing by seven at the interval.
Creggan extended their lead to nine early in the new half when Conor McCann popped over two points, but Alex O’Boyle and Brogan O’Connor cut the gap back to seven with two for the Oisins. At this stage Glenariffe were also reduced to 13 men when Conor Patterson received the fourth red card of the game.
The Oisins had an uphill battle on their hands, and things got worse when Oran McCann added the two points to stretch the Creggan lead out to nine. Alex O’Boyle brought the gap back to seven again, but two goals in the next three minutes from Conor McCann and Diarmuid Mulholland ended the game as a contest.
Far from an ideal start for the Oisins, but despite the defeat they can still claim a final place if they win their three remaining games against St Paul’s, Con Magees and Sarsfields. The first of these is away to St Paul’s in two weeks’ time, before facing Con Magees in Waterfoot on Wednesday 30th of August. If they were to get over those hurdles they would then travel to the Bear Pit to face the Paddies in what would most likely be a winner takes all battle for a semi-final place.
Creggan face another tough task in their next outing when they host Sarsfields in Creggan on Friday 18th. A win in that game would sure make them very strong favourites to seal that semi-final place.
