Reserve Hurling Cup

Dunloy 0-22  Cushendall 3-17

Goals proved the difference as Cushendall overcome Dunloy in Wednesday evening’s Reserve Cup Hurling quarter final in Pearse Park. One from Christy McNaughton in the first half and one apiece from Emmet Laverty and Ed McQuillan in the second were to prove decisive as the Ruairis recorded a four point win.

McQuillan and McNaughton got Cushendall’s opening score but Deaglan Smith came back with one for the home side. Christy McNaughton restored the two point cushion with his second point of the game on seven minutes, but the Cuchullains were level by the ninth minute when Eoghan McGrath and Barry McCloskey sent two over inside thirty seconds. McNaughton grabbed his goal less than a minute later to give Cushendall a bit of breathing space, but Dunloy hit a purple patch at the start of the second quarter when they hit five points without reply through Daire McMullan (2), Deaglan Smith, Ryan Mort and Eoghan McGrath to go two clear. However the visitors finished the half strongly and points from Patrick Sharpe and Ruairi McCollam sent them in level at the break.

Christy McNaughton and Andrew Delargy got the first two points of the second half to put Cushendall back in front, and though Dunloy pulled one back, Cushendall took a grip of things when ‘Mucker’ Laverty got the Ruairis second goal on 33 minutes. McNaughton’s free taking was always able to keep a cushion between Dunloy and his team and when Ed McQuillan got the Ruairi’s third entering the final quarter they were always in charge. Andrew Delargy’s point on fifty minutes put them seven clear, but it was never quite plain sailing as that was to be their last score of the game. Dunloy chipped away at the lead with Nicky McKeague grabbing a couple, but the goal they needed to really bring their challenge back to life never came.

DUNLOY

Callum Mullan 2 Cathair McCloskey 3 Kevin McKeague 4 Tom McFerran 5 Karl O’Kane 6 Conor McKinley 7 Daire McMullan 8 Aidan McGarry 9 Ciaran Elliott 10 Nicky Mckeague 11 Gabby Mctaggart 12 Declan Symth 13 Barry McCloskey 14 Ryan Mort 15 Eoghan McGrath

CUSHENDALL

1 Eoin Gillan 2 Mark Emerson 3 Daire Mort 4 Cillian McNaughton 5 Seamus McCurry 6 Stephen Walsh 7 Conor McCollam 9 Andrew Delargy 10 Padraig McKillop 11 Emmet Laverty 12 Austin Birt 13 Joseph McNaughton 14 Christy McNaughton 15 Ed McQuillan.