Naomh Eanna beat Shamrocks in extra time thriller

Under 15A Hurling Championship

Naomh Eanna 4-23 Loughgiel 5-16 AET

Loughgiel Shamrocks travelled to the Hightown Road by coach on Tuesday night for the U15 Hurling Championship Semi-Final. The large crowd of spectators gathered at the club were in for a real treat that night.

The Glengormley boys opened the scoring on the night, registering 1-1 early on in the match. However, Loughgiel lads responded well, developing a 5 point lead on Naomh Eanna during the first half. The Naomh Eanna boys picked up the fight and a flurry of points from them brought the sides level just before half time.

The second half was greatly contested, a real spectacle of hurling as the sides traded scores. With both teams sitting level at the 60 minute mark, Naomh Eanna believed that they had sealed the victory when they pointed from a free, 3 minutes into time added on. This excitement for the lads was very short lived, as the Shamrocks responded quickly with a levelling point from a placed ball of their own. This sent the game into extra-time.

As the light faded quickly during the next 20 minutes and both evenly matched teams pushing the barriers of exhaustion, both continued to battle valiantly, hungry for that win and path to the Final.

The Naomh Eanna boys soaked up some late pressure from the Shamrocks during additional time to win by 4 points with a resulting score of Naomh Eanna 4:23 / Loughgiel 5-16.

Players from both sides lay exhausted on the field when the final whistle sounded. What a match…an epic battle and superb effort displayed by both contesting teams, with all players able to hold their heads high. Unfortunately Shamrocks were ultimately pipped at the post and the Naomh Eanna boys will see their journey continue when they take on Dunloy (conquerors of Ard na Rí )in the U15 Final.

Naomh Eanna

Shea Bell – 1:16 (19)

Thomas Mooney – 1:2 (5)

Colm Kane – 1:2 (5)

Harry Feeney – 1:0 (3)

Darragh Quinn – 0:2 (2)

Aaron Quinn – 0:1 (1)

Loughgeil Shamrocks

Liam McGarry – 1:8 (11)

Caolan McCollum – 2:4 (10)

Logan McConville – 1:1 (4)

Caolan Christie – 1:1 (4)