Antrim Minor Hurling Championship
Dunloy 0-17 Loughgiel 2-9
A free taking master class by corner forward Paudie Martin saw Dunloy see off the challenge of Loughgiel in Saturday’s Minor Hurling Championship Final at Pairc MacUilin, and in doing so ended the Shamrocks bid for a fifth title in a row.
Martin hit some great scores throughout the game which kept the Cuchuallains on top for most of the hour, while Loughgiel were wasteful for the most part and could well have saved the game had they displayed their usual accuracy. With time almost up Dunloy appeared to be cruising home as the held a five point lead, but a point from a free by Loughgiel full forward Roan McGarry was followed by an injury time goal from the same player and suddenly the gap was down to a single point. There was a few nervous minutes for the Dunloy fans to endure, but Martin secured the win when he pointed his ninth point of the game four minutes into added time.
Martin gave Dunloy the lead after two minutes but McGarry came back with a goal from a free for Loughgiel, the ball deceiving the Dunloy goalkeeper and dipping just under the crossbar. Martin closed the gap to a single point when he sent over his second pointed free but Roan McGarry tacked on another from free for the Shamrocks to keep them ahead. A great save by the Loughgiel goalkeeper saw him touch the ball over the bar from an Oisin McCamphill rasper but McGarry added one from play to keep the gap at two. Two more points from Paudie Martin, one from a free and the other from a 65 brought Dunloy level and though Loughgiel got one back they missed a couple of simple chances and Dunloy took advantage push ahead by half time on a scoreline of 0-9 to 1-5.
With the fresh breeze in their favour in the second half Dunloy started to stretch their lead after the change of ends as Paudi Martin, 11 and Marin again stretched the lead to four by the midway point of the second half. Both teams missed a couple of good opportunities as the game entered the last ten minutes, but a fine strike for a long range free by Martin had the gap out to five. A Roan McGarry point closed the gap back to four and when the full forward got his second goal of the game in injury time Loughgiel’s hopes were suddenly revived. However that was to be the Shamrocks last chance and Martin secured the win with a point from a free out on the right sideline.
