Ulster Junior A Club Camogie Quarter-Final
Loughgiel (Antrim) v Granemore (Armagh) at Fr Healy Park.
Antrim Intermediate Camogie Champions Loughgiel get a big weekend’s action for the Shamrocks club underway tomorrow (Saturday) at Fr Healy Park at 1pm when they host Armagh champions Granemore in the first round of the Ulster Junior A championship. The Antrim champions have had a busy few weeks on their way to winning the Intermediate title, accounting for four clubs on their way to another piece of silverware. None of the games have been easy and apart for the final win over Cargin, four points has been their biggest winning margin. They started off against a very good Tir na nOg team on September 9th in Loughgiel, getting the better of the Randalstown girls by 2-12 to 1-12 in a very competitive game. Two weeks later they took on Portglenone and though they won by four points in the end, it was far from easy.
Their toughest game of the campaign came in the Antrim semi-final where they travelled to Cloney on Tuesday 17th October to take on the Ahoghill girls in the first floodlit match of the campaign. They were five points up at half time in that game and appeared to be cruising when they stretched the lead to seven, but the Cloney girls came with a late run and just a point separated the sides at the final whistle.
The final against Cargin at Dunsilly was the most convincing win of the four. The Shamrocks were in excellent form with Carlina Sullivan, Kirsty McKendry, Anna McKillop and Megan McGarry all turning in top class displays, Sullivan getting the only goal of the game to help her side to a 1-7 to 0-5 lead at the break.
In the second half they pushed on when their accuracy from play and from frees made the difference, adding another nine points to Cargin’s four to win by ten in the end. (1-16 to 0-9)
Granemore qualified for the Ulster campaign by virtue of a 0-11 to 0-9 win over Ballymacnab in the final. They lost last years’ final to Loughgiel’s neighbours Glenravel and in truth the draw has not been kind them, having to face a club of the stature of Loughgiel away in the opening round. Still they have performed well over the past four years and will relish the chance of taking an Antrim scalp this time around.
Overall Loughiel would appear to have that little bit too much for the Armagh champions in the this one, but in a massive weekend for the club they will be taking nothing for granted.