Antrim Hurling League – Division 2
Cushendun 3-10 St Paul’s 1-12
A hat-trick by Cushendun’s scorer in chief Conlaoith ‘Loaf’ McNeill in the last ten minutes of the game saw the Emmets snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as they came from behind to beat luckless St Paul’s in Sunday’s Division 2 Hurling League game at CushLig an Airgid, Cushendun on Sunday.
Just a point separated the sides at the end of a low scoring opening half, in which defences were on top, the home team just edging it by 0-7 to 0-6. However when the side re-emerged after the interval the visitors hit the front and were a point ahead going into the last ten minutes, but McNeill stepped up to the mark when his team most needed him, scoring three excellent goals in a magical ten minute spell to get team over the line.
Load had score two of the first three points of the game, both from frees, and Aidan Corbett grabbed one from play to see the Emmets lead by 0-3 to 0-0 after twelve minutes. St Paul’s right half forward Caolan Duffin got his team’s first score of the game on 14 minutes, but the home team came back with points from Sean McKay and Colm McKeegan to stretch the lead to 0-5 to 0-1 by the 17th minute.
Duffin knocked over another point from a free to keep St Paul’s in touch but when Dominic McQuillan found the target for the Emmet’s on 20 minutes they were 0-6 to 0-2 to the good and apparently on a good position. However they was to be their last score of the half as St Paul’s gained the upper hand, and finished the half strongly with three further points from Caolan Duffin and one each from Declan Chapman and Daire Stevenson to lead by 0-7 to 0-6 at half time.
Duffin got the first point of the second half to increase the St Paul’s lead to two, and it could have been worse for the home side had goalkeeper Eoin Magee not made a sharp save to deny Declan Quinn a goal. McNeill pulled one back but St Paul’s hit back with a goal from Patrick Doyle, who rounded his marker and gave Magee no chance in the Emmet’s goal.
A long range point from a free by Conor McHugh and one from play by Calum Kilgore brought the home side back to within two at the end of the third quarter, but St Paul’s pushed the lead out to four again as Caolan Duffin and Thomas Duff hit the target with just ten minutes left to play.
Cushendun needed something special to get anything out of the game and Conaoth McNeill provided it in a hectic finishing burst. It started with a twenty metre free which he drove to the net on 24 minutes and for good measure he caught the resultant puc-out and returned it over the bar. Caolan Duffin came back with another point for St Paul’s but two minutes later McNeill struck again, driving in another goal from a free, this time from 30 metres. Goal number three came in injury time as a long ball was dropping in around the St Paul’s square. Loaf was running in from the corner but as the ball dropped short he dived across and somehow flicked the ball to the net to seal the win and complete a remarkable display.
