Cushendall scoring blitz sets up final meeting with Dunloy

North Antrim Minor Hurling Championship – John Darragh Memorial Cup

Cushendall 7-23 Loughgiel 2-10

An explosive ten minute spell between the fifteenth and twenty-fifth minutes saw Cushendall seal their place in the Darragh Cup final in what turned out to be an emphatic win over Loughgiel at Pairc Mhuire on Friday evening.

When Loughgiel centre forward Roan McGarry fired to the Cushendall net in the 15^th minute the Shamrocks appeared to be right back in the game after Cushendall had held the upper hand in the early stages. However the Ruairis hit back with a vengeance and in the ten minutes which followed they hit three goals and two points without reply to take the game away from the boys in red. Thomas McLaughlin got two of the goals to complete a first half hat-trick while Fiontan Bradley got the other, his second of the opening half. The dynamic double act would go on to grab one more each in the second half.

Loughgiel actually had the better of things in the first ten minutes, four Roan McGarry points putting them 0-4 to 0-2 ahead, but when McLaughlin and Bradley grabbed goals apiece in the three minute spell the tide began to turn. Roan McGarry’s goal on 15 minutes brought the Shamrocks back to within a point, but the floodgates opened as McLaughlin grabbed two more goals and Bradley one the Ruairis reached half time with a with a 5-07 to 1-06 lead.

Goal number six came six minutes into the second half as Dylan McNaughton got in on the scoring act and number seven came on 52 minutes, Thomas McLaughlin getting his fourth.

In between the points kept flying over as a range of players got their names on the scoreboard in a memorable night for the home crowd.

For Loughgiel Roan McGarry, Ronan Fitzgerald, Conan Johnston, Liam Glackin, Eddie Smyth all added points while Dan O’Mullan got his team’s second goal.

The win sets up a Darragh Cup final meeting with Dunloy back in Cushendall next week in what should be a fascinating game. Despite Cushendall’s great display County champions and Darragh Cup holders Dunloy will still go in as favourites, but it promises to be a great contest, and one not to be missed.