Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship Preview

Saturday 24 August

Group 1

Ballycastle v Naomh Eanna

Venue: Pairc MacUilin, Ballycastle

Throw In: 6pm

Referee: Ray Matthews (Rossa)

Sunday 25 August

Group 2

Dunloy v Rossa

Venue: Dunsilly

Throw In: 2pm

Referee: Ciaran McCloskey (Loughgiel)

Cushendall v St John’s

Venue: Ballymena

Throw In: 5pm

Referee: Colum Cunning (Dunloy)

Brendan McTaggart looks forward to this weekend’s Senior Hurling Championship games

SO what did we learn from the opening round of fixtures?  Not a huge amount if we’re honest.  St John’s gave Dunloy their fill of it in a bruising encounter in the Cuchullains back yard.  The Corrigan Park side were shorn of a couple of regulars and will take plenty of positives from the performance.  While discussing the match with punters since, I got the feeling that the Johnnies were more content to stop Dunloy from playing than exerting their own game.  It was a contest that pretty much mirrored the clash between the two sides in the 2023 group stage, the Cuchullains looked a bit off the pace in the early exchanges but when they clicked into gear, St John’s didn’t have many answers.

The usual suspects were leading the Dunloy charge, Keelan Molloy who at this stage must wish he could play St John’s every week given how he terrorizes their defence while Paul Shiels is like a fine wine and improves with age.

Shea Shannon, Conor Johnston and Conal Bohill were influential for Mickey Johnston’s side while Aaron Bradley and Peter McCallin where always a threat in attack.

The Cuchullains managed to pull away in the second half, thanks largely to a 10 minute period where they really went through the gears.  Scoring six points and creating goal scoring chances at will in a ten minute period where the Johnnies couldn’t live with them.

In Rossa Park, the hosts gave Cushendall a run for their money as the Ruairi’s opened the defence of their crown with a narrow win.  I described this contest as a match that Cushendall had to win three times, but from a Rossa perspective it was a match that they showed they have plenty of fight, determination and guts.  Perhaps all they were missing was a little bit of lady luck?  It’s easy carried and every team needs a little during a championship campaign but Cushendall, without being brilliant, did enough.  Joseph McLaughlin in fine form, moreso in the first half while Dominic Delargy’s influence had a major say in the outcome of the contest.  His battle with the Rossa defence under high ball was a spectacle. 

The winning of this game came from Eoghan Campbell however.  You can look at his ability to stay calm in a cauldron of pressure in the dying embers of the game within his own ’21, soloing clear and firing over a brilliant point.  But Campbell’s second half performance was outstanding and while the levels of others around him may not have peaked, Eoghan showed the way.  He had plenty of support from Fred McCurry on the day as his reputation within the game in the county continues to burgeon.    

Rossa had threats in Aodhan O’Brien and Dominic McEnhill with Gerard Walsh and Stephen Shannon excellent in defence.  Chris McDonnell used the mercurial talents of James Connolly, Eoghan McMenamin and Conall Shannon off the bench, he has options and with Michael Armstrong closing in on a return from injury, I expect Rossa to up their levels this weekend.

As expected, Loughgiel had a bit to spare against Naomh Eanna in the opening match of Group 1.  James McNaughton making a welcome return from injury to score the Shamrock’s two second half goals and Paul Boyle show casing his talents, especially in the second half.  Just three points separated the sides at half time and despite playing into the wind, Loughgiel moved through the gears to pull clear.  They had 10 different scorers with 2-16 of their total coming from play – impressive statistics for the Shamrocks while Naomh Eanna will be disappointed at coughing up so many chances.  They themselves had six different scorers with 0-15 from open play but they were second best to the visitors and the 10 point difference on the day could have easily been much more.

This weekend, Naomh Eanna will be looking to get back to winning ways against Ballycastle with The Town opening their championship campaign.

The last time these sides met, Ballycastle took the league points on offer with 11 points to spare over the Hightown Road side.  Two goals from Seamus McAuley and one from Joe McToal gave Ballycastle an eight point half time advantage before they would see out the second half.

Naomh Eanna will be hoping that the fact they have a championship match already in their legs will give them an edge against a Town side coming in from the cold.   The free taking of Cormac Jennings will be crucial while they will be hoping for more scores from open play with Eddie and Luke O’Connor expected to lead the fight.

While Ballycastle do come in from the cold, if they can get enough quality ball into the likes of McAuley and Tiernan Smyth, I’d expect them to be too much for Naomh Eanna.

On Sunday, Dunloy and Rossa will match up at Dunsilly.  This promises to be an intriguing encounter where Rossa will be looking to build upon their impressive yet ultimately losing first outing while the Cuchullains will be looking for another level from their St John’s match.

Both sides have had to contend with players involved in the senior football championship while the Cuchullains have some injury concerns.  Conal Cunning is expected to miss the game with Eoin O’Neill also a major doubt.  Both missed the Naomh Eanna match with the big ball while Oran Quinn picked up a nasty facial injury – he may need some further time to recover from that.

The Cuchullains will have options to turn to with Deaglan Smith and Anton McGrath both pushing for a starting position while Aodhan McGarry will also be giving the Dunloy management team something to think about when finalizing their starting 15.

Dunloy will start as favourites but a performance akin to that against St John’s and Rossa will be leaving with a scalp that you just know they would relish.

A short trip at the final whistle from Dunsilly across to Ballymena where Cushendall and St John’s will do battle.  The availability of Neil McManus remains to be seen, he missed the Rossa game through injury while Andrew Delargy had to be replaced during the game.  Fred McCurry didn’t look like he was firing on all cylinders at the full time whistle and was receiving treatment, given his performance and work ethic, Fred not starting would be a serious blow to the Ruairi’s.

The Johnnies could welcome back Michael Bradley from injury while Domhnall Nugent, Oisin Donnelly and Ryan McNulty are expected to be in contention.  Michail Dudley and Oisin MacManus both came off the bench against Dunloy and will be pushing for a starting place.

When thinking on these two in the championship, thoughts turn to matches in the recent past where there wasn’t more than a puck of the ball between them.  Cushendall denied St John’s on more than one occasion at the semi-final stage and while they have the capability to match the Ruairi’s, I see the champions setting out to improve on their last outing where they almost let the win slip through their hands.  If they do that, they’ll have a bit to spare against the Johnnies.