Intermediate Hurling Championship – Semi-final
Fr Maginn Park, Glenravel
Carey Faughs 3-23 Cloney Gael 2-24
Carey Faughs fought back from seven points down at one stage in the opening half to beat Cloney Gaels by 3-23 to 2-24 after extra time in an absorbing battle in Saturday’s Intermediate Hurling Semi-final at Fr Maginn Park, Glenravel.
With the strong wind at their backs Cloney Gael dominated the opening quarter and after an early exchange of points between James O’Connell and Shea Hunter, the Ahoghill men hit the next six points through Owen Neeson, Ronan Graham (2) Donal Graham, Eoin Graham and Fionnbar O’Neill to lead by 0-07 to 0-01 after seventeen minutes. Carey’s Conlith McKinley came back with a point for the Faughs but further points from Donal and Ronan Graham put the Gaels nine clear by the twentieth minute. At this stageit looked like the Ahoghill side were going to hold a commanding lead by half time, but Carey finished the half strongly with a Conor McBride goal and points from Conall McGlynn and Shea Hunter to trail by just two at the interval. (1-05 to 0-10)
Cloney Gaels hit back early in the second half when an Owen Neeson point was followed by a well taken goal from midfielder Eamonn Brady and suddenly there was six between the sides. Conall McGlynn and Callum Kane responded with two points for Carey but two points from James O’Connell and one from Ronan Graham pushed the gap out to seven again eleven minutes into the second half.
Carey appeared to be in a spot of bother but they took control of the game during the next ten minutes and six in a row from Shea Hunter, Conor McBride and two apiece from Caolan McCaughan and Conlith McKinley cut the deficit back to the minimum. It was nip and tuck down the home straight but an Eamon Brady point two minutes from time appeared to have earned Cloney Gaels victory, but a goal in the dying seconds by Caolan McCaughan, when he got his hurl to a high delivery into the Cloney ‘square’ brought the game to extra time.
The Faughs outscored the Ahoghill men by 0-06 to 0-03 in the first half of extra time to lead by 2-23 to 1-21 with three points from Conor McBride, two from Calum Cane and one from Michael McVeigh. A Tom McGlone point for Cloney Gaels cut the gap back early in the second period, but Conor McBride struck a telling blow for the Faughs when he fired in his second goal of the game. It looked like it was all over but the Cloney men finished strong with a goal from Gerard Graham and two points from Patrick Graham and for a spell it looked like they might save the game, but time ran out and the Faughs sealed their place in the final against the winners of tomorrow’s second semi-final between Tir na nÓg and Oisins.
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