Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship
Semi-Final
Cushendall 1-27 St John’s 0-26 (aet)
Saturday 5 October
Brendan McTaggart reports from Pearse Park, Dunloy
The big crowd in Pearse Park, Dunloy were treated to a quite brilliant game of hurling on Saturday afternoon as Cushendall and St John’s played out a thriller. It took another 20 minutes of extra time to separate the sides but in the end, it was Cushendall who lived to fight another day and the Johnnies who headed back up the M2 wondering what they have to do to reach another county final.
This contest had everything you’d want from a game of hurling. Thrills, spills, outrageous scores, mind boggling saves and the odd glaring miss. It all added to the occasion. Neil McManus with 14 points, 10 from placed ball and a few he’d like back again. Of the four he hit from play, each one oozed class. One under pressure but a swing of the hurl over the shoulder and it split the posts, two when you could noticeably see the man taking that split second to compose himself before striking. Moments like that were few and far between, but McManus is and always has been the type of player that can find time in the mayhem of it all.
His old(ish) sparring partner had a massive say in the outcome of this game also. Paddy McGill came on with nine minutes of the hour remaining and finished with three points beside his name and gave the Ruairi’s that wee shot of impetus when it was needed.
The Johnnies, admirably, died with their boots on. As a manager, it’s all you can ask of your team. They left it all out on the pitch and in Conal Bohill they have a player capable of the impossible. A brilliant game in half forward and half back. He was everywhere when needed for St John’s while Peter McCallin was outstanding at centre half back while Oisin Donnelly’s work rate and output was phenomenal and Conor Johnston was at his impish best, with Oisin MacManus showing his skills from placed ball and the rest.
From a neutral point of view, the intensity the Johnnies brought, especially in the first half, was mesmerising. The Ruairi’s played with a healthy wind advantage but they had neither time nor space to make hay. Both sides packed the middle third and it wasn’t a place for the feint of heart. Bodies were on the line, advantage was being played and the whistle wasn’t there at times. Far from a criticism of Colm McDonald and his team, it added to the game. It was a brilliant spectacle and the crowd were on the edge of their proverbial seats with every puc-out.
A two point lead was a slender advantage for the Ruairi’s and when Oisin MacManus fired over a ’65 in the 49th minute for his 10th point of the game, St John’s went into a deserving two point lead.
It would be a bit much to say Cushendall were teetering, but if they were ever grateful for the brilliant determination of Paddy Burke, they found it when it was needed. The clock had just ticked into the 52nd minute when he went on a trademark rampage down the left, drawing in defenders and finding Ronan McAteer in space. Defenders closed in, McAteer pulled, the net bulged.
The Johnnies showed their powers of recovery in the time that remained. Cushendall went ahead by two after a brilliant side line point from Shea Shannon but MacManus and substitute Darragh McGuinness forced extra time.
Extra time and not many had moved from whatever vantage point they had taken around the pitch. St John’s had the wind at their back and went into a four point lead, Conor Johnston, MacManus and Shannon at it again from a side line finding their range. Ciaran Johnston instrumental, a defensive rock and hitting points from a different postcode and his brother Con Jon causing mayhem. Cushendall dug deep, there aren’t many who have the powers of recovery like the Ruairi’s and through Neil McManus they have the man for the big occasion. Two frees before referee Colm McDonald called for half time in extra time, McManus was doing his bit for his side.
The second half belonged to the champions. Points from McGill, Campbell and Ryan McCambridge edged them clear and finally put an end to the St John’s challenge.
It was a game that no one wanted to end. It was a game that showcased the brilliance of our game. It was a game that neither team deserved to lose and a game that St John’s will wonder how they came out second best. Cushendall did what Cushendall do, they find a way like all great champions do. They move on to the county final in two weeks time as the defence of their crown continues.
TEAMS
Cushendall: Conor McAllister; Liam Gillan, Paddy Burke, Charlie McAuley; Stephen Walsh, Eoghan Campbell, Ruairi McCollam; Fred McCurry, Alex Delargy; Ronan McAteer, Neil McManus, Fergus McCambridge; Ciaran Neeson, Ryan McCambridge, Joseph McLaughlin
Scorers: N McManus 0-14 (10f’s); E Campbell 0-3; R McCambridge 0-3; Paddy McGill 0-3; R McAteer 1-00; J McLaughlin 0-2 (1f); C McAuley 0-1; F McCurry 0-1
St John’s: Simon Doherty; Jack Bohill, Ciaran Johnston, Ryan McNulty; Conal Morgan, Peter McCallin, Enda McGurk; Sean Wilson, Michail Dudley; Oisin Donnelly, Conor Johnston, Conal Bohill; Shea Shannon, Oisin MacManus, Aaron Bradley
Scorers: O MacManus 0-12 (8fs, 2 ‘65s); S Shannon 0-3; Conor Johnston 0-3; Ciaran Johnston 0-2; R McNulty 0-2; Darragh McGuinness 0-2; M Dudley 0-1; C Bohill 0-1
Referee: Colm McDonald
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