Armagh City Hotel Ulster Camogie Senior Club Championship 2024
Swatragh 0-05 Loughgiel 3-16
Match report and photos from Michael Corcoran at St. Mary’s Park, Beragh
Swatragh’s hopes of an Ulster win and pursuing a route to an All-Ireland campaign were dashed by a strong and skillful Loughgiel squad that dominated every corner of St. Mary’s Park in Beragh. Sixty-six minutes in total produced some of the finest camogie seen in an Ulster final as Loughgiel applied a fire blanket to quell the fire in Swatragh’s belly stemming from their recent emphatic win over Slaughtneil.
In the first half, Swatragh looked energetic and were the first to attack Loughgiel’s uprights, ending in a wide. They would return within four minutes to place the first point on the scoreboard but thereafter, Loughgiel took control with a goal apiece from Annie Lynn and Caitrin Dobbin and a further three points up to the short whistle, leaving Swatragh needing to bring the game to the Shamrocks in the next half.
In the second half, once again, Swatragh opened the score with a point, but Loughgiel continued to menace Swatragh’s defence with a Caitrin Dobbin goal and amassing another thirteen points, whilst the defensive Shamrock wall would deny the Davitt’s any significant progress beyond an additional four points.
After a very well-orchestrated pre-match ceremony, referee Philip McDonald rolled in the sliotar away from the stand as Swatragh played towards the clubhouse after winning today’s toss. The Beragh turf offered an ideal surface in what was a near perfect day, with just a drift or two of light rain under a sunny sky.
As each side tussled for possession, it would be almost six and a half minutes before Davitt’s Aoibheann Mullan took a pass from Mairead McNicholl and put the scoreboard into action with a point.
Minutes later, Katie McKillop would wrestle up the sliotar and offload to a running Annie Lynn on the right side who had nothing but a goal on her mind. As Lynn delivered diagonally deep into Niamh McQuillan’s net, the Shamrock supporters roared with delight up in the stand and raised the level a notch higher as Roisin McCormick took delivery from a sideline cut and treated Loughgiel fans to a flick over Niamh Quinn’s head and ran on for her first point in the game.
Pushing up and finding space, Lucia McNaughton would continue the drift away from Swatragh with a fine point but Swatragh were lively and a decisive pass from Davitt’s Mary Therese McCullagh looked ominous but a courageous block from Loughgiel’s captain and Player of the Match, Christine McCloskey, diffused the threat.
Misfortune would deliver a blow to Swatragh as Mairead McNicholl went down with a possible strain injury, leading to a substitution by Orla Walsh. On commencement of play, with twenty-two minutes gone, Annie Lynn delivered to Roisin McCormick, running at pace but Philip McDonald was quick to declare a foul as McCormick went to ground. The resulting free bounced off the upright into an empty square and cleared by an advancing Swatragh defence.
With twenty-nine minutes on the corner scoreboard, Katie McKillop was kicking up her heels on a short solo run and made enough space to deliver to an advancing Roisin McCormick, who would see the sliotar safely over Swatragh’s bar.
Just at the announcement for three minutes of extra time, Swatragh pushed forward and Emma Quinn found Eimear Murray, but the sliotar drifted wide past the upright. Loughgiel’s goalkeeper, Eimear Boyle wasted no time in sending the sliotar back out and a busy McCormick would offload that sliotar to Loughgiel’s full forward Caitrin Dobbin. Dobbin had only one vision and that played out as the Davitt’s net flexed with Loughgiel’s second goal. McDonald glanced at his wrist watch and brought the first half to an end, scores on the board were now Swatragh 0-1 Loughgiel 2-03.
Swatragh’s Emma Quinn inched the Davitt’s cause up a point within the opening two minutes of the second half but the Shamrock’s would reply with three points on the trot from McCormick, Dobbin and McKillop. Dobbin’s point stemmed from a move worked deep from the half back line as Emma McFadden found the industrious Amy Boyle, offloading to Dobbin with five gone on the clock. Boyle, although not finding the uprights today, was the measure of almost every ruck as the ground ball came out in her hand and formed the basis of many threatening moves and scores.
With ten minutes gone into the second half, Lucia McNaughton delivered towards right of the Swatragh goal and found Caitrin Dobbin weaving and although blocked on her first attempt to progress closer to McQuillan’s net, the dogged Shamrock sensed the net was close and a simple and accurate pull seen the sliotar directed to the back of Swatragh’s net for Dobbin’s second goal.
With three goals and six points, Loughgiel were in no position to feel that they were over the line. Swatragh were always a physical threat and a defensive error by Loughgiel could have buoyed up Davitt’s hope of a comeback, but today Loughgiel’s half and full back line were impenetrable. Swatragh managed to flight three points over the remaining twenty minutes from McCullagh, Quinn and Grainne McAtamney but unmatched by Loughgiel’s additional ten points.
With three minutes of extra time played out, McDonald blew for full time and made way for Shamrock supporters to flood the pitch with excitement. History was made today, Loughgiel Shamrocks added their name onto the cup for ‘three in a row’ played in all red jerseys, an historical first in itself.
Although the scoreboard announced that Loughgiel had a decisive win, in truth, they had to work for every point and deliver on every opportunity as the Derry Champions were ready to punish, given a glimpse of the scoring zone. Loughgiel will now move beyond the Ulster campaign and look forward to an All-Ireland semi-final with full details TBD.
Swatragh starting panel and scorers
Niamh McQuillan, Ellie McCartney, Niamh Quinn, Cliodhna Turner (c), Noeleen Neely, Grainne McAtamney (0-01), Chloe Bradley, Bronagh McCullagh, Dervla O’Kane, Emma Quinn (0-02), Mairead McNicholl, Aoibheann Mullan (0-01), Shauna Quinn, Marie Theres McCullagh (0-01), Eimear Murray
Loughgiel starting panel and scorers
Eimear Boyle, Clare McKillop, Katie Lynn, Finvola McVeigh, Megan McGarry, Emma McFadden, Shauna Doran, Amy Boyle, Ciara Laverty, Christine McCloskey (c) (0-01), Lucia McNaughton (0-03, 1f), Annie Lynn (1-01), Katie McKillop, Roisin McCormick (0-07, 2f), Caitrin Dobbin (2-02), Katie McKillop (0-02)
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