Main pic – Man of the match James McNaughton celebrates after scoring the first of Antrim’s four goals

Allianz Hurling League Division 1B 

Antrim 4-22 Laois 0-21

Antrim hurlers are almost sure of maintaining their Division 1B status for next season after beating Laois convincingly in their last league game of the season on Sunday at Corrigan Park. Leading by 2-15 to 0-08 at half time it was clear that if the Saffrons could keep out the goals in the second half they were would be pretty sure of victory, and while the Leinster men did show a marked improvement in the second half, they could make no inroads into Antrim’s lead and the thirteen points that separated the sides at the interval, was still there when match referee Michael Kennedy sounded the full time whistle. It has to be said that much of credit for that goes to the Saffrons goalkeeper Ryan Elliott who made a series of excellent saves throughout the game, with a couple of them during the final quarter right out of the top drawer.

Elliott’s performance had him in contention for the man of the match award, but that honour has to go to full forward James McNaughton who scored 2-11 over the seventy minutes, both goals taken expertly from play in a great all round display.

The win does not guarantee Division 1 safety as both Laois and Carlow have two games left to play. The O’Moore county have a home fixture against Carlow next week and if they were to win that they would still be in contention if they also beat Dublin the following week, a game that is also in O’Moore Park.

However a defeat in Sunday’s game would have left Antrim with no chance of survival and so it was vital that they came through. There were two very nerve-wracking moments for the Saffron fans in the opening minutes when Laois corner forward Tomás Keyes twice came within inches of an early goal, the first one hitting the side netting and the other fizzing past the far post, both of them from a narrow angle.

Gerard Walsh had given Antrim and early lead and when James McNaughton added two more and Conor Johnston one, daylight began to appear. The first goal came on 12 minutes when James McNaughton cut through the middle and just when it appeared he was about to lay off a pass, he produced a burst of speed that took him clear of is marker before firing the ball past Cathal Dunne in the Laois goals.

The home side kept the scoreboard ticking over and the gap widened before goal number two arrived, centre back Eoghan Campbell breaking forward before finding Conor Johnston in front of goal and the Johnnies sharp-shooter flicked the ball home one handed to the net, and when Ryan McCambridge and debutant Cormac McKeown added points the gap was out to 2-25 to 0-08 at the interval.

Keeping the goals out in the second half was undoubtedly the Saffrons aim and though they were not as dominant as they had been in the first 35 minutes they were still in control. Of course they did have Ryan Elliott to thank for that on more than one occasion and as the game entered the final quarter the play became a little scrappy.

Antrim had a good few chances to add to their own goal tally but good moves just kept breaking down at the last minute. However their persistence paid off eventually and James McNaughton grabbed his second with a finish as stylish as the first and Keelan Molloy put the icing on the cake with a sweet finish to wrap it all up.

That is league season wrapped up for Saffrons but they will have an anxious wait over the next two weeks to see if they have done enough to survive in 1B for next season.

Antrim scorers: J McNaughton 2-11 (0-9f), C Johnston 1-2, G Walsh 0-3, K Molloy 1-1, R McCambridge 0-2, C McKeown 0-1, J Maskey 0-1, E Campbell 0-1

Laois scores: A Dunphy 0-9 (0-5f, 0-2 65s),  P Purcell 0-2, P Delaney 0-2 (2f), C Dwyer 0-1, F C Fennell 0-1, M Keyes 0-1, D Dooley 0-1, M Keyes 0-1, M Dowling 0-1, C Byrne 0-1, J Lennon 0-1

ANTRIM: Ryan Elliott; Eoin McFerran, Paddy Burke, Stephen Rooney; Joe Maskey (0-01), Eoghan Campbell (0-01), Conor Boyd; Conall Bohill, Gerard Walsh (0-03); Ryan McCambridge (0-02), Keelan Molloy (1-01), Nigel Elliott; Cormac McKeown (0-01), James McNaughtonn (2-11, 0-09 frees), Conor Johnston (1-02).

Subs: Scott Walsh for R McCambridge (50), Seaan Elliott for G Walsh (55), Eoin O’Neill for C McKeown (55), Fred McCurry for N Elliott (70), Aodhán McGarry for C Johnston (70).

LAOIS: Cathal Dunne; Padraic Dunne, Lee Cleere, Padraig Delaney (0-02, 2f); Fiachra C Fennell (0-01), Donnchadh Hartnett, Jordan Walshe; Aidan Corby, David Dooley (0-01); Aaron Dunphy 90-09, 5f, 2 65s), Cha Dwyer (0-01), Willie Dunphy; Jer Quinlan (0-01), Paddy Purcell (0-02) Tomás Keyes (0-01). 

Subs: John Lennon (0-01) for A Corby (29), Cormac Byrne (0-01) for C Dwyer (33), Mark Dowling (0-01) for P Purcell (50), James Duggan for W Dunphy (57), Cody Comerford for J Walshe (69).

REFEREE: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)

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