Antrim 2-15 Derry 2-09 

Match report and photos from Antrim Camogie PRO, Michael Corcoran in Ahoghill 

The photo album can be found at the bottom of the report.

Antrim have added another piece of valuable silverware to the County cabinet, when they beat Derry in Sunday’s Ulster final. The Counties senior panel won the Very Div 1B National League on Saturday and no doubt fueled the Minor panel into pulling off something special. 

Spectators were treated to a tough game, where referee, Philip McDonald, allowed camogie to flow. Despite there being a lot at stake for either team, there were only six fouls in the first half and ten in the second considering the intensity of the match, this was a free-flowing final. 

Antrim took the game to Derry within seconds as the dynamic combination of Cara Delaney and Eva McNeill pushed into Derry’s scoring territory but after drifting the sliotar wide, McNeill would loop back around to secure the first point for Antrim from a 45. 

Antrim’s early tenacity would prevail as Eimear McCaughan drilled the sliotar towards Derry’s goalkeeper, Aoife McAteer; pulling off one of many excellent saves to keep Derry alive in the game. Antrim’s McNeill though would tidy that up with a point over the bar and Antrim were laying down a marker within three minutes of the start. 

Derry’s response was two points from Aoibh Mulholland and Mary Thérese McCullagh, though Mulholland’s point was a sign of things to come, as Antrim’s short puck outs would haunt the defence in the early stages of the game. 

A buoyant Antrim would push up even harder and just over the ten-minute mark, Aimee Ferris raised the green flag at the Slemish end, but celebrations were short lived as another short puck out at the Antrim end was turned over for a goal and scores stood level at 1-02 apiece. 

Tensions were bubbling over with an off the ball encounter between Derry’s Paige Bell and Antrim’s Eva McNeill but an entry in McDonald’s book would calm matters down and McNeill would go on to point two out of Antrim’s next three points, one of those screaming in from a tight angle under the clubhouse side. 

Twenty minutes in and Derry had now found themselves deep in Antrim’s territory and a feisty scrum on the edge of the box ended in Derry’s favour as Emma Quinn settled for the point, but the Saffron’s Eva McNeill would neutralise that with another fine point from a turned over ball. 

The large scoreboard announced twenty six minutes gone and scores Antrim 1-06 Derry 1-04 but in the remaining four minutes plus extra time, Derry rolled up another three points, one from Mary Thérese McCullagh and two from a very dynamic Aoibh Mulholland, her first from a stealthy tackle to gain possession and her second coming from a rebound off Antrim’s bar. As McDonald brought the first half to a close, Derry walked in one point the better, Antrim 1-06 Derry 1-07. 

The second half started with a bang as Antrim’s pacey runner Amy McAlister was prevented from making a run on goal and McDonald called for a penalty. Despite picking her spot as low into the left-hand corner, Antrim’s markswoman, Eva McNeill couldn’t have struck a better penalty as it bounced up awkwardly just short of the line but miraculously Derry’s Aoife McAteer, later Player of the Match, stretched and pulled off the save to keep Derry well in the game. We should point out though that Antrim’s goalkeeper pulled off nothing short of a miraculous save in the first half as she blocked an incoming sliotar at point blank range, see one of our album photos to appreciate this. 

That save was converted into a forty-five and McNeill cruised that effortlessly over the bar just before Antrim’s Amy McAlister would eventually have her goal as Eobha McAlister caught the puck out and sent it accurately into Amy McAlister. 

A Casey Crawford – Aimee Ferris – Eva McNeill combination of passes would allow McNeill to notch the Saffron’s score up by another point, though Derry’s Emma Quinn would steady the cause with a reconciliatory point after Antrim robustly defended a near goal line attack. 

As the scoreboard’s clock struck twenty minutes into the second half, Antrim would enter a purple patch and undoubtedly tipped the game beyond Derry’s grasp as five points bombarded the catch net , though a super point from Derry’s Cait Conway and a late goal from a free catch by Emma Quinn wasn’t enough to close the gap as Antrim converted the last two frees into solid points from Eva McNeill and Eobha McAlister. 

As McDonald brought the game to a finish, the final score stood Antrim 2-15 Derry 2-09. A remarkable game of topflight minor camogie, full of intensity, skillful hooking and brave blocking that was a showcase for Ulster camogie. 

Antrim starters and scorers 

Orlaith Johnston, Rhianna Black, Eva Lee, Leona Gillan, Maeve Devlin, Casey Crawford, Laura Black, Eobha McAlister 0-03 (1f), Aimee Ferris 1-01, Cara Delaney, Eva McNeill 0-08 (1f), Órlaith Gould, Amy McAlister 1-01, Mary McArthur, Eimear McCaughan 0-01 

Aoife Fitzsimons 0-01 

Derry starters and scorers 

Aoife McAteer, Ellie McCartney, Grace Draine, Lucy McKaigue, Ellie Griffen, Paige Bell, Eimhear Conway, Cait Conway 0-01 (1f), Aoife McWilliams, Mary Thérese McCullagh 0-02, Connie McBride, Aoibh Mulholland 0-03, Leah Cassidy 1-00, Jemma Shivers 0-01 (1f), Emma Quinn 1-02 

Photos from Sunday’s Minor final can be found in our album here… 

https://myalbum.com/album/mYNqtXR7WpxF4Z/?invite=eaf4d9ae-7a6b-4edf-8c1a-46edd813c765