Antrim Football League – Division 1

Kickhams 4-22 to Aldergrove 0-12

Report by Tony McCollum – Photos by John Curly McIlwaine

In a game where both teams were short a few regulars because of holidays and injuries a strong second half saw Kickhams finish their league campaign with a convincing win over Aldergrove in Creggan.

Shea McCann scored a second half hat-trick to sink the Aldergrove challenge

Ruairi McCann started the scoring with his first point in the second minute followed by a Conor Small two pointer. Aldergrove came back strongly with three points of their own from Eoin Gough, Seamus McGarry and Declan Gough, but further points from Shea McCann, Mathew Rodger’s and Dominic McAteer again gave Kickhams the lead. However Aldergrove came back with well taken points by Conor Browning and full forward Ronan Hanna to stay very much in touch.

  With both teams happy to play open attacking football Kickhams scored three more points from Mathew McCann, Conor Small and Jamie McCann and only one point reply from Seamus McGarry.

On the 24th minute the very influential Conor McCann burst through the middle to score Creggan’s first goal, while Aldergrove’s last score of the half came in the 29th minute, but Kickhams hit a late scoring burst which saw a well taken Anton Martin point and another Mathew Rodgers score to finish the half off with his third point to leave the score at halftime Kickhams 1-12 to Aldergrove 0-08.

The game as a contest was over inside the first 10 minutes of the second half as Jamie McCann hit a two pointer in the second minute and his younger brother Shea scoring two well taken goals in the 34th & 35th minutes. Conor Small got in on the act with his fourth point in the five minutes later but Shea McCann continued his scoring tally with two more points and Rodgers adding another one.  Ronan Hanna of Aldergrove scored his team’s first point of the second half on 44 minutes but Shea McCann wasn’t finished yet and he completed his hat-trick with another top class finish, while Mathew Rodgers, who led the full forward line well throughout the game, kicked his fourth point on the 21st minute. In fairness to Aldergrove they kept battling away and got two more points from Oisin Graham and Declan Gough,  but again it was Kickhams who finished the scoring with points apiece from Ruairi and Dominic McAteer to leave the final score.

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