Antrim Camogie Senior Division 1a Tuesday 8th July 2025

Loughgiel 4-11 v Dunloy 3-09

Match report and photos from Michael Corcoran in Fr. Healy Park, Loughgiel

On a drizzling murky evening unbecoming of a summer’s eve, Loughgiel and Dunloy squared up in their penultimate league encounters, with Dunloy in with a chance to retain their league cup if the stats would hold true for them. Unfortunately a win for Cushendall against Ballycastle and a loss at the hands of Loughgiel would close the door for the Cuchullians, despite another game to play and the league baton now passes across to Cushendall.

Tonight’s game drummed up goals and lots of points worked up from creating space and chances. Loughgiel’s Orlagh Laverty picked up tonight’s form where she left off, running, scoring and creating scoring chances. Laverty would strike with the first goal at the road end after twenty minutes and spectators could have been forgiven to think the game was sliding away from Dunloy as the Shamrocks started to run up the points, but a goal three minutes later from Eobha McAllister amidst a flurry of close quartered action brought the game back to six the difference in favour of Loughgiel.

Another Cuchullian goal, this time from Lisa McConville, again at close quarters from a Mary McArthur lob that was brought down initially safely by Loughgiel’s goalkeeper, Emma McAllister, had Dunloy trailing by only four points at the half time whistle, Loughgiel 1:10 Dunloy 2:03 and still everything to play for at the restart.

Dunloy took the restart by the horns and two fine points from Eobha McAllister closed the gap to just two before Loughgiel’s Marie Laverty found Katie McKillop and a well placed sliotar to the left side of Clodagh O’Kane after seven minutes, took Loughgiel another goal forward. It wasn’t too long before a third Shamrock goal would appear, as Emma McFadden launched a long ball, gained as the spoils of a tackle, into the half forward area and a running substitute, Carlina Sullivan found the back of Dunloy’s net.

The Shamrocks were on the verge of drifting well ahead until Dunloy struck green again with their substitute, Sarah Louise Kearns, finding a way to slip the sliotar past an advancing Loughgiel goalkeeper and now with only two points in the game with nine minutes of normal play, scores stood at Loughgiel 3-10 Dunloy 3-08.

Both Loughgiel and Dunloy found themselves swapping points, Dunloy’s coming from a well worked move up the field, eventually finding the secure hand and stick of Eobha McAllister and Loughgiel’s Orlagh Laverty would finish tonight’s game with a point and a goal that stemmed from a McFadden catch from a Dunloy puck out, released to find Laverty on the move for that final score in the game, leaving the scoreboard at Loughgiel 4-11 Dunloy 3-09.

Loughgiel panel and scorers

Emma McAllister, Charlene Campbell, Emma McFadden, Maria Lynn, Ciara Connelly, Louise McKillop, Zoe Cassley, Ciara Laverty, Anna Connelly 0-01, Shanna Deery, Marie Laverty 0-02, Katie McKillop 1-01, Orlagh Laverty 2-04, Kirsty McKendry 0-01, Anna McKillop 0-02, Shauna McKillop, Finvola McVeigh, Sarah Flavin, Therese McKinley, Carlina Sullivan 1-00

Dunloy panel and scorers

Clodagh O’Kane, Kathryn Boyle, Sarah McIlhatton, Carly McNamee, Casey Crawford, Katie Laverty, Eilis Kearns, Eimear McMullan, Micha Cunning, Eobha McAllister 1-06 (1f), Caoimhe Molloy 0-02, Kyra Doherty, Mary McArthur 0-01, Erin McMullan, Lisa McConville 1-00, Kirsty McFerran, Sarah Louise Kearns, Orla McMullan, A McAllister 1-00

You can see more photos from the game by following this link to the album…

https://myalbum.com/album/SPTJGKWrbQFE3R/?invite=89b0c4d1-cb1d-4983-9876-db7509e0b283