Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship – Group 1
Rossa 1-18 Cushendall 2-17
Saturday 9 August
Brendan McTaggart reports from Rossa Park, Belfast
Cushendall kicked off the defence of the Volunteer Cup with a two point win over Rossa on the Shaw’s Road, Belfast on Saturday afternoon. Goals in either half from Neil McManus paved the road to their victory but this was a titanic tussle between two sides who yielded little.
With the wind blowing towards one corner of Rossa Park, it felt like this would be a game of two halves and while on paper that’s how it transpired, it looked like this had a draw written all over it at the end of the hour.
The Ruairi’s had overturned a five point half time deficit with 10 minutes of the contest remaining but couldn’t shake off the Rossa challenge. Three times they took the lead in the time that remained, it turned out to be third time lucky for the champions with Fiontan Bradley’s second point of the contest the game sealing score.
McManus would finish top of the scoring charts with six points of his 2-8 coming from placed ball while Joseph McLaughlin and Bradley shared four points evenly during the hour. Defensively, Eoghan Campbell excelled in the first half in a free role while he was pivotal in the Ruairi’s turning the screw in the second half. Ryan McCambridge and Paddy Burke also shone for the ‘Dall in defence while Eoin Gillan’s puck outs in the second half were landing deep in the heart of the Rossa defence, causing plenty of problems for the home side.
Rossa will look at the five minutes before half time where they went from Eoin Trainor scoring a goal with a tidy finish and being sent off with the next attack for a second yellow card. Six points was the difference at the time in their favour and with the elements against them in the second half, it was going to take a gargantuan effort to get anything out of the game. But my how they came close.
Trainor would finish with 1-1 while Tiernan Murphy knocked over three points in a super game in the middle third. His brother Deaglan was top of the scoring charts for Rossa with seven of his eight points coming from frees. Three of those coming in the second half and while he will be disappointed with the one he missed at the death when his side trailed by just one point, all of Murphy’s frees came from distance and not one of them would have been classed as a ‘gimme’.
Defensively, the half back line of Aodhan O’Brien, Gerard Walsh and Stephen Beatty were excellent. O’Brien having to come off as the game entered the final 10 minutes proved to be a massive blow while Beatty’s ingenuity to clear the sliotar from crossing the line after a brilliant piece of skill from McManus felt like a match defining moment.
The home side got out of the blocks quickest and had four points on the score board inside the opening eight minutes. Points from Deaglan Murphy (two frees), Trainor, O’Brien and Tiernan Murphy while Ryan McCambridge provided the solitary response for the Ruairi’s.
Cushendall began to get to grips with the challenge being posed and the elements to hit back to back points through Joseph McLaughlin and McManus (free) before the first goal of the game came in the 10th minute. Joe McNaughton finding Paddy Burke in space, Burke drilled the sliotar low only for Armstrong to get his hurl out to keep it from crossing the line, McManus was first to the rebound however and pulled first day to the back of the net.
The Rossa response was excellent however. They restricted Cushendall to just one further point in the next 10 minutes while they hit points from Declan McCartney, Deaglan Murphy (free), O’Brien and Walsh to leave two between the sides. O’Brien’s second of the match coming from distance while Walsh’s move to the edge of the Cushendall square was proving to be a masterstroke by the Rossa management.
McManus’ second free of the half reduced the deficit to the minimum before Rossa hit another purple patch. Points from Seaghan Shannon and Tiernan Murphy were followed by Trainor’s major in the last minute of the 30. Declan McCartney delivering the sliotar Crossfield towards Tiernan Murphy, he broke the sliotar to the ground where Trainor gathered and set for goal. He made no mistake to put six between the sides going into first half injury time.
The Rossa joy was short-lived however with Trainor seeing red after a second yellow card for a challenge on Austin Birt.
Deaglan Murphy put seven between the sides before a brace of points from McManus (free) and a trademark point from Paddy Burke left the half time score 1-12 to 1-7 in Rossa’s favour.
Half time came at the best possible time for the home side and allowed them to reorganise. The Ruairi’s started superbly however with Martin Burke and McManus (free) halving the deficit in the opening two minutes.
Cushendall’s second goal came in the fifth minute of the second half and owed much to the brilliance and experience of McManus. Paddy Burke delivered a crossfield ball where McManus found a yard of space. He had just nudged Joseph Mulholland to get the yard of space, catching the sliotar he turned and rifled the sliotar to the top corner, giving Armstrong no chance between the sticks.
Walsh and McManus swapped scores, both from ridiculous angles before Rossa began to find their footing in the half. Points from the Murphy brothers, one for Tiernan and two from Deaglan were answered to by a point from Joe McNaughton to leave the home side two points ahead going into the final quarter.
The Ruairi’s finished the contest in the ascendancy however and while Rossa were never far away, Cushendall always managed to edge in the lead.
Points from substitute Padraig McKillop, a McManus free and Fiontan Bradley put the Ruairi’s ahead for the first time since McManus’ major in the 10th minute. Murphy pointed a free from distance either side of McManus’ sixth white flag from a placed ball and only for a piece of brilliance from Stephen Beatty, the Cushendall man would have had a hat-trick.
Thomas McLaughlin sending the sliothar into the heart of the Rossa defence and McManus broke it into his path. He took aim for goal one handed, looking to lob Armstrong but Beatty chased back to deny him with a flick of his hurl.
With two minutes remaining, Murphy’s seventh free of the evening restored parity once again but it was Cushendall who finished on top. Brilliant points from McManus and Bradley ensured the Ruairi’s got off to a winning start.
TEAMS
ROSSA: Donal Armstrong; Ciaran Orchin, Joseph Mulholland, Niall Crossan; Gerard Walsh, Aodhan O’Brien, Stephen Beatty; Seaghan Shannon, Deaglan Murphy; Daire Murphy, Declan McCartney, Oisin McVicker; Tiernan Murphy, Eoin Trainor, Dominic McEnhill
Subs: Corey Walsh for S Shannon (37); Liam McEnhill for O McVicker (42); Diarmuid Rogan for A O’Brien (51); Eoghan McMenamin for T Murphy (58)
Scorers: Deaglan Murphy 0-8 (7fs); E Trainor 1-1; T Murphy 0-3; G Walsh 0-2; A O’Brien 0-2; S Shannon 0-1; D McCartney 0-1
CUSHENDALL: Eoin Gillan; Austin Birt, Paddy Burke, Martin Burke; Ronan McAteer, Eoghan Campbell, Ryan McCambridge; Scott Walsh, Joe McNaughton; Sean McAfee, Neil McManus, Thomas McLaughlin; Fiontan Bradley, Ed McQuillan, Joseph McLaughlin
Subs: Charlie McAuley for J McNaughton (43); Padraig McKillop for A Birt (45)
Scorers: N McManus 2-8 (6fs); J McLaughlin 0-2; F Bradley 0-2; P Burke 0-1; M Burke 0-1; R McCambridge 0-1; J McNaughton 0-1; P McKillop 0-1
REFEREE: Colm McDonald (Naomh Gall)
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