Antrim Camogie Senior Championship Ahoghill 0-06 Loughgiel 8-25
Match report and photos from Michael Corcoran in St. Mary’s Park, Ahoghill
Tonight’s opening senior championship game wasn’t an electrifying encounter, so no shocks were delivered in the outcome. Loughgiel’s strength across the field earned them a big score and made Ahoghill work hard for their well earned points. This was a clean and well spirited game, with only eight frees across the sixty minutes and most of those were for throw balls or holding the sliotar too long.
Tonight’s referee, Paul O’Neill, sporting the new Antrim Camogie championship attire, rolled in the sliotar at 7:30pm with a chilling breeze running the width of the higher pitch up at the clubhouse. The Shamrock’s crafted ten points on the board to Ahoghill’s two at almost a point every two minutes before Marie Laverty finished off a sequence of play stemming from an active Mary McKillen for the first green flag of the evening with twenty two minutes on the clock.
Ahoghill would post a point in response, making that three from Caitrina Graham, but an industrious Roísín McCormick would drop in a ball to the back of Ahoghill’s net and that wouldn’t be the last of the night from McCormick either. A minute later, Marie Laverty struck at Ahoghill’s goals again, from an accurate pass from sister Orlagh and the Shamrock’s were now in a comfort zone with three goals and eleven points.
As the first half drew to a close, Ahoghill managed to float three points over Loughgiel’s bar, two from play from Katie McCloskey and Caitrina Graham and a free from Graham for a ‘too long’ infringement. Loughgiel’s reply was a further two points from a determined McCormick as she weaved around the edge of the box looking for a goal run but settled for her point and a long haul point from Mary McKillen that split the uprights.
Ahoghill’s total at the short whistle would stand at six points for the remainder of the second half, as the Shamrocks took control of the game, almost doubling their points and running up another five goals with three of those coming from a rampant McCormick. McCormick almost made it four in the second half only for a brave short range save by Ahoghill’s keeper, Aine Graham, before Emma McFadden followed through with the tidy up as the evening light faded early due to a heavy clouded sky.
Loughgiel’s other goal came from Amy Boyle, as she broke through into open space behind the goalkeeper after a delicate pass from Mary McKillen, striking from short range into an open net and Boyle had her championship goal to sit alongside her two points from play.
It was a tough opening game for St. Mary’s but very much a part of the learning journey as they step into the senior ranks. Loughgiel’s other challengers lie in wait, down the road and the Shamrocks will be cautious to make sure it doesn’t go from a cruising to a bruising. Exciting camogie lies ahead.
Scorers for Ahoghill
Caitrina Graham 0-5 (3f, 1×45), Katie McCloskey 0-01
Scorers for Loughgiel
Lucia McNaughton 0-01, Emma McFadden 1-01, Amy Boyle 1-01, Katie McKillop 0-05 (1×45), Roísín McCormick 4-07 (1f, 2 x 45), Kirsty McKendry 0-01, Marie Laverty 2-03, Mary McKillen 0-04, Orlagh Laverty 0-01
You can see more photos from Tuesday’s game by clicking on this link…
https://myalbum.com/album/yPr8V44gUFFCvd/?invite=af42a0cb-5f51-4bf5-9e63-3d13f4ee8038