Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship Round 3
Ballycastle 1-20 St Enda’s 1-15
Ballycastle held off a late challenge from St Enda’s in Saturday evening’s SHC round 3 game at Pairc MacUílin to secure their first win of the campaign, a win that earns them a quarter final place against either Cushendall or Loughgiel who play later today in Cushendall. The Town played with a strong diagonal wind in their favour in the first half and were ten points up when they lost a player to a red card on 23 minutes (two yellows) and when the visitors closed to seven by the break we wondered if they could hold on. However a good start to the second half which saw them add a point through man of the match Seamus McAuley and a goal by corner forward Dairmaid McShane set them up for the win. St Enda’s did begin to close in the final quarter but the home side were able to keep the gap around the eight point mark, thanks to some heroics by their full back line and goalkeeper Ryan McMullan in particular, but when the Glengormley side grabbed a goal and a point in injury time, to reduce the gap to four, there were a lot of anxious Town fans staring at their watches. Those anxieties were relieved when substitute Lorcan Donnelly sent over a late point to send his team through to the quarter finals.
With the wind behind them in the first half Ballycastle dominated the early stages and full forward Neal McAuley put them ahead in the opening minute, but St Enda’s responded right away as Killian Jennings sent over the equaliser. Corner back Odhran Kearney came up to restore the Ballycastle before Seamus McAuley added the first of his ten points, this one from a free. When Niall O’Connor pulled one back for the visitors with a great strike from distance it looked like St Enda’s would match the home side, despite the strong wind, but once but two more from Seamus McAuley got Ballycastle going and they hit the next nine without reply, six of them from McAuley and one each from Conor Boyd, Conor Donnelly and Dairmaid McShane. With the gap out to ten thing looked really good for the Town, but when they lost a player through a second yellow card it unsettled them for a while and St Enda’s finished the half strong with two points from Joe Maskey and one from Niall O’Connor to cut the gap back to seven by half time.
The third quarter was to prove vital and the good start which brought them the McAuley point and the McShane goal gave them a great lift. St Enda’s were piling on the pressure but the home defence were solid. Seamus McAuley kept easing the pressure and twice hit over long range points against the wind to match two by Joe Maskey at the other end, Three-in-a-row from Jennings, Conlon and Maksey kept the visitors very much in contention, but two great points from play inside a minute by Conor Bradley pushed the home side nine clear.
When substitute Conor Donnelly pointed for St Enda’s with four minutes left of normal time the gap was down to eight but when Ruairi Donaghy got in for a goal as the game went into injury time the stress levels began to rise among the home fans. When Brendan Cormican added a point to leave just four between the teams the anxiety levels rose again, bearing in mind St Enda’s only needed a draw to advance, but the Ballycastle defence held out and when last substitute Ciaran Clare landed a late point the game was safe.
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