Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship Semi Finals
Cushendall v St John’s
Saturday 4 October
Referee: Mark O’Neill
Throw in: 4pm
Venue: Páirc Pearse, Dunloy
Dunloy v Loughgiel
Sunday 5 October
Referee: Kevin Parke
Throw in: 3:30pm
Venue: Páirc Naomh Mhuire, Cushendall
Brendan McTaggart looks ahead to the weekends semi finals as the Volunteer Cup reaches the last four….
And then there were four. The race for the Volunteer Cup reaches the semi final stages and for me, the best weekend in the year. You can almost guarantee the drama in one or both matches and this weekend could be no different.
That being said, there’s a distinct feel of déjà vu with the pairings the exact same as 12 months ago and the exact same venues…. Much to the disappointment of those from the Whiterock Road, more on that in a bit.
Cushendall play St John’s in a semi final for what feels like the 15th year in a row, the Johnnies surely questioning the laws of averages at this stage and thinking they are due a win while Dunloy take on Loughgiel. Should be a quiet enough affair, right? Tongue firmly in cheek.
So, after the calls for a semi final to be played in the Big Smoke, they have taken it to God’s Country. Sorry, I couldn’t resist that one. But just like the 2024 championship, Cushendall and St John’s at Pearse Park, Dunloy. An excellent venue, just not in the City. In a perfect world, this match would be played in a Belfast venue, I’d agree with that. But, realistically and I’m thinking more logistically, could one of the City clubs hold the crowd expected? Situations like this is just another reason why we are still frustrated at the lack of progress with the Casement Park development, or lack off.
On the game itself, both sides will feel they have a bit to prove to themselves. St John’s, somehow, got past Rossa in a quarter final where they looked for all the world to be bowing out of the championship. That is off course until Mick Bradley had his say on the game. They know they’ll need to improve if they are to finally break their semi final hoodoo. But, there is room for improvement and they showed in the dying moments on the Hightown Road two weeks ago that they have the stomach for the fight.
Cushendall might have made it straight to the semi finals by winning their group but a bit like St John’s against Rossa, how the Ruairi Og’s managed to defeat Loughgiel still feels a bit crazy. I’m not sure whether a four-week break was welcomed by Brian Delargy and his side. Four weeks to think on a game like that can be a bad thing, sometimes you want to get out and put manners into a team, get it out of your system, as soon as possible. That being said, four weeks can clear up injuries and niggles, perhaps it’s come at the right time for a few on the Cushendall panel?
I could look through previous semi final meetings between these two and regurgitate the exact same thing. The various scenarios and how it might transpire, the one constant has been a Cushendall win.
How Cushendall deal with the likes of Conor Johnston and Donal Carson, will Peter McCallin line out at centre half back again? Will Michail Dudley pair with Sean Wilson in midfield? On paper, it’s the ideal duo. Work rate, guile, speed and power. Ciaran Johnston back in defence and he had an excellent game against Rossa. I managed to get a video of the build up to their winning score and Ciaran was pivotal to that move. He made the initial line break before orchestrating his team mates to spread the sliotar out wide where Ryan McNulty did the rest.
Cushendall will be looking for a more cohesive performance than that from four weeks ago. They started well but when Loughgiel took control, they struggled to get any joy in the middle third. That being said, Ed McQuillan was excellent that day against the Shamrocks and on another day, Neil McManus would have walked off the pitch with a hat-trick. You’d have to think the talismanic forward won’t be as wasteful again – St John’s should take note and be warned. If there is to be a change in the Ruairi’s line up, I can see Joseph McNaughton starting. He’s a player who has improved immensely over the last 12 months and would certainly bring another facet to the Cushendall attack.
In the other semi final, Loughgiel will be hoping that lightening doesn’t strike twice as they face Dunloy in Cushendall. The Shamrocks came through a quarter final against Ballycastle and while they weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders, Loughgiel did enough. A strong first half performance playing against the wind allowed them to keep the Town at arm’s length and dictate the game on their terms. Ballycastle had chances but Loughgiel always managed to find another score to dampen their spirit.
Their team was disrupted by the suspension of Tiernan Coyle, TC’s suspension remains for the weekend and I’d imagine Ruairi McCormick will line out in the full back line in his absence. ‘Badger’ had been excellent in midfield with Rian McKee and while Darragh Patterson battled, he got little joy against Cushendall. They may look to play Paul Boyle further out the field when they look at their match up’s against Dunloy.
Dunloy are the one side who were delighted to have a break after topping their group. Since defeating St John’s in the last of their group games, the Cuchullains have reached the decider of the big ball. The exact same as two years ago when they paired up against Loughgiel in the semi final, the Shamrocks dethroning the five in a row chasing Dunloy in Ballycastle. The Cuchullains were more like a team of the walking wounded back then with players visibly playing through injury and wary of long seasons running into another. That doesn’t seem to be the case on this occasion.
Playing Keelan Molloy deeper in a play maker roll has been a brilliant call by the Dunloy management. One of Dunloy’s most potent attackers and major threats is now pulling the strings and giving teams something else to think about at the other end of the pitch while Seaan Elliott seems to have found another gear both with a hurl and a size five ball this year. Taking the accolade of the best dual player in the county – don’t even come at me over that one, it’s a no brainer of a statement.
Against St John’s, Eoin O’Neill was outstanding while Nigel Elliott, Oran Quinn and Phelim Duffin caught the eye. The first half saw Dunloy and Seaan Elliott cut through the Johnnies defence at will and if Loughgiel try to go toe to toe with the Cuchullains, it will make for epic viewing. I can’t see that happening. Loughgiel will look to outwork Dunloy in the middle third and look to the speed of Boyle and James McNaughton, the trickery of Ronan Fitzgerald and guile of Roan McGarry to get the scores.
Prediction time….
For the record, I got two from two on my predictions for the quarter final. Cushendall and Dunloy will start the weekend as favourites and it’s hard to look beyond that. St John’s will need everything to go their way and Cushendall to have another off day to get anything from that game and while some will look at Dunloy’s dual exertions, the momentum of winning big games and with the vast majority of the players involved with both, they will be in a good place right now. Loughgiel will want to right their wrongs from 12 months ago but I see Dunloy getting over the line and making it another Ruairi Og and Cuchullains final.
