Ballycastle weather the storm to secure away victory in Cushendall

Antrim Hurling League Division 1

Ruairí Óg Cushendall 0-10 | Ballycastle McQuillans 1-12

Ballycastle McQuillans produced a dominant opening quarter and a resilient second-half display to claim a hard-fought 1-12 to 0-10 victory over Ruairí Óg Cushendall in the Antrim Hurling League Division 1 clash on Sunday afternoon. Despite a spirited fightback from the home side before the break, a crucial second-half goal from Diarmaid McShane ensured the points went back to Ballycastle.

The visitors flew out of the traps, establishing a commanding 0-07 to 0-00 lead by the end of the opening quarter. Seamus McAuley was in scintillating form early on, hitting the game’s first two points from play within the opening three minutes. Darragh Kelly added a third shortly after, before McAuley took over dead-ball duties with clinical precision, converting three frees to stretch the lead. A well-taken point from play by Conor Donnelly in the 12th minute capped off a flawless opening spell for Ballycastle.

Cushendall, shell-shocked by the early onslaught, finally found their rhythm in the 17th minute when Thomas McLaughlin registered their opening score from play. This sparked a massive momentum shift. The experienced Neil McManus, now operating further out the field, nailed back-to-back frees to cut the deficit, followed by a smart point from play by Fergus McCambridge.

With their tails up, Cushendall continued to press. Fiontan Bradley proved lethal from placed balls, converting two consecutive frees to incredibly close the gap to a single point (0-06 to 0-07) approaching half-time. However, Ballycastle had the final say of the half, with McAuley slotting another free deep into stoppage time to give his side a narrow 0-08 to 0-06 cushion at the interval.

Ballycastle emerged from the dressing room determined to reassert their early dominance, and they did exactly that. Within three minutes of the restart, they hit three rapid-fire points from play courtesy of Diarmaid McShane, Conor Donnelly, and veteran Neal McAuley

Cushendall responded through an Edward McQuillan point, but the decisive moment of the match arrived in the 36th minute when Ballycastle sliced through the Cushendall defence, and Diarmaid McShane made no mistake, firing the ball into the net for the game’s only goal, extending the visitors’ lead significantly.

From there, Ballycastle managed the game intelligently. While Cushendall kept fighting—adding further frees through Bradley (two) and McManus (one)—they struggled to break down a resolute Ballycastle defence to find the goal they desperately needed. A final free from McAuley in the 22nd minute of the half kept the scoreboard ticking over for the visitors, who comfortably saw out the remainder of the game to win by five points.

Match Scorers

Ballycastle McQuillans (1-12)

Seamus McAuley: 0-08 (5 frees)
Diarmaid McShane: 1-01
Conor Donnelly: 0-02
Darragh Kelly: 0-01

Ruairí Óg Cushendall (0-10)

Fiontan Bradley: 0-04 (4 frees)
Neil McManus: 0-03 (3 frees)
Thomas McLaughlin: 0-01
Fergus McCambridge: 0-01
Edward McQuillan: 0-01
Ruairí Óg (Cushendall)
Ruairi Sharpe
Conor McCann
Liam Gillan
Martin Burke
Callagh Mooney
Stephen Walsh
Charlie McAuley
Padraig McKillop
Darach Bradley
Edward McQuillan
Thomas McLaughlin
Fergus McCambridge
Nicholas McLaughlin
Neil McManus
Fiontan Bradley

Mac Uílín CLG (Ballycastle)
Eamonn Elliott
Oran Kearney
Ryan McCook
Conal Colgan
Eoin McAlonan
Conor Boyd
Cathair Donnelly
Reuben McClean
Ardan Kelly
Darragh Kelly
Seamus McAuley
Niall McClean
Conor Donnelly
Neal McAuley
Diarmaid McShane