Antrim Hurling League Division 1
Final Score: Glenariffe Oisíns 3-11 | St. John’s Belfast 1-09
The Oisíns went into this game as outsiders despite the fact St. John’s were short a good few regulars, but they got their new Division One League campaign off to the perfect start with a convincing win. Played in gale force winds at Glenariffe, the home side adapted better to the tough conditions, delivering a dominant second-half display to secure the two league points
St. John’s opened the scoring with a well-taken point from their talisman Oisín McManus, but Glenariffe quickly settled, however, with Alec O’Boyle responding from a free. The Oisíns then struck the first major blow of the game when Seanie McIntosh found the back of the net on four mintues to give them a lead they woud not subsequently relinguish.
St. John’s fought hard to claw their way back and McManus added another free on 12 minutes, and they nearly snatched a goal of their own when Donal Carson drove dangerously in from the corner, but Oisíns goalkeeper Paul McMullan produced a fine save to deny him.
By the 20-minute mark, an Alec O’Boyle free kept the Oisíns ahead (1-02 to 0-02), but St. John’s enjoyed a purple patch leading up to the break. A 50-meter free from McManus and a brilliant point from play by Tomas Adams—who turned his marker sharply in the corner—cut the deficit to one. In the 29th minute, McManus converted again to tie the game at 1-02 to 0-05.
Just when it looked like the sides would go in level, Glenariffe found another gear. Donall Kearney restored the lead with a spectacular point from the sideline and moments later, David Kearney swung over a superb point to give the Oisíns a two-point cushion at the interval.
Half-Time: Glenariffe Oisíns 1-04 | St. John’s 0-05
The second half belonged almost entirely to Glenariffe, and specifically to David Kearney. Just four minutes after the restart, Kearney swept a ground ball, sending it to the net to extend the Oisíns’ lead to five points (1-04 to 0-05)
This sparked a ruthless scoring spree from the home side whihch saw Michael O’Boyle, Calum McIlwaine and Kearney all add scores to stretch their lead even further.
Trailing by eight, St. John’s finally registered their first points of the second half. McManus tapped over two frees by the 12th minute, and substitute Bradley hit a good point from play to reduce the gap to five (2-07 to 0-08).
However, any hopes of a St. John’s revival were quickly extinguished. Donall Kearney stretched the lead back to six, while McManus suffered a rare dip in accuracy, putting two frees wide for the visitors.
From there, David Kearney upped the ante as he slotted two points inside a 30-second window, and followed it up on 22 minutes with a brilliant left-sided score, pushing the scoreboard to a commanding 2-11 to 0-08.
Despite late substitutions from St. John’s (bringing on Caolan Devlin and Finn O’Meara), the Glenariffe attack couldn’t be contained. On 30 minutes, David Kearney turned provider, threading a pass to Orrin O’Connor inside, who confidently grabbed his team’s third goal.
St. John’s managed a late consolation goal and a fine 34th-minute point from James Wilson, but the final whistle confirmed a comprehensive and deserved victory for the home side.
Team Line-ups
Glenariffe Oisíns: 1. Paul McMullan, 2. Odhran Gillan, 3. Colla Ward, 4. Oisín Gillan, 5. Michael Haughey, 6. Daniel Kearney, 7. James Kearney, 8. Calum McIlwaine, 9. Donall Kearney, 10. Michael O’Boyle, 11. David Kearney, 12. Orrin O’Connor, 13. Seanie McIntosh, 14. Oliver Kearney, 15. Alex O’Boyle. Subs used: McKinney.
St John’s: 1. Simon Donnelly, 2. Michael Darragh, 3. Conal Morgan, 4. Lorcan McCallin, 5. Caolan Wilson, 6. Enda McGurk, 7. Ronan Donnelly, 8. Sean Wilson, 9. James Wilson, 10. Aaron Bradley, 11. Oisin McManus, 12. David Robinson, 13. Donal Carson, 17. Michael Bradley, 15. Tomas Adams. Subs used: Caolan Devlin, Finn O’Meara
Referee – Tarlach Conway
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