Antrim Hurling League Division 1
St John’s 1-17 Rossa 0-15
Venue: Corrigan Park
The Antrim Division 1 League served up a classic West Belfast derby on Sunday as St. John’s hosted their arch-rivals, O’Donovan Rossa. Marking the first game back at Corrigan Park since recent pitch repairs, the fresh turf played host to a fiercely contested, hard-hitting encounter where absolutely no quarter was asked or given.
St. John’s capitalized on a stiff breeze in the opening period to build a six point lead, and despite a valiant second-half fightback from Rossa, which saw them close the gap to the minimum at one stage, a dramatic injury-time goal from Conor Johnston ultimately sealed the win for the home side.
St. John’s came out of the blocks flying. Seconds after the throw-in, Caoimhin Hanna split the posts to open the scoring, quickly followed by a point from their ever reliable free taker Oisín MacManus
Rossa settled into the game shortly after, with midfielder Liam McEnhill registering their first score. Moments later, after a driving break involving McEnhill and Corey Walsh scooped the ball over the bar to keep the visitors right in the mix.
However, St. John’s soon took control of the half. MacManus kept the scoreboard ticking over, while McEnhill continued a strong individual performance with his second point of the day. Diarmaid Rogan landed a superb long-range effort for Rossa on the 12-minute mark, but St. John’s responded emphatically. After MacManus converted a 50-meter free, the home side executed the move of the half: Goalkeeper Domhnall Nugent claimed a great catch and initiated a full-length of the field passing move that ended with Hanna grabbing his second point to make it 0-8 to 0-3.
Rossa fought back through the stick of Deaglan Murphy , who landed a free on 17 minutes, and a massive 60-metre point from the left flank by Aidan Orchin before Murphy added another 40-meter free shortly after.
Despite Rossa’s efforts, St. John’s finished the half incredibly strong. Ruairi Galbraith hit two beautiful scores, including a fine effort from the right corner, before Michael Bradley extended the lead from the left side. Deaglan Murphy and Oisín MacManus traded late frees, sending St. John’s into the dressing room with a comfortable six-point cushion.
Half-Time Score: St. John’s 0-13 – 0-07 Rossa
With the breeze now at their backs, Rossa emerged for the second half with renewed intensity. Gerard Walsh struck early with a long-range free, but St. John’s immediately answered through a great dead ball strike of their own from McManus and a towering point from midfielder Aaron Bradley .
Refusing to back down, Diarmaid Rogan provided a massive spark for Rossa. He slotted a point from the right wing, cleanly won the resulting puck-out, and fired over again in quick succession to narrow the deficit.
As the half wore on, the tension in Corrigan Park was palpable. A long free from deep inside St. John’s territory by McManus set up another score for the home side, but Rossa’s Deaglan Murphy began to punish St. John’s indiscretions as he nailed three crucial frees—two consecutively, and another on the 22-minute mark—to drag Rossa right back into the contest, reducing the gap to just two points.
Needing a response, Oisín McManus stepped up for St. John’s, cutting sharply to his left into space and floating over a vital point to make it 0-17 to 0-15.
Rossa threw everything forward in the dying minutes and managed to claw the gap back to a single, precarious point. But as the clock ticked into the second minute of injury time, St. John’s delivered the final, fatal blow when Conor Johnston carved through the Rossa defense and, while falling forward, managed to brilliantly bat the ball into the back of the net.
The injury-time goal proved to be the ultimate decider, quelling the Rossa comeback and ensuring the bragging rights—and the league points—remained at Corrigan Park.
St. John’s – 1 Domhnall Nugent, 2 Michael Darragh, 3 Cónall Morgan, 4 Lorcan McCallin, 5 James Wilson, 6 Enda McGurk, 7 Ronan Donnelly, 8 Caoimhin Hanna, 9 Aaron Bradley, 10 Shea Shannon, 11 Conor Johnston, 12 Michael Bradley, 13 Dónall Carson, 14 Oisin MacManus, and 15 Ruairi Galbraith.
Rossa – 1 Donal Armstrong, 2 Niall Crossan, 3 Ciarán Orchin, 4 Conor Boyle, 5 Declan McCartney, 6 Gerard Walsh, 7 Jack O’Loughlin, 8 Aidan Orchin, 9 Luca McCusker, 10 Liam McEnhill, 11 Eoin Trainor, 12 Diarmaid Rogan, 13 Corey Walsh, 14 Dáire Murphy, and 15 Deaglan Murphy.
Referee – Tarlach Conway
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