Senior Hurling League
Division One
Dunloy 2-28 Cushendall 2-11
Wednesday 10 June
Brendan McTaggart reports from Pearse Park, Dunloy
Dunloy overcame the challenge of an understrength Cushendall team on Wednesday evening to move clear at the top of the league. The win was built on a brilliant first half from the Cuchullains that saw them come out of the traps quickest and play at a level that rarely dropped. The intensity and work rate, especially in the forward unit that saw them score a high number of points from turnover ball will have pleased the Dunloy management.
Keelen Molloy shone, especially in the first half, scoring 1-7 overall and top scoring for the home side while Chrissy McMahon and Nigel Elliott shared six points evenly between them. Nicky McKeague took over the free taking responsibilities and had five of his nine points from placed ball in a top performance.
Cushendall won’t have taken too much from this game given how many they were missing. Ryan McCambridge and Conor McCann played well in an overworked defence while Joseph McNaughton and Fiontan Bradley always looked threatening in attack. Bradely would top score for the Ruairi’s with seven points beside his name at the end of the hour while the goals came from Christy and Joseph McNaughton in either half but the second half was procession like. Dunloy had nine different scorers over the hour with 2-23 coming from open play and could still afford to hit double figures in wides such was their overall dominance.
The home side had three points on the board inside the opening three minutes with Molloy (two) and McKeague (free) on target while it was the Ruairi’s who scored the first goal of the game. Christy McNaughton’s long delivery into the danger area wasn’t dealt with by Ryan Elliott in the Dunloy goals and the sliotar went over the line.
The concession of the soft goal did little to deter the Cuchullains however as they scored six unanswered points in the next nine minutes, all from open play with Molloy excelling, McMahon and Ben O’Kane also getting in on the scoring act.
Christy McNaughton would score Cushendall’s first point of the contest in the 14th minute as they looked to finally get to grips with the Dunloy work rate. A trio of Fiontan Bradley points in less than two minutes reduced the Dunloy lead to four points before the home side scored their first goal. It came from a turnover ball deep in the Cushendall half and Molloy punished the error by the Ruairi’s with a tidy finish in the 22nd minute.
That lead was extended to 11 points going into injury time of the first half when the home side found the back of Conor McAllister’s net once more. This time it was Eamon Smyth who was making his way towards the goal before finding Ciaran Elliott on the edge of the square. Elliott’s effort was well saved by McAllister but Smyth was on hand to hammer the rebound to the back of the net giving Dunloy a 2-18 to 1-7 lead at the interval.
Cushendall made the perfect start to the second half with Joseph McNaughton scoring their second major. Fiontan Bradley turning provider as he made inroads into the Dunloy defence before blind passing to McNaughton and while he still had work to do, his finish was emphatic.
McKeague and Bradley swapped frees before Dunloy went through the gears again. Another run of six unanswered points in less than 10 minutes with Molloy, McKeague, O’Kane and Nigel Elliott all raising the white flag.
A brace of Bradley frees either side of McKeague’s ninth point of the evening put 17 between the sides with 10 minutes of the contest remaining.
The game rather petered out though with Nigel Elliott splitting the uprights on two occasions and Cushendall sending a number of high ball into the Dunloy defence in search for another major.
Neither side will have learned too much from this game as this fixture falls foul to holiday season. One of the downsides to the split season as teams look to juggle game time and preparations for later in the summer.
The Cuchullains are back out in action on 21 June as they travel to Loughgiel with the league title within their grasp while Cushendall will travel to St John’s on the same afternoon hoping to get back to winning ways.
TEAMS
Dunloy starting XV: Ryan Elliott; Reece Cunning, Ryan Elliott, Sean Og Blaney; Eamon Smyth, Eoin McFerran, Aodhan McGarry; Ben O’Kane, Aaron Crawford; Nigel Elliott, Paul Shiels, Chrissy McMahon; Ciaran Elliott, Keelan Molloy, Nicky McKeague
- Subs: Paudie McGilligan for P Shiels (43), Oran Quinn for S Og Blaney (52), Barry Scott for C Elliott (52), Jack Martin for A Crawford (52), Conor Mort for K Molloy (54)
- Scorers: K Molloy 1-7, N McKeague 0-9 (5fs), N Elliott 0-3, C McMahon 0-3, B O’Kane 0-3, E Smyth 1-00, S Og Blaney 0-1, P Shiels 0-1, R Elliott 0-1 (1f)
Cushendall starting XV: Conor McAllister; Connor McCann, Liam Gillan, Alex McCambridge; Senan Black, Ryan McCambridge, Charlie McAuley; Callagh Mooney, Fergus McCambridge; Ed McQuillan, Joseph McNaughton, Thomas McLaughlin; Fintan McKillop, Christy McNaughton, Fiontan Bradley
- Subs: Nicholas McNaughton for E McQuillan (24), Darach Bradley for F McKillop (45), Stephen Walsh for A McCambridge (49), Aodhan Campbell for S Black (49), Cahir McCambridge for F McCambridge (58)
- Scorers: F Bradley 0-7 (5fs), J McNaughton 1-1, C McNaughton 1-1, E McQuillan 0-1, R McCambridge 0-1 (1f)
Referee: Declan McGarry (Loughgiel)
To see more of Brendan’s photos from the game, click on the link below…..
https://myalbum.com/album/mrnwkgkPszCaMw/?invite=35bae4cc-4b38-4107-86be-5ca474499b9b