Glen Dimplex Intermediate Camogie Championship Group 1 – Round 3

McKenna Park, Ballycran

Down 0-10 Antrim 3-9

Antrim made it three wins out of three in the All Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship at Ballycran on Saturday when they withstood a great fightback by Down. The Saffrons appeared to be on Easy Street at half-time when they led by ten points (2-7 to 0-3) after fully capitalising on the fresh breeze behind them, Antrim looked destined to stroll to their third successive championship victory. However, Down proved to be a transformed side in the second half, their defence completely closing down the Antrim attack to give the travelling Saffron faithful a genuine scare before a moment of magic finally sealed the tie.

Antrim started with the breeze, and despite Down dropping Dearbhla Magee back to aggressively mark Róisín McCormick and deploying Blanaid Savage as a sweeper, the pacy Saffron attack could not be contained.

Early scores from McCormick (free), Cliona Griffin, and Elen McIntosh got Antrim up and running. While Down kept things relatively tight for the first quarter—trailing just 0-3 to 0-1 after 15 minutes—Antrim soon flexed their muscles however as a Nicole McAtamney point and a pair of McCormick frees stretched the lead, but it was in the final minutes of the half that Antrim really inflicted the damage.

After 27 minutes, Elen McIntosh broke through the Down defence and despite being pulled back her shot for goal broke to Éobha McAllister, who tapped in Antrim’s first goal. Lucia McNaughton quickly tagged on a point. After Down squandered a goal chance at the other end, Antrim punished them ruthlessly. Elen McIntosh saw her initial effort well saved by Clodagh Kelly, but she showed lethal striker’s instinct to stroke the rebound into the far corner, sending the Saffrons to the changing rooms at the break with a 2-7 to 0-3 lead.

It should have been game over, but the home side’s defence clearly hadn’t read the script. Wind-assisted on the restart, Down mounted a fierce comeback. Deirbhile Savage fired over an early point, and three frees from Aimee McAleenan significantly narrowed the gap.

For most of the second half, the Antrim attack was completely smothered. When substitute Grace Cunningham and Savage struck again, followed by a surging solo point from Dearbhla Magee on the 55-minute mark, Down had reeled off eight unanswered points.

Suddenly, the hosts were within a single goal (2-7 to 0-10), and there was real concern spreading among the Antrim fans in the stands. The unbeaten run looked in genuine jeopardy.

When the Saffrons needed leadership most, they found it. Nicole McAtamney bravely won a vital free and coolly pointed it to finally break Down’s scoring sequence and relieve the mounting pressure.

Less than a minute later, Antrim delivered the ultimate killer blow to Down’s chances. A beautiful, flowing move initiated under the stand saw Lucia McNaughton and Maeve Kelly link up perfectly to release Róisín McCormick who burst through on goal, McCormick produced a great individual finish, slipping the sliotar under the advancing keeper to secure the 3-9 to 0-10 victory and maintain Antrim’s flawless record.

Teams and Scorers

ANTRIM

• Starting XV: C Graham (capt), C Patterson, C Conlon, D Dobbin, S O’Neill, K Molloy, C McNaughton, L McNaughton (0-1), M Kelly, O McAllister, R McCormick (1-3, 0-3f), N McAtamney (0-2, 1f), E McIntosh (1-1), É McAllister (1-0), C Griffin (0-1).
• Substitutions: A Boyle for É McAlister (44), A Ferris (0-1) for E McIntosh (48), J McIntosh for C Griffin (56).

DOWN

• Starting XV: C Kelly, A McDowell, A Mallon, O Brown, C McGilligan (capt), B Savage, N McConville, D Magee (0-1), C Cowan, A McAleenan (0-5f), A Brown, D Savage (0-3), D Coleman, N McGrath, C Fitzsimons.
• Substitutions: G Cunningham (0-1) for O Brown (ht), G McGrattan for A Brown (49), K Quinn for N McGrath (53), L Coulter for N McConville (53), A Murphy for A McDowell (61).

Referee: Bernard Heaney (Meath)

Amy Boyle helped steady the Antrim ship when introduced as a second half substitute

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