Antrim Hurling League – Division 3

Con Magees 1-21 Rasharkin 1- 08

Glenravel Con Magees finished their Antrim Division 3 Hurling League campaign on a high note, securing a comfortable 13-point victory over St Mary’s Rasharkin at Fr Maginn Park. While the home side will be pleased to string together consecutive wins to finish at the top of the second half of the league table, the visitors were notably understrength, fielding without several regular starters. Nevertheless, Glenravel handled their business efficiently, gaining valuable momentum ahead of a much stiffer test against Tir na nÓg, Randalstown, in the Intermediate Championship opener in two weeks’ time.

Glenravel wasted no time establishing dominance, with the prolific Cormac McKeown opening the scoring just a minute in. Rasharkin briefly leveled the game in the ninth minute via a Tiernan O’Boyle 65, but the home side immediately struck for a major. A well-worked team move in the 10th minute was finished to the net by McKeown, putting Glenravel firmly in the driver’s seat. Fergus Donaghy added a point shortly after, and McKeown followed up with a moment of individual brilliance—a sublime pick-up and sprint away from his marker to fire over, making it 1-03 to 0-01.

Conleth O’Loan kept the scoreboard ticking for the Con Magees from placed balls, landing a 65 on the quarter-hour mark. Rasharkin found brief spells of rhythm in the middle sector; Seamus Higgins claimed a Glenravel puck-out, soloed through, and split the posts, which was soon followed by a similar solo effort from centre-forward Conleth McMullan. However, Glenravel’s response was instant. Declan McAuley caught the ensuing puck-out and fired over a neat point, completely blunting the visitors’ momentum. O’Loan then showcased his accuracy with consecutive long-range frees to stretch the lead to 1-08 to 0-03. Rasharkin received a stroke of luck on the stroke of halftime. A shot from their number 5 looked harmless, but a mix-up between the Glenravel goalkeeper and the full-back resulted in a deflection that trickled into the net. O’Loan tapped over one final free before the whistle, leaving the halftime score at 1-09 to 1-03 in favour of the hosts.

Any hopes of a Rasharkin revival were quickly extinguished upon the restart. Glenravel came out firing, with McKeown pointing early on, followed just 30 seconds later by a Declan McAuley score to extend the gap to 1-11 to 1-03. Caolan Lennon then got in on the act, pointing in the 33rd minute to widen the margin to nine. Conor McKillop managed to pull one back for Rasharkin from a 35th-minute free, but Glenravel were operating in a different gear. McKeown struck another excellent point from play, and despite a second McKillop free for the visitors, Glenravel hit a purple patch. Lennon found his range out on the left wing, sending over a beautiful score, which was quickly followed by a 40-meter strike from McKeown and another superb left-wing point from Lennon.

With the result beyond doubt, both teams emptied their benches. Declan Trainor got his name on the scoresheet in the 45th minute, and while Seamus Higgins pointed a free for Rasharkin, Glenravel finished exceptionally strong. Connor Laverty raised a white flag with an excellent point, and substitute Nathan Unwin made an immediate impact by slotting over two quick scores. Tiernan O’Boyle managed a final consolation point for Rasharkin before the final whistle confirmed a 1-21 to 1-08 victory for the home side. Glenravel now shift their focus entirely to the championship, hoping to carry this form into their clash with Randalstown.

Con Magees, 1 Chrissy Quinn 2 Odhrán Kerr, 3 James Duffin, 4 Brian O’Neill, 5 Michael McDonnell, 6 Ronan McCormick, 7 Eoin McCusker, 8 Conor Lavery, 9 Declan McAuley, 10 Fergus Donaghy, 11 Declan Traynor, 12 Caolan Lennon, 13 Conleth O’Loan, 14 Cormac McKeown,15 Ciaran Laverty.

Rasharkin-1 Liam Tunney, 2 Daniel Hasson, 3 Aidan McKeever, 4 Conor Doherty, 5 Connairé Donaghy, 6 Tiernan O’Boyle, 7 Jason McGregor, 8 Conor McFerran, 9 James Higgins, 11 Conan Mc Mullan, 12 Conor McKillop, 13 Oisin Doherty, 14 John Kelly, 14 Terence McGregor.

Referee – Fergus McAlister (Cushendall)

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