Antrim All-County Hurling League – Division 1

Loughgiel Shamrocks 5-27 St. John’s 1-21

Fr. Healy Park, Loughgiel

Pics by Bert Trowlen

The rivalry between Loughgiel Shamrocks and St. John’s renewed its vigour at Fr. Healy Park, carrying all the competitive edge you would expect from two sides that clashed in last year’s tightly contested Championship final. On that occasion, the Johnnies edged it in a thriller, but as both sides build up their preparations for this season’s campaign, the tempo is clearly rising once again.

Though both teams were short a few regulars, the standard of hurling on display remained exceptionally high. The match started with a furious flurry of scores from both sides. St. John’s relied heavily on the lethal accuracy of Oisín McManus, who knocked over a succession of fine scores from both placed balls and open play, alongside well-taken points from Aaron Bradley, Fearghal MacManus, and Ruáirí Galbraith.

Loughgiel, however, found answers all over the pitch. Roan McGarry, Shan McGrath, and Daniel McCloskey were clinical, while defenders Declan McCloskey and Ruairí McCormick even standard-beared long-range points from deep inside their own half. The crucial breakthrough of the opening period came in the 18th minute. A beautifully worked team move sliced through the St. John’s defense, allowing Jack McCloskey to rifle the ball into the back of the net. By the halftime whistle, Loughgiel had ground out a hard-earned four-point cushion, leading 1-15 to 0-14.

Second-Half Avalanche

After the change of ends, any thoughts of another nail-biting finish were quickly dispelled as the Shamrocks pushed home their advantage with devastating authority. While St. John’s momentarily found hope when Michael Bradley pounced on a defensive mix-up to slot home a goal, Loughgiel simply went into overdrive.

The Shamrocks hit a merciless purple patch, raining down four more goals on the St. John’s net. Cahal Hargan raised a green flag almost immediately after the Johnnies’ goal, followed shortly by a second major from the unstoppable Jack McCloskey. James McNaughton, who had been a constant livewire in the forward line, then saw his brilliant effort partially stopped by the St. John’s keeper only to force its way over the goal line.

As the fog rolled heavily across Fr. Healy Park making visibility difficult in the closing stages, Jack McCloskey capped off a masterful individual performance by completing his hat-trick with another well-worked team goal.

Points from Patrick Laverty, Ronan Fitzgerald, and Ryan McKee capped off a commanding performance from the home side. St. John’s kept fighting until the final whistle with late replies from Michael Bradley and Aaron Bradley, but the evening belonged to the Shamrocks, who ran out convincing winners on a final scoreline of 5-27 to 1-21.

LOUGHGIEL SHAMROCKS: S. McDonnell (0-1), C. Blair, C. Dickson, R. Fitzgerald (0-3), L. Glackin (0-1), C. Hargan (1-0), Conall McCloskey, D. McCloskey (0-2), Declan McCloskey (0-2), J. McCloskey (3-3), R. McCormick (0-2), E. McGarry, R. McGarry (0-3), T. McGarry, S. McGrath (0-1), R. McKee (0-2), J. McNaughton (1-1), E. Smyth, P. Laverty (0-1).

ST. JOHN’S: S. Doherty, A. Bradley (0-3), M. Bradley (1-1), O. Carleton, A. Downey, R. Galbraith (0-1), B. McFall, O. McManus (0-12), C. Morgan (0-1), R. Donnelly, S. Shannon, S. Wilson, J. Wilson, F. MacManus (0-1), L. McCallin.

Since he is no longer involved in the World Cup Cristiano Ronaldo had decided to work for the Saffron Gael for a week or two. Bert grabbed a shot of him (Cayden Laverty) during the half time break

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