McKeever Hotels IHC Championship Round Robin
Conn Mag Aoidh 1-13 (16) – Cushendun 0-28 (28)
Conn Mag Aoidh were left to rue a second-half onslaught as Cushendun pulled away emphatically to record a 12-point victory in this IHC Championship Round Robin encounter, round 3.
There was little to separate the sides at the interval, with Cushendun holding just a 0-11 to 0-7 lead. Conn Mag Aoidh had competed well against opposition who operate at a higher league level, and at four points adrift the home side remained firmly in contention.
However, the second half demonstrated the difference in class and experience between the teams.
Cushendun came out with renewed purpose and produced a remarkable scoring burst, adding 17 points in the second half. Their accuracy and ability to score from distance proved particularly impressive. The Cushendun attack repeatedly found scores from play, often from well outside the scoring range, as they steadily stretched the gap beyond Conn Mag Aoidh’s reach.
The statistics underline the quality of the Cushendun performance. Of their 28 points, an outstanding 21 came from play.
Conn Mag Aoidh continued to battle and did manage to register nine points in the second half, including a well-taken goal from Ciaran Laverty in the 50th minute. That goal briefly gave Conn Mag Aoidh some hope, reducing the deficit to nine points, but Cushendun immediately responded with another point from play and never allowed the gap to close.
Cormac McKeown was Conn Mag Aoidh’s leading scorer with seven points, including four frees and two 65s, while Laverty’s goal gave him three points in total. Conleth O’Loan added two points from play, with Callum Higgins, Nathan Unwin and Caolan Lennon also getting on the scoresheet.
For Cushendun, Connloath McNeill was outstanding on the scoreboard, contributing 10 points, including three from play, four frees and three 65s. Shane McQuillan and Conor McHugh added three points from play. In the end Cushendun had 10 different players on the scoresheet which will no doubt impress their management team.
For Conn Mag Aoidh, there are plenty of positives to take from the opening half and from the fact that they remained competitive against a side playing at a higher league level for long periods. The four-point half-time deficit showed that they were more than capable of competing, but Cushendun’s second-half intensity, accuracy and ability to score from distance ultimately proved decisive.
The final score of 1-13 to 0-28 perhaps looks comprehensive, but it doesn’t fully reflect how competitive Conn Mag Aoidh were for the opening half. Cushendun simply moved through the gears after the break and produced a second-half performance that demonstrated why they are operating at the level above.
For Conn Mag Aoidh, the challenge now is to take the lessons from facing this level of opposition and build on the encouraging first-half showing as the championship campaign continues.
TO SEE MORE PICS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
https://myalbum.com/album/abWPdvzSYCHpVm/?invite=37b2dc16-894c-4f38-9c5d-76b88c897f88