Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship – Group 2
Ballycastle 0-15 Loughgiel 1-19
Sunday 16 August
Brendan McTaggart reports from Páirc MacUílín
Loughgiel saw off the dogged resistance of Ballycastle on Sunday evening to get their championship campaign off to a winning start. Seven points was the difference at the end of the hour, in truth it felt a lot closer.
Ballycastle hustled, tackled, harried the Shamrocks, denying them any opportunity to gather momentum for the majority of the game. The one period of the game where they didn’t, was ultimately the winning of the game.
Loughgiel lead by one point at half time but a run of 1-4 without reply in the opening eight minutes of the second half put the Shamrocks in control. Paul Boyle with the major in a rare moment of fluidity in a game that would be best described as a war of attrition.
When The Town woke from their half time slumber, they hit six of the next seven scores and left just the goal between the sides. Loughgiel finished well though, splitting the uprights five times in the last eight minutes to take the honours.
The Town were best served by Conor Boyd, Ardan Kelly and Cathair Donnelly in the game while Croistai McAuley top scored with six white flags. The Shamrocks had 10 different names on the score sheet by the end of the hour but the number of wides would be cause for concern for the Loughgiel management. James McNaughton showed glimpses of his best, more so as the game went into the melting pot after Ballycastle second half renaissance. Defensively, they were solid with the half back trio of Ruairi McCormick, Declan McCloskey and Ben McGarry all excelling.
In a first half that felt very stop-start, neither side played with any great fluency. The Shamrocks opened the scoring with points from Roan McGarry and Rian McMullan before Conor Boyd split the uprights for his first of three points. Collecting the sliotar on the run after Niall McKenna showed brilliant awareness and fed the sliotar in his direction.
Croistai McAuley split the posts either side of a Ronan ‘Rosey’ Fitzgerald point before a brace of scores from Roan McGarry (free) and Jack McCloskey put three between the sides after the opening quarter.
Diarmuid McShane cut that deficit with a point after showing his pace to get in front of the Loughgiel defender but while both defences were on top and space few and far between, both sides, Loughgiel especially were guilty of missing the target.
Roan McGarry and Croistai McAuley swapped frees before a point from Ronan Laverty reduced the Loughgiel lead to the minimum by the 23rd minute.
The Town had the first sight of goal moments later when Croistai McAuley found substitute Cadhan Crawford but his effort was saved superbly by Cormac McFadden who put his body on the line. Diving at the Ballycastle man and taking the full force of the sliotar, it was a moment of bravery and kept his side ahead in the closing stages of the first half.
Ballycastle’s Cadhan Crawford is on goal but Loughgiel goalkeeper Cormac McFadden through himself at the ball to keep his goal intact
Croistai McAuley fired over his third free and fourth point of the match to tie the sides before a quick piece of thinking between James McNaughton and Declan McCloskey saw McNaughton get his second point of the half and give the Shamrock a 0-8 to 0-7 lead at half time.
The home side would have been the happier going in to the changing room at the short whistle given the elements would be in their favour for the second half. The Shamrocks were wasteful and should have had a healthy advantage at the interval but the game was still very much in the balance at the break.
Any thoughts of Ballycastle causing an early upset in the championship were dispelled shortly after the restart however. Roan McGarry scored his fourth free of the match before Boyle scored the only goal of the game in the 32nd minute. Collecting a long delivery from Declan McCloskey, Boyle had stole in front of Conal Colgan and only had goal on his mind. His finish was emphatic and lifted the spirits of the Shamrocks in attendance at Páirc MacUílín.
They would add further points from a McNaughton ’65 and a delightful side line cut from Ryan ‘Betty’ McKee saw them stretch their lead to eight.
It was all one way traffic in those early moments of the second half but the home side responded well. Points from Eoin McAlonan, Conor Boyd and Cadhan Crawford got the Town firing again. Crawford’s point showcasing his skills with a lovely first touch before firing over from wide on the left.
Another Conor Boyd score gave his side a sniff of a comeback with a quarter of the game remaining and Ballycastle on the hunt but a fine score from Ruairi McCormick looked to get the Shamrocks firing again.
Croistai McAuley (two frees) and Niall McKenna fired over with Paul Boyle the sole response from Loughgiel to leave three between the sides. It was as close as Ballycastle got however as Loughgiel finished strongly.
The Town always looked like they needed a goal but the Loughgiel defence were strong and organised and never looked like yielding the opportunity. The Shamrocks would finish the game with a brace of points from Shan McGrath, McNaughton (two) and Declan McCloskey while a sole point from Eoin McAlonan was the only response from the home side in the time that remained.
Ballycastle will next play county champions St John’s in Ballymena while Loughgiel will travel to Randalstown to play Rossa on the same day in two weeks time.
TEAMS
Ballycastle Starting XV: Eamon Elliott; Oran Kearney, Conal Colgan, Cathair Donnelly; Darragh Donnelly, Conor Boyd, Eoin McAlonan; Ronan Laverty, Ronan McCarry; Croistai McAuley, Seamus McAuley, Darragh Kelly; Ardan Kelly, Niall McKenna, Diarmuid McShane
- Subs: Cadhan Crawford for R McCarry (20); Neal McAuley for D Kelly (41); Niall McClean for R Laverty (53); Mark McClean for A Kelly (60)
- Scorers: C McAuley 0-6 (5f); C Boyd 0-3; E McAlonan 0-2; R Laverty 0-1; N McKenna 0-1; D McShane 0-1; C Crawford 0-1
Loughgiel Starting XV: Cormac McFadden; Rory McCloskey, Enda Og McGarry, Liam Glackin; Ruairi McCormick, Declan McCloskey, Ben McGarry; Ryan McKee, James McNaughton; Rian McMullan, Ronan Fitzgerald, Dan McCloskey; Roan McGarry, Paul Boyle, Jack McCloskey
- Subs: Tiernan Coyle for E Og McGarry (HT); Shan McGrath for J McCloskey (HT); Christy McGarry for R Fitzgerald (48); Eoin McGarry for R McGarry (55); Caolan Blair for D McCloskey (60)
- Scorers: J McNaughton 0-6 (1f, 1’65); R McGarry 0-4 (4f); P Boyle 1-1; S McGrath 0-2; J McCloskey 0-1, R Fitzgerald 0-1, R McMullan 0-1, R McKee 0-1, D McCloskey 0-1, R McCormick 0-1
Referee: Ray Matthews (Rossa)
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