Antrim Intermediate Hurling Championship – Round Three
Carey Faughs 2-21 St Gall’s 0-18
At Ballyvoy
Carey Faughs booked their place in the play-offs of the Antrim Intermediate Hurling Championship with an impressive ten-point victory over St Gall’s at Ballyvoy.
Having won their opening two games, Carey knew that victory would secure their place in the knockout stages. They produced a dominant first-half display, inspired by man of the match Shea Hunter, to build an eleven-point interval lead.
St Gall’s made the perfect start when Mark Napier opened the scoring inside the first minute, but their advantage was short-lived. Carey replied with four unanswered points, Paddy Butler registering two while Hunter announced his arrival with a pair of superb long-range scores.
Conall McGlynn and Callum Cane added further points before Hunter landed another excellent effort from distance to help the home side move 0-7 to 0-1 ahead after only seven minutes.
Napier briefly interrupted the Carey surge with his second point, but McGlynn and Hunter responded to stretch the gap to 0-9 to 0-2. St Gall’s appeared to have underestimated the threat posed by the Ballyvoy men and struggled to cope with the pace, movement and accuracy of the home attack.
Dubhaltach Wilson pulled one back for the visitors, but McGlynn converted a long-range free and Butler followed with another placed ball. Wilson struck a fine point from the right corner before Hunter and Patrick Gillan added to the Carey total.
Napier registered St Gall’s fifth point in the 31st minute, but Carey delivered the decisive blow deep into first-half injury time. Hunter sent a long delivery towards the St Gall’s goal and Fiachra McVeigh produced a clever overhead connection which sent the sliotar into the net, giving Carey a commanding 1-13 to 0-5 lead at the break.
McGlynn increased the margin with a free at the beginning of the second half, although St Gall’s finally began to show what they were capable of. Niall Fallon and Mac Liam pointed before Hunter raced up the wing to reply for Carey.
Séaghdha McAdam, Mac Liam and Tomas O’Ciarain were all on target during the visitors’ best spell. Wilson then landed a magnificent point from well inside his own half as St Gall’s reduced the deficit to six and briefly threatened to make a contest of it.
Hunter settled Carey with another excellent point before Cane struck the home side’s second goal. That score effectively ended St Gall’s hopes of completing a comeback and restored Carey’s firm grip on proceedings.
Napier and Mac Liam kept the visitors’ scoreboard moving from frees, but Butler and McGlynn responded at the other end. Napier added another from play and Gregory McGreevy also found the target from distance, though St Gall’s could never get close enough to place the home side under serious pressure.
Hunter fittingly dominated the closing stages. He added a point in the 29th minute and then won the resulting puck-out before driving the sliotar straight back over the bar for another outstanding score.
Napier recorded the final point in injury time, but it was Carey’s day. Their third successive victory secured a deserved semi-final place, with Hunter’s long-range striking and all-round influence central to a commanding Ballyvoy performance.
Carey Faughs: Shea Hunter 0-9; Conall McGlynn 0-5 (three frees); Patrick Butler 0-3; Patrick Gillan 0-3 (two frees); Callum Cane 1-1; Fiachra McVeigh 1-0.
St Gall’s: Mark Napier 0-6 (one free); Dubhaltach Wilson 0-7 (one free); Niall Fallon 0-1; Tomas O’Ciarain 0-1; Gregory McGreevy 0-1; Séaghdha McAdam 0-1.
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