Antrim Camogie Senior Championship

Loughgiel 10-20 v Brídíní Óga 0-01

Match report and photos from Michael Corcoran at Fr. Healy Park

If it wasn’t cool enough with a northerly wind strong enough to hold up straight the ground’s flags, Loughgiel dropped the temperature even more with an arctic blast of camogie that many knew was coming in tonight’s Antrim Camogie Senior Championship opener.

Loughgiel were dominant and relentless despite glimpses of opportunities melting away from a battling Brídíní Óga as Loughgiel’s defence poured out from the back lines to smother those chances.

The Shamrock’s went about dialling up a big score on the ‘Dan Scullion’ scoreboard and that was largely reflective of Loughgiel’s ability to penetrate deep and with pace into the young Bridgets back lines. A glance at the score sheet is a roll call for the half and full forward line, with Anna Connolly playing in her familiar midfield position being the only exception as her solo run ended in a fine point, early in the second half.

Most of the damage to the young Bridgets came in the first half, with Loughgiel amassing eight goals and eleven points into the wind. At the turn, Loughgiel’s defence closed everything down early, leaving Emma McAllister minding the nets on what would have felt like a graveyard shift, as the action was largely at the clubhouse end. Brídíní Óga faired better in this half, limiting the Shamrocks to just the two goals but both of those were top drawer. The first came from an Orlagh Laverty recovery from a loose ball short of the square. Katie McKillop took charge of that and sent an unstoppable rocket up into the back of the net. Loughgiel’s second goal in the second half started out with so much promise for full back Charlene Campbell as she navigated the sliotar all the way to Brídíní Óga’s goal. A short backswing set up a decent save from the goalkeeper but Orlagh Laverty stepped in and wasted no time in sending the sliotar back in and net bound.

Both sides will be pleased to get their respective campaigns underway, and we look forward to seeing what the round robin stage delivers in a few weeks time.

To see more photos from this evening’s game, click on this link…

https://myalbum.com/album/s4YqMkKkYB7v7W/?invite=09daddc6-74f7-4381-a518-8f1da5c53b10

Loughgiel Scorers

Anna Connelly 0-02, Annie Lynn 1-01, Róisín McCormick 1-01, Shanna Deery 1-03, Orlagh Laverty 2-05, Marie Laverty 2-03, Katie McKillop 3-05

Brídíní Óga Scorer

E. McAleenan 0-01