Loughgiel 2-12 Dunloy 3-17 Match referee Paul O’Neill
Report and photos from Michael Corcoran in Fr. Healy Park
On a perfect Saturday afternoon, a large crowd gathered to witness round two of the Antrim Camogie championship fixture between two familar foes. Speculation before the game had supporters thinking that today’s game would be throttled down to accommodate an early round robin stage. But they were wrong. Both squads came out swinging the camán to give spectators a pulsating game and ultimately Dunloy delivered a shot across Loughgiel’s bow with a show of tight camogie and knowing how to be efficient with the scraps around the edge of the Shamrocks’ box and get over the line with some to spare.
Although Dunloy opened up with a point from a set ball in under ten seconds, it was Loughgiel that delivered the first heavy piece of artillery from an alert Lucia McNaughton, pulling on the sliotar just outside the rectangle to tidy up a loose sliotar, in just under the two minute mark.
Points would follow from both sides, with Loughgiel’s Marie Laverty cleaning up a puck out before Dunloy’s Aine Magill, Eobha McAllister and Katie Molloy replied, the latter two points coming towards the end of a lengthy period of physical cat and mouse.
With almost twenty minutes gone in the first half, Loughgiel’s McNaughton found Marie Laverty for a timely point to go one ahead before floating a soaring point of her own, from close to the centre of the pitch. It was toe to toe until Dunloy drew up alongside Loughgiel after Nicole McAtamney slotted her point neatly over the bar from an industrious Caoimhe Molloy, running hard to possess a loose sliotar.
A careless throw of the ball gave the Cuchullin’s their first opportunity to edge into the lead from McAtamney’s set ball, but that was only momentary as Loughgiel’s Orlagh Laverty broke through to deliver the sliotar to Marie Laverty running ahead. Laverty punished the back of the net to shift the Shamrocks back into the lead at 2-04 to 0-08. Another point apiece just before the short whistle left both sides with every thing to do in the second half to secure a win.
Loughgiel looked like they were in their stride but Dunloy’s second half play towards the lough road was text book, drawing the defence out to open up gaps for the omnipresent Eobha McAllister. With barely ten minutes gone, McAllister managed to recycle an attempt at goal from short range, giving the goalkeeper little chance of a save.
A couple of points from set play gave each side level pegging at Loughgiel 2-09 Dunloy 1-12 before an unmarked Aine Magill would punish Loughgiel, striking into an almost open goal. This was a tell tale moment. Dunloy surged ahead by three points, making that six as McAllister dusted off the three points, two of those from set play.
Loughgiel bounced back with two points on the trot but substitute Casey Crawford neutralised one of those with a clean point from a long pass deep from within Cuchullin territory. Loughgiel needed two goals to pull off a tie but a busy Eobha McAllister had other intentions when she offloaded to Caitlin Crawford, running at pace and making no mistake in finding Loughgiel’s net. McAllister would close out Dunloy’s account with another point before Loughgiel had a chance to pull back a goal from an awarded penalty. Loughgiel’s Róisín McCormick drilled the sliotar up under the bar but the sliotar floated just over for the point and the long whistle, Loughgiel 2-12 Dunloy 3-17.
Dunloy have changed the narrative of the round robin stages with this win today, but no doubt the Shamrocks will take stock and work on the fix with a less intensive game coming up next week before the challenge from the Antrim league winners, Cushendall.
You can see more photos from the game here…
https://myalbum.com/album/fj5G7c6PPU8qbf/?invite=f867c27f-1d41-4f3c-bfad-24469c4280bd
Loughgiel starting panel
Emma McAllister, Charlene Campbell, Megan McGarry, Clare McKillop, Katie Lynn, Amy Boyle, Ciara Laverty, Anna Connolly, Lucia McNaughton, Annie Lynn, Róisín McCormick, Shanna Deery, Orlagh Laverty, Marie Laverty, Katie McKillop
Dunloy Starting panel
Clodagh O’Kane, Sarah McIlhatton, Brid Magill, Katherine Mullan, Eilis Kearns, Katie Laverty, Caoimhe Conlon, Eimear Jonnston, Bronach Magill, Caoimhe Molloy, Caitlin Crawford, Nicole McAtamney, Eobha McAllister, Katie Molloy, Aine Magill
