Antrim Minor ‘A’ Hurling Championship Semi-Final
St John’s 2-14 Ruairí Óg, Cushendall 4-18
Venue: Corrigan Park, Belfast
Referee: Seán Elliott
A breathtaking individual masterclass from full-forward Connlaodh McNaughton—who finished with an astounding 3-12—propelled Ruairí Óg, Cushendall into the Antrim Minor Championship decider following an enthralling ten-point victory over a resilient St John’s outfit at Corrigan Park.
The Glensmen wasted no time stamping their authority on proceedings. Just 24 seconds had elapsed when McNaughton opened the scoring, followed swiftly by a tidy effort from Nicholas McLaughlin. St John’s responded through target man Lewis Rafferty, but Cushendall struck their first major inside five minutes when Cahir McCambridge clinically found the back of the net. McNaughton followed up with a brace of points from play before burying his first goal in the tenth minute, handing the Ruairí Ógs a commanding 2-04 to 0-03 cushion.
St John’s refused to yield on their home patch and mounted a spirited second-quarter resurgence. Centre-back Caolan Wilson led from the front, while Tomas Adams caught fire, firing four consecutive points—three from expertly dispatched frees—to haul the Whiterock Road side back into contention at 2-05 to 0-08.
Cushendall steadied before the interval with a McCambridge point and a pair of McNaughton frees. Yet just as the visitors looked set to carry a healthy cushion into the changing room at half-time , St John’s pounced in the 29th minute: Odhran Marley reacted quickest to blast home a crucial goal. Although McLaughlin replied with two classy scores for the Ruairis, an Eoghan Millar point on the stroke of thirty minutes left the contest delicately poised at half-time, 2-10 to 1-09.
Cushendall extinguished any thoughts of a turnaround with a blistering start to the second period. McNaughton converted an early free before raiding through to crash home his second goal three minutes in. With Nicholas McLaughlin clipping over his fourth of the afternoon and McCambridge adding another, Cushendall pushed the gap out to nine points (3-15 to 1-11).
To their credit, St John’s threw everything into a counter-offensive. Caolan Wilson remained prominent from distance, and when Lewis Rafferty rattled the Cushendall net in the 18th minute, quickly followed by a Tomas Adams free, the margin was slashed to just six at 3-15 to 2-12.
Ruairí Óg’s composure under pressure proved decisive in the final ten minutes The defence was steady as a rock during this period. Deep into stoppage time, McNaughton put the final stamp on an unforgettable afternoon, rounding his marker and firing into the corner to complete his hat-trick and seal Cushendall’s passage to the county final.
Teams & Scorers
Ruairí Óg, Cushendall: Shane Coulter; Cormac Burke, Charlie McAlister, Sean McAuley; Colum Magee, Conor McCann, Rian Laverty; Dylan McNaughton, Oliver Mooney; Donncha Laverty, Nicholas McLaughlin (0-04), Shane McQuillan; Cahir McCambridge (1-02), Connlaodh McNaughton (3-12, 0-05f), Jake Laffan.
St John’s: Jack Cunningham; Daniel McKenna, Alex Robb, Oliver Donnelly; Fionntan McElroy, Caolan Wilson (0-03, 0-01f), Ollie Gregory; Daniel Mervyn, Brendan Óg Herdman; Míceal McCorry, Eoghan Millar (0-01), Tomas Adams (0-07, 0-06f); Brian Gough, Lewis Rafferty (1-02), Odhran Marley (1-00).
Sub used: Dylan Hand McCallin for St John’s
TO SEE MORE OF SEAN TROWLEN’S PICS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
https://myalbum.com/album/UZiVL7F2MftBpg/?invite=20c8186d-189e-47fa-97f4-72c5588a95da