McKeever Hotels Intermediate Hurling Championship – semi-final
Carey Faughs v Glenarm at Dunsilly – Throw-in 7pm.
Like Cushendun in Group 2 Carey have been out of action for a month since their last game against Creggan in St Patrick’s Park, Ballyvoy. Although they lost that game they still qualified as group winners, due to their score difference. they started their campaign in Fr Leonard Park, Cloughmills where they gave a first-half display that will rate with anything that the intermediate campaign has seen all year. They took their foot off the pedal in the second half, and in fairness to Cloughmills, they came back into it fairly well, but the Faughs still had eight points to spare at the final whistle.
They were impressive once again in their next game in Dreen, when they convincingly beat the 2024 Junior Champion Rasharkin by 2-21 to 0-18. Their first home game was against St Gall’s at St Patrick’s Park, when they gave a really good display to beat the visitors by 2-21 to 0-18 and make it three wins from three, but things began to go wrong when they lost out to Creggan in their last home game by 2-25 to 3-15 on a day when one of the stars of the team Conal McGlynn received a serious knee injury.
The Faughs won Antrim and Ulster two years ago but they have lost a few key individuals from that team with ace free taker Conor McBride emigrating to Australia, James McQuoaig stepping aside because of work commitments and now have McGlynn joining those not available. Conleth McKinley sat out the Creggan game because of a hamstring injury but he may well be in the reckoning for a first fifteen place on Saturday evening.
Glenarm’s Intermediate run started back in July when they really turned on the style to beat St Paul’s by 3-21 to 0-14 at Shaw’s Road, their best display of the year. They had nine to spare in their first home game against Con Magees Glenravel, winning in the end by 0-23 to 0-14 but finished just four to the good in their following game against Tir na nÓg, 2-17 to 2-13. They were well beaten by Cloney Gaels in Ahoghill 3-18 to 2-16 which left qualification in the balance going into their last group game against Cushendun, which was played in Cushendall. A win would have put them straight into the semi-final and for most of the match, it looked like that was going to happen. Cushendun fought back in the second half and overturned an eight-point deficit to earn a draw, which put them straight into the semi-final. Glenarm, meanwhile, now faced a quarter-final tie with St Gall’s.
What a game it turned out to be with St Gall’s in charge for most of the game in very changeable weather conditions. The men from the Bog Meadows dominated the opening half and had a good lead at the break. Most fans at the game felt that Glenarm would easily overturn the deficit with the win behind them in the second half, but that did not happen and the Belfast side stayed in control until injury time when a point from a Niall McGarel free brought the game to extra time.
It was nip and tuck during those extra 20 minutes, 10 each way, but in the end, the home team grabbed the vital scores to send them through to tomorrow’s semi-final.
To be honest, this one’s too close to call so I will sit on the fence and hope that tomorrow night at Dunsilly, both teams will put on a good show.