Brendan McTaggart looks ahead to the weekends big games in the Bathshack Senior Hurling championship with a date in the final within sight.
The senior hurling championship goes into the final furlong this weekend with the semi finals on the horizon. There are old faces there but the sight of last years Intermediate Champions in the last four is something that many would have been hoping to see, just many can’t have expected it. Well, outside of Glenariffe that is. We’ll start with that game as Glenariffe’s journey in their first senior championship campaign in 13 years sees them taking on the Cuchullains in Cushendall.
Dunloy v Glenariffe
Saturday 10 October @ 4pm in Cushendall
The Oisin’s reward for slaying the ‘Kings of Antrim’ in the quarter final is a meeting with a hungry Dunloy team in the semi final. The Cuchullains come into the game having lost at this stage last year and with a huge majority of the squad involved in last weekends defeat in the senior football championship, you have to think there aren’t many worse times to be playing the men from The Village.
That being said, it is remarkable to see the position the Oisin’s are in. We know about the gap from Intermediate to Senior and how teams have struggled. Glenariffe were different in comparison to teams who have tried to make that step in that they had foundations with underage teams. That doesn’t necessarily transfer into senior success but it goes along way into developing the tools for this level.
Oisin Gillan’s performances in the last two games for Glenariffe in the championship have been fantastic and when you consider he’s still minor, it’s frightening to think on the hurler he will develop into when he reaches his ‘peak’. Glenariffe’s win against St John’s was far from a one man show but Gillan’s performance was a huge reason why they won. He scored 1-1 but created so much more and did a lot of damage on the day.
I’ve been impressed with how the Glenariffe defence have developed since that game against Dunloy in the opening weekend of the championship. They struggled to deal with the pace of the Dunloy forwards that day but Conor Patterson, Odhran Gillan and David Kearney have really warmed to the challenge. They were excellent against Naomh Éanna and put in a similar performance against St John’s.
The Oisin’s showed in that group game against Dunloy they have the firepower to do damage. Their ability to take scores from distance from the likes of Oliver Kearney and Michael O’Boyle will be worth watching while the work rate of Canice and Seanie McIntosh will be key. If they start well then they will contribute heavily.
Alex O’Boyle’s free taking will be key and as he showed in that game I keep referencing back to, he has an eye for goal also.
Dunloy have been focussing on the big ball since defeating Cushendall four weeks ago and from a momentum perspective, that’s not ideal. Nothing beats games and games at championship level and intensity is different to anything you can replicate on a training pitch.
That being said, it’s not as if to say they have been sitting idle. They will still have been training, staying sharp and will be itching to get going. The memories of the defeat 12 months ago linger on and the savage disappointment of relinquishing their football crown will develop a hunger.
Keelan Molloy has been playing more at 14 this year and it’s a move that has paid off. They have brought him out deeper on occasions which is a great option to have but he did look like he was carrying an injury at the end of the St Brigid’s game last Saturday so it remains to be seen if he will be fit in time for this one. Who Dunloy start in the attacking unit will be interesting. Ciaran Elliott has been in top form for the majority of the year and has had one of his best years in a Dunloy shirt. His goal scoring exploits have been eye catching and he did score two goals when these two last played.
The expectation is that Dunloy will win this one. I would tend to side with that but I don’t expect to see us getting a repeat of the 4-30 to 1-17 scoreline we saw in the middle of August. The Dunloy management will be looking to see where it went wrong from 12 months ago to ensure their troops get their psyche right. If they do that then it should be another final for the Cuchullains. The bookies have them at 1/20 and as we know the bookies are never far away.
Cushendall v Loughgiel
Sunday 11 October @ 130pm @ Ballycastle
Sunday afternoon in Ballycastle will round off the hurling semi finals for the weekend and what a way to sign off. Loughgiel versus Cushendall, the Shamrocks and the Ruairi’s and another episode of a rivalry that we will never get old of watching.
Both sides have shown indifferent form in the championship with the Ruairi’s handsomely defeating Naomh Éanna and having to dig deep a small bit against Glenariffe in the second group game.
Against Dunloy, Cushendall struggled to hit their straps. Dunloy never really looked like they would lose that one as the Cuchullains defence cancelled out the Ruairi’s major threat.
They did hit back against Ballycastle but that too was a game where they had their problems. Not many teams will concede four goals and still go on to win the game. Cushendall showed the good, the bad and the ugly side of them in that 60 minutes.
Joseph McLaughlin’s ability to be in the right place and the right time is unerring and it’s got to the point where you know it’s not luck. His movement and hurling IQ are to be applauded and he carried the fight for the Ruairi’s against the Town.
Callagh Mooney’s performance from midfield was as good as it gets and certainly the best performance I’ve seen from Callagh in a Cushendall senior shirt. Five points and a man of the match performance from a lad who’s just out of minor, Callagh is developing into a pivotal cog within the Cushendall machine.
So often, the Ruairi’s have looked to Neil McManus for inspiration in an attacking sense yet he provided it at the other end of the pitch. Being defensively shaky isn’t something you would associate with Cushendall teams yet it took McManus dropping into a sweeping role and effectively playing full back when they were reduced to 14 men to get the Ruairi’s over the line.
In their opening two matches, Loughgiel had more questions than answers. They stuttered over the line against Ballycastle before finishing strongly to defeat Rossa. Their performance against St John’s was excellent and probably been forgotten about given the furore there was after the game.
Scoring 30 points and 23 of those from open play will have pleased the Loughgiel management. There were no goal chances of note where they had to make Domhnall Nugent work between the sticks for the Johnnies but they certainly upped their performance levels. The Shamrocks were more slick and clinical in front of the posts with Rian McMullan and Shan McGrath both excelling.
Paul Boyle provides a different kind of threat on the edge of the square and Loughgiel will be hoping they get the type of performance out of him we saw 12 months ago against Dunloy at this stage where he was electric. He has shown glimpses of that this year in the Shamrocks shirt, whether Boyle will line out there remains to be seen. Given Cushendall’s apparent weakness under a high ball in their full back line, Loughgiel may opt for something different.
Dan McCloskey’s suspension will be a loss for the Shamrocks in the engine room. He goes through a mountain of work and it largely goes unseen. For the stars to shine and scores to be taken, every team needs a Dan McCloskey so it will be interesting to see who Loughgiel opt for when naming their starting 15.
In the We Are Antrim podcast, I gave my prediction for a Cushendall win, but honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if this one went to extra time. These two tend to bring the best out of each other and Sunday’s game should be a cracker. Cushendall usually have the edge when these two play in the championship and they get the nod from me to reach another decider.