Lámh Dhearg minors got their league campaign off to a winning start on Sunday with a 3-19-1-7 win over Davitts on Sunday morning.
The Hannahstown outfit were sporting their brand new jerseys sponsored by Hannahstown Credit Union.
Lámh Dhearg are delighted to announce that Hannahstown Credit Union have generously broadened their partnership of the club and will be sponsors of our under 18 Hurling panel.
Under 18 manager Gary Murray commented he is very appreciative of the valuable partnership of the Hannahstown Credit Union and their support is a great boost to the Minor Hurlers and the club. Bernie Murphy from the Board of Directors of the Hannahstown Credit Union added “We are delighted to broaden our partnership of Lámh Dhearg. The club like ourselves are an integral part of the community who invest great time and energy in meeting and serving the needs of the local community. I wish the u18 hurlers all the best . The club would encourage all members to support Hannahstown Credit Union or any of our other many generous partners if the opportunity arises as they are all vital in facilitating the successful organisation of the club.
Antrim Camogie Div 1 league Brídíní Óga 0-10 Loughgiel Shamrocks 7-13
Match report and photos from Michael Corcoran at Fr. Maginn Park, Glenravel
A breezy, damp evening heralded in the start of the Antrim camogie division 1 league, much to the relief of many to just get club business underway after a long winter. Loughgiel were deferential in building the hosts a guard of honour at the pitch entrance to acknowledge Brídíní Óga’s All Ireland Junior win towards the end of last year. But a break in County activity for a few of the Shamrocks meant the hosts would be facing a strong opposition, exacerbating the hosts concern for a depleted panel for a variety of reasons. Nonetheless, the Brídíní girls battled to the final whistle, showing much of the grit and tenacity witnessed throughout their All Ireland campaign.
Owen Elliot rolled in for 6:45pm after the hosts won the toss and elected to play into the wind for the first half. It wasn’t long before Loughgiel would strike and an Amy Boyle to Róisín McCormick pass had the visitors one point up within the first fifteen seconds.
Loughgiel would visit the club end frequently within the opening minutes with a further four points before a skilful sideline cut intercept by Sarah Fyfe ended up over Loughgiel’s bar to open Brídíní Óga’s score account.
With the wind and drizzle in their faces, Brídíní Óga felt the might from all of tonight’s elements, as the Shamrock sisters of Orlagh and Marie Laverty opened the green flag book from short range, at ten and thirteen minutes respectively before Annie Lynn and Katie McKillop made it four and then a fifth from Lynn that had an air of confidence about it. Lynn’s goal was a volley shot taken down above her shoulders and to prove it wasn’t luck, Lynn repeated the same shot for a goal in the second half.
Loughgiel’s Annie Lynn proved a handful with two overhead volleys in tonight’s league opening game
The hosts would reply in that period with a fine point from Caoimhe Duffin, all along the Shamrocks were building their points too and at the short whistle, scores stood at Brídíní Óga 0-02 Loughgiel 5-11.
At the restart, Brídíní Óga used the time to push hard into Loughgiel’s territory with some ease as the Shamrocks recalibrated their play into the wind along with a change of the guard, running players off the bench for familiar county names. Lynn though would enjoy a busy second half and after dropping down another volley from above her shoulders for her second goal of the evening, placed a ball and watched Carla Sullivan make it seven.
Brídíní Óga tallied a better second half with fine points from the likes of Eimhear McAleenan, Shauna McDonnell and Sarah Fyfe as the light dropped quickly with the persistent drizzle forcing car headlights to appear along the sideline, until the long whistle brought the game to a conclusion, Brídíní Óga 0-10 Loughgiel 7-13.
You can see photos from tonight’s game by following the link here…
The opening game of the Antrim Senior Camogie League Division 1 delivered a classic game of two halves at Pearse Park, heavily dictated by a strong breeze. Visitors Ballycastle put on an excellent first-half display to build a commanding lead, but a ferocious second-half comeback from Dunloy—fueled by the wind and the introduction of key county players—saw the hosts run out comfortable winners with a final score of 4–13 to 0–13.
Playing with the aid of the wind, Ballycastle started exceptionally well and completely dominated the opening 20 minutes. Ellen McIntosh was in scintillating form for the visitors, expertly supported by Maeve Kelly. Kelly struck two early points from play, while McIntosh was lethal from placed balls, adding four from frees and another from play to give Ballycastle an early 0–7 to 0–1 advantage. The visitors kept the scoreboard ticking over, with Kelly and a McIntosh ’45 extending the gap to 0–9 to 0–3, despite Dunloy managing to get on the board through points from Áine McGill, Nicole McAtamney, and Eimer McAllister. By the 22nd minute, another McIntosh point from play made it 0–10 to 0–3. Dunloy finally found a lifeline a minute later when Aine Magill raised a green flag, pulling a crucial goal back, but Ballycastle responded immediately through McIntosh. Just before the break, Ballycastle nearly found the net themselves when full-forward Nuala Devlin fired a shot on goal, only to be denied by a brilliant save from Dunloy keeper Aileen McManus. McIntosh converted the resulting ’45, sending Ballycastle into the dressing rooms with a commanding 0–12 to 1–3 lead.
McIntosh opened the second-half scoring with a free to push Ballycastle’s tally to 13 points, but the tide was about to turn dramatically. Now playing with the wind at their backs and bolstered by the introduction of several county players, Dunloy began to claw their way back into the tie. Emier Johnson sparked the revival with a point six minutes into the half. The gap was quickly reduced to three as Nicole McAtamney knocked over three more points. The turning point arrived on 16 minutes when Áine McGill struck a well-taken goal to level the game. With the momentum entirely in their favor, Dunloy pushed ahead just a minute later through a Caoimhe Malloy point. McAtamney continued her fine form with another two points, and on 24 minutes, Eobha McAllister set up Áine McGill to extend the hosts’ advantage.
Ballycastle struggled to escape their own half against the breeze, and Dunloy put the seal on the win with a late flurry of goals. Two minutes before full time, Bronagh Magill found the back of the net, and in injury time, Eobha McAllister broke through the defense and unselfishly hand-passed to her sister Eimer, who finished the move with Dunloy’s fourth goal of the afternoon. Nicole McAtamney then capped off the remarkable turnaround with a final point from play, completing a spectacular 13-point victory for the home side.
A breathtaking four-goal haul from star man Conlaodh McNaughton powered Ruairí Óg, Cushendall to a convincing victory over Oisín Magee Gaels in this Minor Hurling League Division 1 clash at Páirc Mhuire.
Despite the commanding final scoreline, this was a game of two distinct halves. The visiting combination side of Glenariffe Oisin and Glenravel Con Magees utilized a strong breeze to their advantage in the opening period, causing real problems for the home defence before Cushendall clicked into a different gear.
Both sides traded early wides as they settled into the contest before Nicholas McLaughlin opened the scoring for Cushendall with a free in the fourth minute. However, backed by the wind, the Gaels quickly found their rhythm. Oisín Gillan leveled the game with a fine point before rattling the back of the net just two minutes later to give the visitors a 1-01 to 0-01 lead.
Canice McIntosh stretched their advantage with a well-taken score, but Cushendall struck back at the 16-minute mark when Conlaodh McNaughton fired home his first goal of the day.
Oisín Magees continued to press, with McIntosh deadly from placed balls, keeping his side ahead 1-04 to 1-02 as the half drew to a close. But the momentum shifted dramatically in the final minutes before the whistle. McNaughton struck for his second goal at the 28-minute mark, instantly followed by a McLaughlin free and a point from McNaughton himself. That late 1-02 blitz turned a deficit into a 2-04 to 1-04 lead for Ruairí Óg at the interval.
If the visitors were hoping to reset at halftime, their hopes were dashed within 60 seconds of the restart. McNaughton burst through to complete his hat-trick in the very first minute, effectively breaking Oisín Magees’ resistance. Jake Laffan quickly added a point to extend the gap to seven.
To their credit, the visitors kept fighting. Oisín Gillan, Conol Boyd, and Canice McIntosh all raised white flags to keep the scoreboard ticking, but they simply had no answer for McNaughton. The Ruairí Óg talisman knocked over two quick points before securing his fourth goal of the game in the 38th minute, pushing the score out to 4-07 to 1-07.
From there, the home side comfortably dictated the terms of engagement. Nicholas McLaughlin and Jake Laffan kept the umpires busy with well-taken points, while Oisín Gillan battled hard at the other end to grab a couple of consolation scores, including a free.
The game grew slightly more physical in the final ten minutes, resulting in yellow cards for a few players. However, Ruairí Óg had the final say when Jayden Kinney McNaughton found the net in the 55th minute to cap off a brilliant second-half team performance.
Star Man: Conlaodh McNaughton (Ruairí Óg) – An unplayable 4-04 from play.
Turning Point: Cushendall’s 1-02 scoring burst in the final two minutes of the first half, which wrestled the lead away from Oisín/Magee just as they looked to be heading into the break on top.
In the other games in Division 1 of the Minor League Dunloy beat Ballycastle 3-12 to 2-13 in Ballycastle, Loughgiel beat Rossa by 4-14 to 1-14 at Rossa Park, St Paul’s beat St John’s 0-23 to 1-15 at Corrigan Park while Sarsfields beat Gort na Mona beat Sarsfields by 4-11 to 2-26 in a real thriller at Enright Park.
If you are involved with your club’s minor team and would like coverage of their games get someone to do a match report and send it to john.mcilwaine@yahoo.co.uk
Antrim senior ladies fell to the narrowest of margins in the national league final on Saturday to Louth in a game that was in doubt right up to the end…
Indeed with the last kick of the game Louth hit their winning score from a free, a hard blow for the girls in Saffron and their mentors.
Indeed when the ball went over the bar the ref blew for full time which gave Antrim no opportunity to get an equaliser…
Antrim went 3 points to 1 down after ten minutes but young Aiobheann Monaghan found the net from close range to give the Antrim girls a slender lead …
In all fairness Antrim lacked a killer instinct in the final third and as the wides mounted up Louth were capatilsing at the other end…
But the final 5 minutes of the half Antrim did find their range and went in at the break one to the good but had to face a very strong wind in the second half..
Antrim upped the ante in the second half and their work rate and intensity was excellent and against the wind they hit some really good scores..
Cliodhna Logan hit two brilliant points and was a handful for the Louth defence…
Alyssa Davison put in a brilliant preformance and as usual Lara Dahunsi was always to the fore …
But to say Antrim were dealt a cruel blow at the death would be an understatement in a game were this group gave everything….
This team has now been promoted two years on the bounce and they are an absolute credit to themselves their clubs and their county and now look forward to their next competition….
Ulster championship starts in two weeks with an away game against Derry and these girls will re group over the next two weeks and prepare for the tough games that lie ahead …
A massive congratulations to these girls for bringing Antrim football to a new level and raising the profile of the game within the county….
