Above – Antrim’s Oisin Donnelly punches the air in celebration after scoring his team’s opening goal in the first half of Saturday’s Joe McDonagh Cup win over Westmeath at Corrigan Park.

Joe McDonagh Cup
Round Four
Antrim 2-29 Westmeath 2-20
Saturday 16 May 
Brendan McTaggart reports from Corrigan Park, Belfast
 
 Antrim recorded back to back wins in the McDonagh Cup on Saturday afternoon having saw off the challenge of Westmeath.  Nine points separated the sides, thanks largely to scoring bursts from the Saffrons at the end of each half.  1-5 without reply at the end of both halves put some gloss on the score-line from a match that Antrim looked to be in control of for long periods.

Ryan McCambridge was awarded player of the match, the Cushendall man recording five points in his 63 minutes and putting in a monumental shift in the middle third.  He had plenty of support with Seaan Elliott and Oisin Donnelly also excelling.  Donnelly would help himself to a goal in the opening half while substitute Joseph McLaughlin’s goal put daylight between the sides as the game went down the stretch.
Indeed, the substitutes all had a massive impact on the game with Ruairi McCormick’s brilliant run creating the chance for McLaughlin and helping to shore up a defence that was coming under pressure.
Seaan Elliott top scored for Davy Fitzgerald’s men, two of his seven points coming from open play before the Dunloy man had to come off with an injury.  So too did James McNaughton who looked like he was starting to come back to something close to his usual high standards before coming off.

In David Williams, Westmeath had a magician of a player and his unerring accuracy from placed ball meant the visitors to Corrigan Park were always in the game.  Darragh Smith excelled in defence along with Rory Keyes while Darragh McCormack gave the Saffrons defence plenty to think about over the 70 plus minutes but the Antrim attack were too hot to handle.  2-21 from open play and nine different scorers with 1-6 coming from the changes made, it all makes good reading for the Saffrons.
Antrim got off to a great start, firing over scores from McCambridge and Elliott in the opening exchanges.
With the rain falling on the new surface causing some underfoot problems, both sides were struggling with their touch in the opening quarter but the visitors and David Williams got underway with a trio of points from placed ball.
The sides were evenly matched with some excellent scores coming from Molloy and Eoin Keyes for the Lake County. 
Eamon Cunneen and Darragh McCormack split the uprights before Oisin Donnelly tied the scores on 10 points apiece.
The opening goal came from the visitors with McCormack making no mistake when presented with the chance.  It gave Westmeath a three point lead in the 32^nd minute but Antrim finished the half superbly. 

A trio of points from Elliott (frees) restored parity to the score line before Antrim scored their first goal of the game.  Conal Cunning’s pointed effort came back off the upright and fell into space.  Conal Bohill held off the challenge of John Fry to gather and got his shot away only for Sean Jackson to deny him with a heroic piece of goal keeping.  The rebound fell to Donnelly and he pulled first time to the back of the net.
Points followed from McNaughton and Molloy in the little time that remained to give Antrim a 1-15 to 1-10 lead at the break.
Antrim continued to look the better side, and certainly the more efficient when James McNaughton opened the second-half scoring.
Antrim continued to look in control at the start of the second half and had a nine point lead by the 53^rd minute.  The visitors hit back however and began to get on top in the middle third.  A run of 1-4 without reply pegged the Saffrons back, Eoin Keyes with the major to breathe life into the Westmeath challenge.

The minimum separated the sides going into the final five minutes but Antrim finished strongly.  Points from Ruairi McCormick, Jack McCloskey and Ruairi Donaghy all complimented the cameo performance from Joseph McLaughlin.  The young Cushendall flier scored 1-4 with his goal coming in the 69^th minute after a brilliant run from McCormick while he took over the free taking responsibility when Elliott had to come off.
A performance that yielded the desired reward with the two points on offer and while Antrim weren’t exactly at their fluent best, they did play some seriously good passages of play at times.  That lull in the second half will worry Davy Fitzgerald and his management team but it’s a morale boosting win for the Saffrons who welcome Carlow to the Whiterock next Sunday.

TEAMS
Antrim Starting XV: Cormac McFadden; Joe Maskey, Paddy Burke, Stephen Rooney; Oisin Donnelly, Niall O’Connor, Gerard Walsh; Ryan McCambridge, Paul Boyle; Keelan Molloy, Conall Bohill, James McNaughton; Jack McCloskey, Seán Elliot, Conal Cunning
Subs: Joseph McLaughlin for S Elliot (50’), Ruairi McCormick for O Donnelly, Ruairi Donaghy 0-1 for J McNaughton (61’), Cormac McKeown for R McCambridge (63’), Rory McCloskey for J Maskey (63’)
Scorers: S Elliott 0-7 (5f); J McLaughlin 1-4 (2f, 1’65); R McCambridge 0-5; K Molloy 0-4; O Donnelly 1-1; J McCloskey 0-3; J McNaughton 0-2; P Boyle 0-1; R McCormick 0-1; R Donaghy 0-1
 
Westmeath Starting XV: Sean Jackson; John Fry, Naoise McKenna, Darragh Smith; Jack Gillen, Rory Keyes, Adam Bate; Jack Kearney, Peter Murphy; Eamonn Cunneen, David Williams, Marc Cunningham; Darragh McCormack, Eoin Keyes, Josh Coll
Subs: Eoin Aughey on for S Jackson (HT), Darragh Egerton on for J Gillen (41’), Cian McCarthy for A Bate (45’), Josh Coll off for M Cunningham (59’).
Scorers: D Williams 0-10 (8f); D McCormack 1-3; E Keyes 1-1; J Coll 0-2; P Murphy 0-2; C McCarthy 0-1; M Cunningham 0-1 
Referee: Alan Tierney (Tipperary)

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Joe McDonagh Cup – Round 4

Antrim v Westmeath – Date: Saturday 16 May

Venue: Corrigan Park, Belfast

Throw in: 5pm

Referee: Kevin McDonnell (Dublin)

Brendan McTaggart looks ahead to Antrim’s McDonagh Cup game with Westmeath in Corrigan Park on Saturday.

Antrim’s slim hopes in the McDonagh Cup remain after last Sunday’s win over London.  It will take a run of results to go our way and having studied the group table for what felt like an age, we will need to increase our score difference considerably.  But, the hope remains alive.

Davy Fitzgerald’s men had to withstand a dramatic comeback of sorts from the Exiles in Ruislip as Antrim impressed at the start of the second half.  Despite the concession of an early goal having led by three at the short whistle, the Saffrons surged into a 10 point lead after a strong third quarter but late goals from Sean Glynn, Jack Morrissey and Conor Byrne in the final 10 minutes had Antrim looking reaching for the full time whistle.

But, the performance was immaterial.  The result was all that mattered last Sunday to all but extinguish any lingering possibilities of a further relegation and dropping into the Christy Ring Cup.  Taking that into consideration, it was very much a case of ‘job done’.  A four point win, a decent performance and two home games to keep the dream alive.

With the match being played in Corrigan Park, it sees the Saffrons returning ‘home’ and returning to the location of a comfortable victory over Westmeath in the 2025 season.  We witnessed the Saffrons record a nine point win and a James McNaughton masterclass when these sides last faced each other in the National League.  A campaign that would see the Midlander’s relegated but, having a look at the teams that have been named, Westmeath have named just five survivors from their starting 15 back in February 2025 while Antrim have six changes.

Last time out, The Lake County succumbed to a chastening defeat at home to Laois.  The final score last Sunday in Mullingar 5-29 to 2-19.  Having a look at match reports and Westmeath hit an eye catching 2-15 from open play and 10 different scorers gives you an idea of what Antrim face.  A team who will have plenty of threats that will need looking after and a team that are in transition.

Fitzgerald has named an unchanged team from the side that saw off the challenge of London by four points last Sunday but have made a couple of positional changes.  Ryan McCambridge is named at midfield, swapping with Keelan Molloy while James McNaughton lines out on the ’40 and Conal Cunning lining out on the inside forward line.  I do hope this is how they line out, I think that ‘Coby’ is one of the best in the country playing on the edge of the square and playing James further out the pitch will give him the chance to use his electric pace and ability to evade tackles.  Conal Bohill on the ’40 is an outlet for long puck outs also and a natural ball winner, something that we’ve been lacking during this season.

If all goes to plan, we could be facing a Carlow side who are already qualified for the final and still in with a chance of making that final ourselves.  It’s a possibility that we could end up in a three horse race for that second spot with Laois and Down – the O’Moore County sitting on four points from three games and have games against Down (home) and London (away).  Given that the maximum we can reach at this stage is six points, we would need to see a favour from one of those teams.

The hope of progress is slim and the McDonagh Cup flame is barely alive but it is still there.  We go to Corrigan with that hope on our sleeves.

Danske Bank Gallagher Cup Hurling

Cross & Passion College 4-16 St Patrick’s College, Maghera 2-14

Cross & Passion College, Ballycastle, delivered a masterclass in underage hurling at Slemish Park, Ballymena, on Friday, overcoming a resilient St Patrick’s Maghera side in a deeply entertaining Danske Bank Gallagher Cup final. The 4-16 to 2-14 victory extends the Ballycastle school’s remarkable unbeaten run in third-year Ulster schools’ hurling to three full seasons. The bedrock of CPC’s victory was their devastating attacking duo. Powerhouse centre forward John Óg Darragh and full forward Tom Richmond led the line impeccably, combining for a staggering 3-15 to keep Maghera at arm’s length. For St Pat’s, Patrick O’Loughlin stood out as their most potent forward, spearheading a spirited fightback that kept the game fiercely competitive.

Despite Maghera opening the scoring in the very first minute with a Harry McCloskey 65, CPC wasted no time asserting their dominance. Just 90 seconds in, Darragh scooped the sliotar through to Richmond, who ruthlessly found the back of the net. By the 13th minute, Darragh himself raced through to raise a second green flag for the north Antrim school, pushing them to a commanding 2-5 to 0-3 lead. Maghera desperately needed a spark, which came courtesy of a superb point from half-back Ryan Murray following a bursting run through the centre. Three subsequent frees, two from O’Loughlin and one from McCloskey, helped Maghera claw their way back into the contest. However, the relentless scoring pace of Richmond and Darragh, who both finished the half with 1-4 to their names, ensured CPC carried a comfortable 2-9 to 0-7 advantage into the break.

The gap quickly stretched to ten points immediately after the restart thanks to two rapid-fire scores from Darragh. Refusing to capitulate, Maghera dug deep, and by the 40th minute, they had slashed the deficit to just four points. The surge was ignited when O’Loughlin masterfully took down a long McCloskey free and buried it for a goal, followed quickly by a flurry of points from McCloskey, Murray, and O’Loughlin. Darragh and Richmond answered the call for CPC, temporarily restoring order, but Maghera hit back again through Quentin Farren and O’Loughlin. With just 12 minutes remaining, a mere five points separated the two sides, and CPC began registering their first wides of the afternoon.

Any rising tension among the CPC supporters was swiftly alleviated by Richmond. Showing exceptional deftness, the full forward controlled a long delivery from the defense, creating the space needed to hammer home his second goal of the game. Less than 90 seconds later, Daire Kearney struck the final blow, netting CPC’s fourth goal to put the game out of reach. Maghera fought admirably until the final whistle, finding a glimmer of consolation when Harry McCloskey buried a penalty with three minutes left on the clock. Fittingly, however, it was John Óg Darragh who had the final say, firing over his tenth point of the day to seal the victory.

For the newly crowned champions, Darragh finished with an impressive 1-10, including six frees, while Richmond contributed 2-5, with three from placed balls. Kearney added 1-0 and team captain K Cassidy chipped in with a point. Maghera’s valiant effort was led by O’Loughlin with 1-8, including five frees, supported by McCloskey’s 1-3, Murray’s two points, and a single point from Farren.

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