Andersonstown Social Club Intermediate Hurling Championship
Tomorrow sees the start of the Intermediate Hurling Championship and while their counterparts in the Intermediate Football Champions could look forward to at least five games, that is not the case for the hurlers.
Four out of the nine clubs playing in the three groups of three are hurling only clubs, and for them the pressure will be intense. If they lose their two games in the group, chances are their summer is over. While some of the dual clubs can always fall back on getting a game or two of football that is not the case for Glenariffe Oisins, Carey Faughs, St Brigid’s Cloughmills and Armoy Glen Rovers.
In fact the same can be said for the two hurling only clubs at senior level Loughgiel and Cushendall. They play each other tomorrow so whoever loses that game have the trap door waiting for them. Now the chances are because of the group they are in they will be OK, but why their competition is not played on the same lines as the football championship is hard to figure out.
However that is a question for another day. Tomorrow throws up some really exciting games, and none more so than Creggan Kickhmas v Carey Faughs. The semi-final places will be made up of the winner in each group, plus the best runner-up from three groups, but with Sarsfields being the third team in their group it looks like it is going to be very tight and on the face of it you would say it is likely that just one will emerge from their division.
Unfortunately there has been little to judge the teams form on so far this season, with just one league game so far. No doubt Carey will have had a few friendlies organised, but with Creggan being heavily involved on the football front their preparation will have been a bit more hampered. Unfortunately that is one of the drawbacks of the terrible times we are living though. These two have had some great battles down the years and tomorrow promises to be another closely fought affair.
The game in group 2 is between two exclusively hurling clubs, Cloughmills and Armoy. Cloughmills have home advantage in this one and have two games under their belts in the league, the first one a big win over Glenarm in Feystown and the other a narrow defeat to Cushendun. Amoy played Creggan in their game back on July 22nd and while they lost out by five points they still put together a good performance. Tir na nÓg are the third team in the group and they travel to Armoy next Sunday.
In Group 3 Oisins make the journey to Ahoghill to take on Cloney Gaels and once again this one is hard to call. The Glenariffe men played one game in the league at the end of the lockdown when they lost out to Carey Faughs by a goal but Ahoghill’s scheduled match with St Gall’s fell by the wayside. These two have had a few bruising battles over the years and Cloney will be no place for the weak hearted on Sunday. Gort na Móna are the third team in this group and they journey down to Waterfoot next Sunday to take on the Oisins.
Not all heroes wear capes.
Some have a big bass hurl. At a
time when Naomh Éanna needed a leader, Martin Curran answered the call. Five penalties faced, four saved and the
other was blazed over the bar. The
imagine of him standing on the 21 yard line, arms stretched and his teammates
sprinting towards him to celebrate will be my lasting memory of the final. Lauded as their match winner, the Naomh Éanna
‘keeper wrote his name in their history books and indeed Ulster GAA’s history
books.
The celebrations were still going strong but the Naomh Éanna
shot stopper stepped away from the carnage and gave us his views on the
match. Curran was hoping to avoid
penalties but had enough belief in his own abilities: “I was hoping we would
get over the line without facing penalties.
I said to the lads the other week if it goes to penalties, I’d be pretty
confident.
“After the first couple, I don’t think they were ever going
to score a penalty to be honest.”
While most ‘keepers are stationary on their line, on their
toes and eyeing that one movement or tale, Curran was bouncing across the goal
line, up and down. It was something akin
to Jerzy Dudek for Liverpool in 2005 or Bruce Grobbelaar in 1984. It worked for them then and it worked for
Curran. “I seen some of the county keepers doing that back and forth across the
line trying to make the goals look as small as possible. I think it was Stephen O’Keefe who I saw
doing it first.
“Damian Casey is some striker of a ball. He seemed to be slightly fazed by it, hitting
the ball straight down the middle. I
thought I would keep it up and it worked.
“Some of the lads were asking me after about Dudek and
Grobbelaar but I’m just absolutely delighted and it’s good for a goalkeeper to
get some of the limelight for once.”
Seven down at half time of normal time, Naomh Éanna were
faced with a huge task. Curran told us the
half time team talk wasn’t quite what he was expecting: “Sambo message was
we’re coming back to win this game. He’s
unbelievably positive all the time.
Sometimes I think he’s going to come in and eat the head off everyone
but he was calm and said we were going to turn it around. I think the first 10 or 15 minutes of the
second half we didn’t give them a sniff.
Martin Curran gets buried under a crowd of admirers after his heroic saves
“First half we were completely overrun. They’re a big, strong and physical team. People were saying about a Tyrone team being all footballers, well they can’t just be called that after this. They completely ran over the top of us. Top defenders, boys out in front. I’ve never seen Ruairi Diamond beat for a ball and the man he was marking completely terrorised him all day. They’re a quality team and I think we were very lucky to overcome them in the end.”
Back to back Ulster titles in football and hurling, Naomh Éanna now embark on the All-Ireland trail. They will face the winners of Sier Kieraan of Offaly and Tullaroan from Kilkenny on the first week in January. Curran continued by telling us they will be bending the ear of those involved in the run to Croke Park at the start of the year: “There’s only four players involved who were part of the footballers last year. Those guys are very important, especially now we’re out of Ulster and this being new territory for a lot of lads. To be honest there was a lot of jealousy around the hurling panel last year watching the football lads. Obviously we were up supporting them in the club every night so we just want to emulate, go as far as we can and maybe go one step further.”
After leading the fightback in the second half of normal
time and in extra time, Naomh Éanna captain Cormac Ross hit the winning penalty
in the shoot out. A crazy ending to what
was a rollercoaster 80 minutes of hurling where the Hightown Road men were
pushed to the pin of their collar.
Twice.
Ross briefly halted his celebrations to have a chat with us
and his immediate thoughts were on Naomh Éanna’s opponents: “It’s a bizarre way
to end it. At underage, we’ve never had
a penalty shoot out in hurling in our lives.
That was completely new for both teams there.
“Maybe it wasn’t a completely fair way to settle it after 80
minutes of tough hurling. It’s very
tough on Dungannon.
“Fair play to both ‘keepers.
There was a lot of good penalties hit and they made six or seven saves.”
His side were second best virtually all over the field in
the opening 30 minutes which added to the dramatic nature of their
comeback. Ross continued by telling us
they tried to remain calm: “Dungannon are a serious side and they came out on
fire. We struggled against that wind big
time but we had that wind in the second half and we did to them what they did
to us. We played the game as it
progressed and thankfully, we didn’t panic.
“That’s one way to look at it. The other way is we were seven down at half
time and came back to draw at the end.
We could have pushed on and won it but so could they, I think a draw was
the fair result and the draw after extra time was the fair result.”
Naomh Éanna had three glorious chances in injury time at the
end of the hour to snatch victory.
Despite those chances not being converted, the Naomh Éanna captain was
happy to still be in the match at that stage: “We were in a better position at
the end of full time than we were at half time having come back from seven
down. We were happy to take it to extra
time and then it could go either way.”
With reaching the All-Ireland series for the second
successive year but in a different code, Naomh Éanna’s stock in the GAA has
risen considerably. Ross said he was
obviously delighted to be part of something special: Definitely is. The committee, the chairman and the underage
coaches who have put the structures in place have to take credit for that. We have the facilities but it’s the people
behind the scenes who put the time and effort in to coaching the kids.
“We have some serious talent coming through now and that’s
down to all those people involved.”
Cormac Ross lifts the cup after his team’s historic win
Naomh Éanna
manager Terence ‘Sambo’ McNaughton’s first thoughts after the final whistle
went to his opponents. After 80 minutes
of a roller coaster ride, his side edged Dungannon on penalties and he told us:
“I’ve never witnessed anything like it, I’ve never experienced anything like
that,” stated McNaughton.
“I wasn’t
even sure what was going to happen after extra-time – it wasn’t something we’d
spoken about. We had to pick five boys to take penalties – it was car crash
stuff. Everybody says it is no way to lose, I dunno. I don’t make the
rules.
“It was a
good game of hurling and a good advertisement for hurling.
“I feel for
Dungannon, I do. I’d hate to lose a game like that.”
Having
struggle in the first half for any fluency or momentum, Naomh Éanna faced a
gargantuan task in the second half.
Trailing by seven points and showing fierce little in the first half
that may have hinted at a comeback but Sambo said his side were calm at the
interval: “Honestly, the changing room was alright at half-time. We’d been
behind before and, as you stand here now, there’s a fair breeze. That’s a four
or five-point breeze.
“I
was happy enough and I knew we’d come good. We missed a wild lot of scores, but
that’s just inexperience.
“They
showed great character and this team doesn’t know when they are beat. Even
going back to the Creggan game.
“As
a GAA man and as a hurler, I have to feel sorry for Dungannon.
“I
know it is great for St Enda’s, but I’d hate to lose a game like that.
“The
effort they put in – I know what the Dungannon club do. They drive up to the
Glens of Antrim for games and they bring juvenile teams with them. They are
trying to promote hurling in Tyrone which isn’t the easiest thing in the world
to do.
Naomh
Éanna had chances at the end of normal time to seal the victory. They weren’t taken and Sambo said that it’s
part and parcel of the game when he added: “In games like that, you are going
to get mistakes. They made mistakes and we were making mistakes. We had to keep
the heads- we aren’t Ballyhale! It’s Intermediate hurling, the reason it is
Intermediate hurling is because people make mistakes.
“These
fellas train hard and the one thing I’m proud of is that they’ve changed – they
know how to win dirty now.
“They
are committed and it is great for St Enda’s and it is great for Antrim.
“I
asked them before the match to ruin Christmas for me! I said I want to be
training over Christmas. I said I want you to ruin all your family Christmases,
go out and ruin Christmas and they did!”
Managers View – Colm
McGuinness, Eoghan Ruadh
Eoghan Ruadh manager Colm McGuinness
By Brendan McTaggart
Eoghan Ruadh manager
Colm McGuinness was a frustrated figure at the end of the epic battle in
Derry. His side looked like they had
their hands on the trophy twice but came up against a Naomh Éanna side who
refused to give up.
It took penalties to
find a winner and the Sarsfields native spoke of his bewilderment at the
contest ending in the fashion it did: “From a mental health point of view, if
you had been the boy that missed that penalty, how are you going to feel?
“I think it’s a shame on
the Ulster Council that they’re forcing boys to take penalties to get the match
out of the way, to be honest.
“Fortunately it wasn’t
just one penalty that made the difference, but if it had been just one, how
would that fellow feel?
“They’re pumping on
about mental health – they should have a look at this, to be honest.
“But the boys gave their
all, I’m proud of them. They couldn’t have given much more.
“They gave everything
today, they have given everything all year.
“St Enda’s are a
Division One Antrim team now, and there was nothing in it all along.
“Somebody has to win,
and it’s just unfortunate how it happened.”
The Dungannon side were
a class above Naomh Éanna in the first half.
They scored 2-2 in the space of four minutes to take control and but for
a heroic piece of defending from Rian Gillen, it could have been three
goals. McGuinness told us it was the
start they were after: “We said at the start, if you’re playing with that wind,
there’s about five or six points in it, and we weren’t far wrong.
“The wind was very
strong and you could drop a ball nearly in to the edge of the square. They got
a couple of good breaking balls, which made the difference, and we didn’t push
on in the second half, just didn’t get enough scores to keep the distance.”
Coming into the final,
many pundits and experts had Naomh Éanna as favourites. McGuinness continued by adding they felt they
were the better team, despite the result: “All around Ulster, people think that
counties are inferior in hurling, but we knew we weren’t inferior, if anything
we thought we were the better team, and it showed out there.
“The boys were confident
to take it on, but we just didn’t get enough done in the end.”
It’s hard even to think
of next season, after something like that. Everybody will just have to take a
seat and have a look at where they go from here.
It’s not a time to even
be talking about next year, to be honest.
They just don’t know what it means to quit. Naomh Éanna.
First time Antrim Intermediate champions and now they’ve added the
Ulster crown to their haul but to say they did it the hard way would be an
insult to anything that has went before them.
Naomh Eanna players run to congratulate shoot-out hero Martin Curran at the end of the game
Seven down at half time before coming back to force extra time. Four down nearing half time in extra time, yet they refused to give up. It took penalties to find a winner and Naomh Éanna found a hero. Martin Curran, goalkeeper and saver of penalties. Five attempts, four saves with one of Eoghan Ruadh’s efforts going over the bar. Team captain Cormac Ross the only player with a successful penalty but that won’t matter to the Hightown Road side who look forward now to a meeting with the winners of Kilkenny champions Tullyroan and Offaly winners Seir Kieran in the New Year.
It was a dramatic day when records were set. The first team to win Intermediate football and hurling titles back to back. The first Ulster hurling final to be decided on penalties and surely the first ever penalty shoot-out to be decided with just one goal. It was elation for Naomh Eanna but even the most hard hearted fan had to feel sorry for the gallant losers. The men from Dungannon were terrific throughout the game and must be wondering just how they ended up with nothing.
John McGoldrick umps for joy after scoring his team’s opening goal
Early goal
Despite an early goal from McGoldrick, Eoghan Ruadh were
completely dominant in the first half.
Damian Casey was wreaking havoc while Lorcan Devlin and Tiernan Morgan
were superb in the middle of the field.
A run of 2-2 in the just four minutes put them in control and they had
all the answers to any question Naomh Éanna may have posed. But for a heroic block from the outstanding
Rian Gillen in the same time, it could have been worse for Naomh Éanna but
their turnaround in the second half was immense.
Cormac Ross and Joe Maskey grew into the game and began to
exert their dominance while John McGoldrick, substitutes Matthew O’Hare and Ed
O’Connor all had a hand in turning the Naomh Éanna fortunes around.
From seven down to having three attempts at winning the game
in injury time, the Naomh Éanna faithful had to endure another roller coaster
ride in extra time before Martin Curran’s heroics. A cruel way for any team to lose a game but a
match that will live long in the memory of those associated with the Hightown
Road club.
Eoghan Ruadh midfielder Tiernan Morgan makes a break
Dungannon Dominance…
The Dungannon men were brilliant throughout the first half
and from the first whistle they had Naomh Éanna under immense pressure. They were reading the breaking ball, hunting
in packs and not letting Naomh Éanna settle.
Damian Casey was their main threat but Branán Molloy and
Terry McIntosh were prominent throughout the first half along with Matthew
Mulgrew and Kierfer Morgan. Eoghan Ruadh
held a two point lead after the first five minutes before Naomh Éanna scored
the opening goal of the final. Philly
Curran’s effort dropped short with ‘keeper John Devlin batting the sliotar
clear. McGoldrick picked and despite a
crowd of players, he drilled the sliotar to the top corner. A superb finish that seemed to settle his
side but Eoghan Ruadh had other ideas.
Thanks to Casey and his metronomic ability from frees no
matter the distance, they were back on terms before Lorcan Devlin scored their
first goal of the game. Molloy’s effort
for point dropping short and while Martin Curran initially cleared the danger,
Devlin pounced on the rebound to send the sliotar to the back of the net.
Kiefer Morgan’s goal came just two minutes later. Collecting a sideline from Lorcan Devlin,
Morgan side stepped the Naomh Éanna tackles before finishing in style. It could and probably should have been worse
between the goals though. Rian Gillen
threw his body on the line to deny Tiernan Morgan when he looked nailed on to
score a major as well. It was a
brilliant purple match that put Eoghan Ruadh in the ascendency and Naomh Éanna
well and truly on the back foot.
Naomh Éanna were looking second best all over the pitch in
the opening 30 minutes and but for some wayward shooting from the Tyrone men,
Eoghan Ruadh could have been ahead by more by the short whistle. Naomh Éanna had a mountain to climb in the
second half with a seven point deficit and with no momentum, they were coming
second best in the majority of the personal duels throughout the pitch.
Phill Curran makes a good catch under pressure from Eoghan Ruadh’s Josh Ferguson
Half time: Naomh Éanna 1-6 Eoghan Ruadh 2-10
The second half fightback began just with Ruairi Donaghy’s
goal six minutes after the restart.
Martin Curran’s poc out evaded the waiting clutch of players and Donaghy
took advantage. Collecting the sliotar
and racing through, the Naomh Éanna midfielder finished from 20 yards out and
gave his side the belief they could scale their Everest.
Eoghan Ruadh scored the next point through Molloy but Naomh
Éanna were a team rejuvenated. They
sensed the chance and a run of three points unanswered left them just two
behind going into the final ten minutes.
A brace of McGoldrick frees after a Tiernan Morgan point tied the scores
with four minutes of the hour remaining with both sides landing blows in an
attempt to make that score which would make them a hero. Tiernan Morgan’s second point edged Eoghan
Ruadh ahead once more before McGoldrick took his tally to 1-9 for the match in
the last minute of normal time. Both
sides had chances to win the game in the time that remained, McGoldrick and
O’Hare while Casey had a half chance from placed ball deep in his own half but there
was no winner inside the hour.
Damian Casey had a chance to snatch an injury time victory for Eoghan Ruadh but his shot from almost 90 meters dropped just short
Extra time: Naomh Éanna 2-14 Eoghan Ruadh 2-14
Naomh Éanna began extra time with a glorious goal
chance. Philly Curran sending the
sliotar into the heart of the Eoghan Ruadh defence where Darrach Cooper caught
the dropping sliotar. His shot flashed
wide though and the Dungannon men took advantage. Four unanswered frees from Casey, taking his
tally to 11 points for the match had Eoghan Ruadh in the ascendancy once again
while Naomh Éanna’s only score of the first period of extra time came from Ed
O’Connor in the last action of the half.
After one monumental comeback, Naomh Éanna had to dig deep
once again. Three points felt like a big
lead but once again the Hightown Road men met the challenge. Killian Jennings point in the last minute of
additional time looked to have sealed the win for Naomh Éanna and give them the
lead for the first time since the 13th minute and Lorcan Devlin’s
goal. Eoghan Ruadh turned the screw
though and forced a debatable free in injury time. The Naomh Éanna bench were incensed but Casey
stood over the sliotar 30 yards from goal, close to the stand touchline in
Celtic Park and split the posts.
Martin Curran makes the second of his four saves during the shoot out
Full time in Extra Time: Naomh Éanna 2-20 Eoghan Ruadh
2-20
It’s no way to decide a match of this magnitude but Naomh
Éanna and Eoghan Ruadh were faced with penalties. One on one with a ‘keeper 20 meters
away. A time for heroes, a time for men
to hold their nerve. A time for Martin
Curran but first Cormac Ross.
Damian Casey stepped up first but Curran saved
superbly. Not the start Eoghan Ruadh
would have wanted and when Cormac Ross fired to the bottom right of John
Devlin’s net with his effort, it was advantage Naomh Éanna.
Incredibly though, Ross’ penalty was the only successful
attempt. Philly Curran, John McGoldrick
and Matthew O’Hare all saw their efforts saved while Tiernan Morgan and Conor
McNally couldn’t get the better of Martin Curran. Conor McNally’s penalty went high over the
bar while Branán Molloy needed to score to put the pressure back on Naomh
Éanna. Step forward Martin Curran once
again. A brilliant save that wrote his
name into Naomh Éanna folklore as the fans flooded onto the Celtic Park pitch
and his team mates sprinted the length of the pitch to celebrate. Somewhere at the bottom of a human mountain
of men lay the hero Naomh Éanna needed for the day.
Naomh Éanna, Ulster Champions.
Naomh Eanna celebrate their historic victory
TEAMS
Naomh Éanna: Martin Curran; Niall O’Connor, Rian
Gillen, Ruairi Diamond; Cormac Ross, Mark Donaghy, Joe Maskey; Ryan Bogue,
Ruairi Donaghy; Philip Curran, Manus Mullan, Cormac Jennings; John McGoldrick, Darrach
Cooper, Killian Jennings
Subs: Matthew O’Hare for M Mullan (HT); Ruairi
Crummey for K Jennings (44); Ed O’Connor for C Jennings (51)
Scorers: John McGoldrick 1-11 (7 f’s; 2 ‘65’s);
Ruairi Donaghy 1-3; Matthew O’Hare 0-2; Cormac Ross 0-1; Joe Maskey 0-1;
Killian Jennings 0-1; Ed O’Connor 0-1
Eoghan Ruadh: John Devlin; Conor McNally, Mark
Winters, Sean Donaghy; Josh Ferguson, Stephen Donnelly, Duibhir Marshall;
Lorcan Devlin, Tiernan Morgan; Martin Devlin, Terry McIntosh, Branán Molloy;
Matthew Mulgrew, Damian Casey, Kiefer Morgan
Subs: Ruairi Devlin for M Winters (50); Padraig
McHugh for M Devlin (inj)
Scorers: Damian Casey 0-13 (8 f’s 1 ’65); Kiefer
Morgan 1-1; Lorcan Devlin 1-00; Terry McIntosh 0-2; Tiernan Morgan 0-2; Branán
Molloy 0-1; Matthew Mulgrew 0-1
Referee: Tarlach Conway (Ballinascreen, Derry)
Naomh Eanna celebrate their historic victory
Pleased as Punch! Naomh Eanna manager Terence McNaughton shows his delight at the cup arrives back in the changing room
Taking one for the team as a Naomh Eanna defender rugby tackles Eoghan Ruadh corner forward Matthew Mulgrew
Another first in Sunday’s final. The first time I have seen the green and white flag raised together to signal a score. Eoghan Ruadh’s opening score dropped just over the bar and was cleared by Martin Curran. As the ball rebounded it was drilled to the net but referee Tarlach Conway had signalled the origianl score
