Homefit Antrim ACFL Div 1.

Rossa 0-9 St Marys Aghagallon 0-11.

Aghagallon staged a strong second half comeback despite playing into the breeze to edge out O‘Donovan Rossa in a tight contest at Rossa Pairc on Sunday. The home side looked in a strong position when they turned round with the breeze in their favour, leading by a single point but the visitors produced a polished second half performance to take the points.

Rossa opened strongly and Dara Rocks fired over but the visitors settled into the game and Niall McShane pointed from distance before Jamie Lamont edged them in front.

A Jonathan Hannon free extended the gap and while Dominic McEnhill responded at the other end, Shane Russell restored the two-point cushion, getting on the end of a quick break.

Rossa began to find their feet however and started to dominate possession with McEnhill converting a free and then Thomas Morgan shrugged off a challenge before splitting the posts to draw his side. level.

The home side continued to press and looked in for a goal but Pat Brannigan made a great block to deny Dara Rocks. McEnhill gathered the rebound however to fire over and edge his side in front.

Eunan Walsh tied the game in first-half stoppage time after claiming a mark and converting but Rossa would take a 0-6 to 0-5 lead at the half with Sean Pat Donnelly splitting the uprights on the turn.

The introduction of Adam Loughran to the Aghagallon attack at the start of the second half was to have a strong influence on proceedings and he didn’t take long to make an impact as he sent over the equaliser in the 5^th minute before Jonathan Hannon pointed a free into the wind to give the visitors the lead.

Eunan Walsh then doubled their advantage, kicking a free into the teeth of the breeze before Adam Devlin responded with a beauty of a score for Rossa.

The momentum was with Aghagallon however and Shane Russell looked to be in for a goal but Cricky McGuinness made a vital block but Russell did manage to kick the point of the day shortly after, converting from a tight angle way out on the right with the outside of his right boot.

Niall Patterson then got on the end of a precise pass from Loughran and Walsh blasted over after a strong run to put four between the teams.

Rossa were struggling to get their hands on the ball at this stage but a McEnhill free and a fine score from Thomas Morgan closed the gap to two and set the scene for a storming finish.

However, Aghagallon managed the game well and kept the ball inside the Rossa half to give the hosts no opportunity to get forward in search of a match-winning goal as the visitors claimed the win.

ROSSA: Mick Byrne; Conor McGowan, Stephen Shannon, Niall Crossan; Patrick Moyes, Chris McGuinness, Matthew Mallon; Cormac McGettigan, Sean Pat Donnelly (0-1); Dara Rocks (0-1), Dominic McEnhill (0-4, 3 frees), Darren Grego; Adam Devlin (0-1), Thomas Morgan (0-2), Michael Armstrong.

Subs: Conal Shannon for D Rocks (46), Ben McAuley for A Devlin (51)

AGHAGALLON: Damian O’Hagan; Pat Brannigan, Aidan Mulhollan, Daryl McAlernon; Ciaran Maginnis, Jamie Lamont (0-1), Paul Mulholland; Oisin Lenehan, Niall McShane (0-1); Enda McCartan, Ruairi McCann, Jonathan Hannon (0-2 frees); Niall Patterson (0-1), Eunan Walsh (0-3, 1 mark, 1 free), Shane Russell (0-2).

Subs: Adam Loughran (0-1) for E McCartan (HT), Michael McStravick for S Russell (54)

REFEREE: Patrick Tumelty (Lámh Dhearg)

                                                                            ACFL Division One

                                                           Tir na nOg 1-11 St Mary’s Ahoghill 1-13

St Mary’s Ahoghill recorded their second victory in succession when they claimed the points in a close fought contest against the first division new boys Tir na nOg at Whitehill today. The visitors started slowly but came back strongly to gain a hard earned victory that may prove a valuable brace of points come season’s end.

Tir na nOg opened with intent as wing back Ciaran O’ Neill dominated the central zone and they looked good when they held a 0-04 to 0-01 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The high fielding wing man rose highest in the middle before opening the home side’s account with a stunning 2^nd minute point.

James O’ Connell, who was excellent throughout for the visitors ensured his side were abreast when he fully punished a foul on Danny O’ Neill a couple of minutes later.

The Randalstown side had the bit between their teeth in the opening quarter with Ciaran O’ Neill’s dominating around the central zone and he added another point before a foul on Daniel Martin was punished when Darragh Feagan despatched the award between the posts to put the Whitehill side 0-04 to 0-01 ahead at the end of the opening quarter and they looked in complete control.

Having looked decidedly lethargic in the opening phase the Cloney side began to play their way into the game and having been under the cosh in the opening exchanges the tide was about to turn as full back James ‘Bobby’ Magee took control of the situation.

The central defender was first to a lofted Ciaran O’ Neill effort and started a sharp counter attack with Bernard Graham and Danny O’ Neill combining to place Conor Crossey who finished in some style past the home side’s net minder Sean Paul Mc Atamney ensuring the visitors a 1-02 to 0-04 advantage.

The Cloney side had grabbed the initiative and with Magee now dominant at the centre of the defence, James O’ Connell increased their lead with a fine 22^nd minute point and his sibling PJ added another as the visitors enjoyed a period of supremacy.

The lively corner man’s shot at goal was blocked after he was set up by a smart Dan O’ Neill delivery but he reacted quickest to the rebound to send over the bar.

Tir na nOg had been under the cosh for a period but they did have the last say of the half as a superb long range effort from central defender Barry McCormick sailed over the black spot to reduce the deficit to 1-06 to 0-06 as the half time whistle sounded.

Ahoghill were quickly into their stride at the start of the second half and mid fielder Patrick Graham fired between the posts after less than a minute to increase their advantage.

The Whitehill side were quick to reply as a strong approach involving Ciaran 0’ Neill and Daniel Martin opened the way for Darragh Feagan to fire to the net and reduce the Ahoghill lead to the minimum at 1-06 to 1-05.

Ahoghill were forced into change at such juncture as a hamstring injury to Eoin Graham forced the wing back into early departure to be replaced by Diarmuid Graham.

Graham soon settled into the action and his first touch was vital as he sent Ruairi Graham away to raise white, and he then got on the end of a Bobby Magee clearance to Eamon Brady to add another.

The St Mary’s men were calling most of the shots as the second half progressed and a fine James O’ Connell point in the 40^th minute ensured a 1-09 to 1-05 lead.

The home side were visibly struggling as the Ahoghill defence took a firm grip with a defiant last line of James Magee, Patrick Dougan and Bernard Graham turning everything that came their way.

The visitors were quick to change defence into attack and well organised counter opened the way for the O’ Connell brothers, James and PJ to add further points and at the end of the third quarter they had moved into a 1-11 to 1-06 lead.

Tir na nOg rang the changes in an effort to get their game going with the introduction of Christy Sheerin and Ciaran Dobbin adding impetus and they began to enjoy some success.

A long range Aaron McNeilly point stoked the fire of comeback and when Ciaran Dobbin added another it seemed the home side had regained the initiative.

It was a case of back to the wall for Ahoghill in the latter stages as the home side opted for high delivery as the best route to goal.

A long range point from Darragh Feagan reduced the gap to a manageable couple of points as the clock counted down and the comeback looked well within the bounds of possibility.

St. Mary’s were under siege but they were holding firm and they broke from defence again and the excellent James O’ Connell collected before delivering between the posts to ease the pressure.

As the game edged into injury time a Sean Duffin Point raised the home side’s hopes once again but the visitors made swift reply as a strong left sided approach opened the way for Neil ‘Boris’ O’ Connell to fire over.

Tir na nOg fought right to the end but a 65^th minute point by Darragh Feagan from a 30 metre free was the last piece of action with Ahoghill claiming the bragging rights and what may prove to be a valuable couple of points in an action packed encounter.

Tir na nOg: S P Mc Atamney, Ethan 0’ Hagen, Brandon Mc Larnon, Barry Magee, Ciaran O’ Neill (0-02), Barry Mc Cormick (0-01), Caomhinn Duffin, Oliver Mc Atamney, Ryan O’ Neill, Aaron Mc Neilly (0-02), Sean Duffin (0-02), Darren O’ Kane, Daniel Martin, Darragh Feagan (1-03), Ciaran Logan

Subs:

Christy Sheerin

Ciaran Dobbin (0-01)

Ahoghill: Noel Crossey, Patrick Dougan, James Magee, Bernard Graham, Eoin Graham, Fionnbar O’ Neill, Eamon Brady, Patrick Graham (0-01), Neil O’Connell (0-01), James O’ Connell (0-05), Danny O’ Neill, Eoin Neeson, Conor Crossey (1-00), Ruairi Graham (0-03), PJ O’ Connell (0-03)

Subs:

Diarmuid Graham or Eoin Graham

Coola Mc Donald for Donal Graham

Referee: D O’ Neill (Gort na Mona)

ACFL Division 1

Casement’s 2-12 Tir na nOg 0-10

A strong second half from the home side proved the difference in this all South West game at Kelly Park Portglenone.

The first half was a tight encounter with the visitors taking the game to Casements. Tir na nOg were on top of the majority of the half with Casements men happy to go in at half time with the game level.

The visitors were first to register and Pearse Sheerin edged them ahead with a point in the second minute with Conall Delargy squaring the contest from an 8^th minute free.

Thye Whitehill side were giving as good as they got as Aaron McNeilly restored their one point advantage with Delargy squaring the contest for a second time with a point in the 14^th minute.

Tir na nOg continued to take the game to the opposition and Sean Duffin edged them ahead for the third time with a point in the 16^th minute and when Aaron McNeilly followed with another to move them two in front they seemed to be gaining the upper hand.

Portglenone fought hard to get their own game going and Michael Hagan fired over their first point from play but Barry McCormick responded with a point for the visitors to edge them two in front again after 23 minutes play.

It was Portglenone who finished the half stronger however with points from Conall Delargy, Ronan Kelly and Stephen Kelly with Ryan O’Neill on target for the Randalstown men to leave it all square as the half time whistle sounded.

Whatever John McKeever said to his side at half time seemed to work as Casements came out of the blocks flying at the start of the second half, hitting 2-3 without reply in the opening 12 minutes.  

Michael Hagan began the second half scoring with a point in the first minute and when Niall Delargy got through for a goal in the third minute the balance of play had swung strongly in favour of the league leaders.

The home side were totally dominant during this period and missed several more goal chances including a penalty from Michael Hagan with six minutes on the clock.

Corey McLaughlin and Ronan Kelly added points before the excellent Conall Delargy got in for their second goal with only 9 minutes on the clock.

Tir na nOg were fighting hard to get back into contention but were finding the home defence hard to penetrate but Ciaran O’Neill finally openbed heir second half account with a point in the 12^th minute.

Caolan Tierney and Niall Delargy for Casement’s and Aaron McNeilly and Ciaran Logan for Tir na Nog exchanged further points as the visitors fought hard to close the gap but although they hit three of the final four points of the game they were unable to get the goal that might have ignited a comeback.

Ciaran Logan 0-2 and Ciaran O’Neill were the men on target for the Whitehill side with Oisin Doherty the Casement’s marksman as the Kelly Park side ran out winners by eight points to keep their unbeaten start the season intact and they sit proudly on top of the table with six points from three starts.

Casements: 1. Ryan O’Neill 2 Ronan Delargy 3 Shane Delargy 4 Johnny Convery 5 Ryan Convery 6 Dermot McAleese 7 Caolan Tierney 0.1 8 Niall Delargy 1.1 9 Niall McKeever 10 Paddy Carey 11 Conall Delargy 1.3 12 Corey McLaughlin 0.1 13 Ronan Kelly 0.2 14 Stephen Kelly 0.1 15 Michael Hagan 0.2 Subs: Oisín Doherty 0.1, Sean Byrne, Kevin O’Kane Aidan Kearney.

Tir na nOg: 1. Sean Paul McAtamney 2 Ethan Higgins 3 Brendan McLarnon 4 Barry Magee 5 Ciaran O’Neill 6 Barry McCormick 7 Oliver McAtamney 8 Ryan O’Neill 10 Darragh Fagan 11 Sean Duffin 12 Aaron Mcneilly 13 Conor Hastings 14 Pearse Sheerin 15 Daniel Martin

Referee: Eamon McAuley (Cargin)

Naomh Gall 1-9 St. John’s 2-10

St. John’s good start to the season continues and after losing their opening game to Portglenone at Corrigan they now find themselves level with the Casement’s on points though they have played.

A good win down at Ahoghill on day two and an even better one over Erin’s Own Cargin at Corrigan last Sunday saw them climb the table and last night they travelled the short journey to Milltown to face old adversaries, St. Gall’s.

Points are never easy come bye at the home of their neighbours but the ‘Johnnies’ good form continued with goals from Conor Hand and Conal Quinn enough to see them claim the points.

Conal McGlade, Ryan McNulty and Andy McGowan were all on target with points for the Whiterock Road side who have no game this Sunday but travel up to Hannastown to face Lamh Dhearg next Wednesday night where they will be hoping to continue their recent good run of results

St. John’s: 1. Eoghan Rua Lambert 2. Conor McEvoy 3. Jack Bohill 4. Ciaran Garland 5. Oisin Donnelly 6. Padraig Nugent 7.Joe Garland 8. Simon McDonagh 9. Ryan McNulty 10. Andy McGowan 11. Pearce Donnelly 12. Conal McGlade 13. Conal Quinn 14. Conor Hand 15.Conor Adams

ACFL Division 1

Ahoghill 2-10 Gort na Mona 1-8

St. Mary’s Ahoghill claimed their first win of the season when they produced a solid performance to overcome the challenge of fellow strugglers, Gort na Mona in Cloney tonight. Goals from PJ O’Connell after 12 minutes and another from Ronan Graham with17 minutes on the clock proved the important scores and turned the game in favour of the home side.

It was visitors, Gort na Mona who made the better start and raced into a 0-03 to 0-0 lead by the 9^th minute and looked the better side at this stage of the game.

Dessie McClean got the visitors off the mark with a fine point and points from Aidan McDonagh and another from the ‘45’ by keeper, Thomas McCaffrey had the visitors three ahead and they were making all the running at this stage of the game.

Indeed they might have been further ahead and looked to be in for a goal in the 12^th minute but the ball came back of an upright and was cleared to safety. Play quickly transferred to the other end of the field with James O’Connell placing his brother PJ who raced through for an excellent finish.

Five minutes later the Gort na Mona defence failed to deal with a high speculative delivery and in the scramble that followed Ronan Graham got the important touch to palm to the net and when Conor Crossey finished with a point the home side were six clear.

Points from Owen Neeson, Neil ‘Boris’ O’Connell and Neeson again moved St. Mary’s eight ahead after 25 minutes as their strong running game from deep in their own half began to open up the Gort na Mona defence with Darron Boyd firing over a late free to leave it 2-5 to 0-4 in favour of Ahoghill at half time.

Ahoghill gained a lot of turnovers in the second half after great work by the defence, but hit a lot of wides from easy chances. Dessie McClean closed the gap to six when he split the posts for Gort na Mona in the opening minute with Ronan Graham replying for St. Mary’s with five minutes gone.

Gort na Mona kept pushing forward at every opportunity but stern defence from James Magee and Bernard Graham kept pushing them out to shoot from difficult positions. It was Christopher Carson who shot from distance to again close the gap but once again Ahoghill responded with Fionnbar O’Neill replying to keep his side seven in front with 11 minutes of the new half gone.

This end to end trend continued throughout the second half with Gort na Mona firing over points from Padraig Cournane and Dessie McClean but they never really looked like getting the scores that would turn the game with PJ O’Connell hitting two at the other end and Donal Graham also on target

The visitors never gave up however and their efforts paid dividends when they were awarded a penalty, two minutes into injury time and Darren ‘Diesel’ Boyd stepped up to beat Noel Crossey from the spot.

It came too late to effect the result however with referee Kevin Parke sounding his whistle from the resulting kick-out and it is St. Mary’s Ahoghill who have their first points of the season and on the night they were fully deserved.

Gort na Mona battled hard throughout and in the early stages looked the better side for a time but were unable to sustain their early attacking pressure and now look forward to the visit of St. Enda’s on Sunday where they will be hoping to open their 2022 account.

Ahoghill: Noel Crossey, Bernard Graham, Bobby Magee, Patrick Dougan, Eoin Graham, Fionnbar O’Neill, Eamon Brady, Patrick Graham, Neil O’Connell, Owen Neeson, James O’Connell, Dan O’Neill, Ronan Graham, PJ O’Connell, Conor Crossey. Subs: Donal Graham

Gort na Mona: Thomas McCaffrey, Padraig Cournane, Tiarnan Keenan, Michael Savage, Ciaran Donnelly, Sean Doyle, Sean Campbell, Patrick McCaffrey, Christopher Carson, Darren Boyd, Aodhan McDonagh, Padraig McHugh, Niall Melaney, Brendan Corr, Desy McClean