The Karen Coyles Memorial Cup

Cushendall 3-9 Loughgiel 1-1

Ruairi Og retained the Antrim U14 camogie title with a hard-fought win against a gallant Loughgiel side in Ballycastle. The scoreline of Cushendall 3-9 to Loughgiel’s 1-1 does not tell the full story of the game as The Shamrocks matched the girls in maroon and white for long periods. However, a super rear-guard performance from the Dall defence and goalkeeper Ellen McAlister repelled the great majority of the Loughgiel attacks. Cushendall started the game brilliantly and had two goals on the board inside five minutes. The first crashed to the net by Cliodhna Thompson and the second finished off by Aimee McAuley following a goal mouth scramble. By the 12th minute Cushendall had stretched their lead to nine following two points from Cliodhna Thompson either side of a fine score from midfielder Scarlet Kerr-McKillop. Loughgiel did have two goal chances, but Catherine McGarry and Anna Smyth saw their efforts stopped by Ellen McAlister. The Shamrocks pressure finally broke Cushendall’s defence in the 18^th minute when wing forward Rosie McGarry hit the roof of the net. However, as half time approached Cliodhna Thompson converted a long range free that had been won by the hard-working Erin McNaughton to leave the score at the short whistle Cushendall 2-4 Loughgiel 1-0.

   The teams went at each other again in the second half and it took until the seventh minute for anyone to score. Loughgiel full forward Catherine McGarry had goal on her mind, but a relieved Ellen McAlister watched the shot rise over the crossbar. Cushendall answered back with a point from Cliodhna Thompson and two in a row from Mia McKeegan to stretch their lead to nine points. Loughgiel were throwing everything at Cushendall but the defence stood firm with Aibrean Campbell and Niamh McCollam particularly impressive. At the other end Cliodhna Thompson plundered her second goal of the day and she added two pointed frees and one from play in the closing stages to see Cushendall claim The Karen Coyles Memorial Cup on a scoreline of Cushendall 3-9 Loughgiel 1-1.

It was a great battle in tough conditions and both teams deserve great credit. For Cushendall Ellen McAlister was solid in goals, in front of her Aibrean Campbell, Niamh and Laoise McCollam defended brilliantly. At midfield Tamara Black and Scarlet Kerr-McKillop got through a mountain of work and up front Erin McNaughton, Mia McKeegan, Laoiseach McNaughton and Cliodhna Thompson played well. For Loughgiel Maeve Scullion made a number of great saves, Kelsie Laverty and Caoimhe McGarry defended well. At midfield Anna Smyth and Caoimhe Bateson gave everything and in the forwards Rosie McGarry and Sophie McGarry gave it their all.

   Scorers Cushendall: Cliodhna Thompson 2-6 (0-3fs) Aimee McAuley 1-0, Mia McKeegan 0-2, Scarlet Kerr-McKillop 0-1.

                  Loughgiel: Rosie McGarry 1-0, Catherine McGarry 0-1.

Teams Cushendall 1. Ellen McAlister 2. Olivia McAlister 3. Laoise McCollam(capt) 4. Sara Black 5. Aibrean Campbell 6. Anna Birt 7. Niamh McCollam 8. Scarlet Kerr-McKillop 9. Tamara Black 10. Mia McKeegan 11. Erin McNaughton 12. Laoiseach McNaughton 13. Aimee McAuley 14. Cliodhna Thompson 15. Lucia Trainor

Subs Aiofe Molloy, Gabriella McNeill, Saoirse Scullion, Aimee Hill, Emily Elliott, Elana McQuillan, Caoimhe McDonnell, Catherine McCormick, Emma Lynn.

Loughgiel 1. Maeve Scullion 2. Rebecca Laverty 3. Caela Casey 4. Ciara Breen 5. Caoimhe McGarry 6. Kelsie Laverty 7. Caoimhe Cunningham 8. Caoimhe Bateson(capt) 9. Anna Smyth 10. Rosie McGarry 11. Megan Dickson 12. Rose McMullan 13. Sophie Casey 14. Catherine McGarry 15. Eva Connolly

Subs Charly Ann Robinson, Grace Mullan, Blaithnaid Irvine, Caitlin Watt, Erin Mullan, Katie McFadden, Orlaith McKillop

Ulster Camogie Bridie McMenamin Shield semi-final

Ballela 1-2 Rasharkin 3-11

Pics by Mark Hasson

RASHARKIN remain on course to bring the Bridie McMenamin Shield to Antrim for a fifth successive season after travelling down to Ballela to record a comfortable semi-final victory over the Down champions.

Rasharkin got off to an excellent start with points from Jade Henry and Emer O’Neill inside the opening minute. When Ciara O’Boyle added a third point, the north Antrim side were really motoring. However Aoibhne Magee brought them back down to earth by drilling a free to their net and just five minutes had passed.

After that early scoring blitz, it became a little harder to register scores. However O’Boyle and Henry had added points apiece before O’Boyle set Cora Henderson up for a Rasharkin goal in the 17^th minute. Again O’Boyle and Henry (from a free) tagged on points and they led by 1-7 to 1-1 at the break.

Tara McAnarney hit back with an excellent point for Ballela on the re-start, but Jade Henry more than cancelled it when she drilled home a penalty in the 36^th minute. Ciara O’Boyle added a point and then a goal inside 30 seconds midway through the half and the Antrim junior champions were following their predecessors by reaching the provincial final.

In fact this will be the fifth successive final that has an Antrim v Derry pairing after Drumsurn had an easy 1-16 to 0-4 win over St Brigid’s in Armagh on Saturday.

Ahoghill and Lavey clashed in 2019. The following season Creggan made it two in a row with a narrow 1-6 to 1-5 win over Magherafelt. Magherafelt made it back to the 2021 final but again lost by a point, this time to St John’s Belfast.

Then last year Ruairí Óg reserve team made it five in a row with a 2-9 to 1-6 win over Ballerin. I suspect there will once again be a toss for venue between Drumsurn and Rasharkin for their derby final on November 25^th.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

Jade Henry (Rasharkin)

The Saffron champions has several contenders, notably Cadhla McLernon and Ciara O’Boyle, but Henry’s running and clinical finishing yielded 1-3, while the half forward was also on hand to pick up a number of breaking balls in defence.

SCORE OF THE MATCH

Ciara O’Boyle goal

O’Boyle had just launched over a huge free when she caught the resultant puck out, drive forward into the space and unleashed a daisy-cutter into the bottom corner of Ballela’s net.

TURNING POINT

Cora Henderson goal

Rasharkin had steadied the ship after an Aoibhne Magee free dropped to the net on 5 minutes and led by two when Ciara O’Boyle went clear on the right, squared it perfectly to Henderson on the edge of the box and the full forward dispatched it with aplomb to reassert control on the game.

Rasharkin: C O’Boyle 1-5, 0-2 frees, J Henry 1-4, 1-0 pen, 0-1 free, C Henderson 1-0, E O’Neill 0-2.

Ballela: A Magee 1-1 frees, T McAnarney 0-1.

Ballela: C Connolly, M McGivern, A Burns, S McCartan, L Devlin, K McNeill-Keenan, C O’Hare, M Mackin, C McNeill, E Starrs, C Savage, A Magee, C Rooney, T McAnarney, C McCusker.

Subs: J Braniff for C Rooney, O O’Rourke for E Starrs, A Starrs for C Savage, A McCusker for S McCartan, N McCorry for L Devlin.

Rasharkin: S McMullan, N McFerran, N O’Kane, E Hardy, B McFerran, S McFerran, C McLernon, K Darragh, N Mooney, C O’Boyle, E Quigg, J Henry, Caitlin Mooney, C Henderson, E O’Neill.

Subs: Cara Mooney for Caitlin Mooney (44), S Hasson for C Henderson (49),

AIB Ulster Club Senior Camogie Championship semi-final

Loughgiel (Antrim) v Slaughtneil (Derry) (Sunday, at Dunsilly.

Throw-in 1pm

Loughgiel face familiar foes on Sunday when they take on old rivals Slaughtneil in the Ulster semi-final at Dunsilly at 1pm. The Shamrocks and the Emmett’s have crossed paths many times over the years with the Derry champions leading the race between the two sides, though it was the Shamrocks who came out on top last season when the sides met in the Ulster final in Newry. Before that the Emmet’s won six in a row, a few of them really close it has to be said, but the Shamrocks could not get a break in many of the games. Loughgiel were good in many of those meetings but the Derry champions were always that bit better.

Going into Sunday the question is will the Shamrocks two brightest stars be fit to compete in the game. Rosin McCormick has been going through a rough time with injuries for more than a year now. She did not start last week in the Antrim senior final against Ballycastle but made an instant impression when introduced as a sub with ten minutes to play, scoring a brilliant individual goal to swing the game back in the Shamrocks favour after Ballycastle had clawed their way back from six down to close within a point. Caitrin Dobbin, ended up top scorer in the match with 2-2, despite going off injured for a good part of the game.

Just seven days since that game there must be serious doubts about the fitness of the Shamrocks brightest stars and for the Antrim champions to overcome Sunday’s opponents it is vital that at least one of them is fit to play. If they are fit to compete I have no doubt they can retain their Ulster title, but without them the Shamrocks will be really up against it.

These two clubs have been the dominant forces in Ulster Camogie for almost a decade now, and this will be their ninth final meeting in a row, and add to that two replays and you can see they are very familiar with each other.

One worrying aspect about Loughgiel’s run this season it that Sunday’s game with the third week in a row they have faced a tough game. Last week they were pushed hard by Ballycastle for long periods and the previous week they had another hard game against Cushendall in the Antrim semi-final. Considering the length of time the round robin section of the championship took to play it doesn’t really make sense that a team is left in this position, facing their toughest opponents on the back of two really hard games.

Earlier in the week the plan was to play the game in Fr Healy Park, Loughgiel but with conditions like they are at this time of the year that was never really a sensible option. Dunsilly is now the venue, which will mean they are playing on a much better surface which will suit both team much better.

Let’s hope the recent upturn in the weather continues for another few days and we get a chance to see these two great teams at their best on Sunday.

Travel Ireland Coaches Antrim senior championship

Loughgiel 3-6 Ballycastle 0-7

Two superb goals in the last ten minutes from star forwards Roisin McCormick and Caitrin Dobbin steered Loughgiel to their tenth title in a row at Pairc Mhuire, Cushendall on Sunday and dashed the hopes of challengers Ballycastle.

Entering the last ten minutes it appeared that Ballycastle’s long search for a senior title might be coming to an end when Aine Donnelly’s point from play brought them within a single point of the champions, after having trailed by six at one stage in the opening half. Hopes were high among the black and amber fans that a shock could be on the cards, but the introduction of the Shamrocks brightest star Roisin McCormick (who hadn’t started because of hamstring strain) and Caitrin Dobbin (who was by that stage back in the action after picking up an injury in the first half) swung the game back in Loughgiel’s favour, and five minutes later it was all over bar the shouting.

Ballycastle gave it their all and will be desperately disappointed at how things ended, but despite an abundance of possession in the first half they failed to raise a flag until the 26^th minute of the game and that statistic cost them dearly.

Loughgiel had started with a bang and two early points, the first from Orlagh Laverty and the second from Caitrin Dobbin were quickly followed by brilliant struck goal from the right corner by Dobbin to put her team in control. Ballycastle recovered from their bad start and steadied the ship but though they began to create chances they simply could not hit the target until Maeve Kelly got their first score on 26 minutes. In the run in to half time Kelly hit another and younger sister Fiona got one, in reply to two from Lucia McNaughton frees which gave Loughigel a 1-4 to 0-3 lead at the break.   

Despite facing a diagonal breeze in the second half Ballycastle began to claw back the deficit. They actually fell a further point behind when Orlagh Laverty got Loughgiel’s last point for twenty five minutes, but slowly but surely they began to close the gap. Former All Ireland winner Sionan Graham was beginning to make her presence felt and they started their fightback with two pointed frees from Maeve Kelly. Samantha McKillen added another to close within two by the 40^th minute, but is could have been even closer but for some poor finishing.

When Aine Donnelly closed the gap to a single point with still 11 minutes of normal time remaining hope were high for the black and amber following, but McCormick’s dramatic entrance, and Dobbin’s brilliant strike snatched the game from Ballycastle’s grasp. McCormick cut in from the left and soloed along the endline before throwing the ball up and batting it past the advancing Ballycastle goalkeeper Danielle McMichael. Two minutes later Caitrin Dobbin was sent clear by a ball played over the defence by Christine Laverty and the corner forward picked it up on the run before sending it across the goal from the right corner to seal the club’s tenth title on the trot.

When the disappointment of this defeat fades Ballycastle will take great encouragement from their performance and come again next year. The strong start by the Shamrocks and even stronger finish was their undoing but for long periods of the game they gave as good as they got.

As for Loughgiel they won’t have much time to celebrate their historic victory as they are down to face their great Ulster rivals Slaughtneil next weekend. A tough encounter at any time, but without two of their top players it would be well night impossible so let’s hope that McCormick and Dobbin make a speedy recovery.  

Loughgiel: E Boyle, C Campbell, K Lynn, M Lynn, E McFadden, C Boyle, C McKillop, A Boyle, L McNaughton 0-2, Christine Laverty, A Connolly, A Lynn, C Dobbin 2-2, 0-1 free, K McKillop, O Laverty 0-2.

Subs: C Higgins for C Dobbin (13), C Dobbin for A Lynn (33), Ciara Laverty for K McKillop (44), R McCormick 1-0 for C Higgins (51), M McGarry for M Lynn (53)

Ballycastle: D McMichael, C Heggarty, C McShane, A Toner, M O’Neill, K Mullan, E McShane, N Cosgrove, S Heggarty, M Kelly 0-4 frees, F McIntosh, F Kelly 0-1, S Graham, S McKillen 0-1, J McIntosh.

Subs: NA Donnelly for C Heggarty (HT), Á Donnelly 0-1 for F Kelly (43), R McBride for J McIntosh (47), E McIntosh for S McKillen (52)

Referee: J McAllister (Dunloy)

Ulster Junior A Club Camogie Quarter-Final

Loughgiel (Antrim) 1-9 Granemore (Armagh) 0-14

IT was an excellent start to the second half that propelled last year’s beaten finalists Granemore into next Saturday’s  Ulster Junior A semi-final against Derry champions Newbridge, but this quarter-final went right to the wire in Loughgiel.

The home side fought hard to stay in the lead and were actually a point up with four minutes remaining. However on balance the Armagh champions deserved their victory because they stuck at it and had ever present danger in forwards Ciara Hill, Rachel Merry and Player of the Match Corinna Doyle.

Loughgiel had use of the wind in the first half and deservedly led by 1-5 to 0-2 at the break, although they didn’t really take control until Megan McGarry’s goal in the 20^th minute.

Up until that point, the Armagh champions were resolute at the back and trailed by just 0-3 to a point from Corinna Doyle. McGarry’s free bounced deceptively in goal area and ended up in the net. Emma McMullan, the star of the opening half, then added two points.

However four frees and a 45 from Merry, along with a point by Corinna Doyle, pulled the Armagh side level on 43 minutes, but Emma McMullan responded by sending Kirsty McKendry clear for a score to edge the home team back in front.

However Ciara Hill and Merry pointed from play to put Granemore ahead for the first time after 46 minutes. McMullan then hit back with two points, one of them a superb effort from out in the left corner, to edge Loughgiel ahead once more, but Doyle levelled again, though Anna McKillop won and pointed a free to bring the Shamrocks level in the 56^th minute.

Loughgiel were ahead, but it was their last score with the excellent Doyle pointing twice and then involved in the move that resulted in Fiadhna Loughran posting the final score at the start of injury time.

Granemore: R Merry 0-7, 6 frees, C Doyle 0-5, C Hill 0-1, F Loughran 0-1.

Loughgiel: M McGarry 1-0 free, E McMullan 0-5, A McKillop 0-2, 1 free, K McKendry 0-1, C Sullivan 0-1

Loughgiel: S McKillop, A McKillen, F McVeigh, E Connolly, Ciara Dobbin, M McGarry, C Connolly, K McKendry, T McKinley, S Deery, E McMullan, A McKillop, C Sullivan, C McIntyre, R Higgins.

Subs: C McMullan for R Higgins (21), E McKinley for C Sullivan (42), Caela Dobbin for C McIntyre (42)

Granemore: C Doyle, Á Keenan, C O’Hare, C McClelland, E Hagney, G McWilliams, A McClelland, A Doyle, C Doyle, K Smith, E Lavery, L Carr, F Loughran, R Merry, C Hill.

Subs:A McVeigh for E Hagney (21), J Carr for K Smith (26)