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.

TO SEE MORE OF DYLAN’S PIS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://myalbum.com/album/wegqTQrRtHVUVu

Antrim Football League – Division 1

Glenravel 1-09  Creggan 1-18

Creggan proved their table topping status with a convincing win in Glenravel but for the opening quarter they looked a long way second best in this encounter as the hosts got off to a flying start to lead 1-04 to 0-02 with twelve minutes on the clock. However Creggan started dominating midfield possession in the final five minutes of the first half and pretty much most of the second half limiting their opponents to only four more scores whilst they popped over points at will with Liam Quinn, berthed at full forward but roving at pace around the D, being unstoppable on the night.

Con Magees started well and led by three, Niall Hynds, Daire Higgins and Cathal Hynds the providers. Fintan Close and Martin Johnson pulled two back for the visitors but Glenravel replied through an Eamon Ward point and Cathal Hynds goal to lead 1-04 to 0-02 with twelve minutes gone. Up popped Liam Quinn with the first of his total of five points followed by Dominic McAteer to reduce the gap to three. Creggan’s big midfielder Jamie McCann was gifted a chance in front of goal to level the game but his piledriver was tipped onto the bar by Conleth O’Loan in goals and the same player recovered quickly enough to grab the rebound and clear the danger; but the warning signs were beginning to flag in the home side’s defence. Callum Higgins, who had a good hour in the green and white stretched the gap to four points but with five minutes remaining Creggan started to wrestle control of the game back and levelled with three from Liam Quinn and one from Sean Duffin. On the stroke of half time Glenravel themselves had a great goal chance but the shot was blocked and rebounded to Declan McAuley who also impressed throughout the game and McAuley slotted over with his left peg to give the home side the narrowest of leads as the half time whistle blew.

Creggan would have the advantage of what was sometimes a swirling wind in the second half and they used that to good effect. Though wayward at times they had enough possession to be wasteful without major impact. In the third quarter of the game they slotted over six points without reply from the home team. Two from Quinn and points each from Sean Duffin, Jamie McCann, Kevin Small and Conor Johnson to open up a five point lead. Aiden O’Donnell pointed from a free and with ten minutes remaining but Creggan had a four point advantage 0-14 to 1-07. With only a couple of minutes normal time left Kevin Small popped over a 2-point free and in as many minutes after Sean Duffin and Conor Johnson opened the gap to eight points as we entered added time. Whatever hope the home side had was completely eliminated when burly sub Aidan McKeown goaled to effectively kill the game. In the last play of the game Callum Higgins put over a 2-pointer from the forty five metre line in what was probably the score of the game and fitting that he should score it. But seconds later referee Kevin Parke kindly called time just before the rain came on; the visiting supporters much happier getting into their cars dry. Final score Glenravel 1-09 Creggan 1-18.

CON MAGEES – 1 Conleth O’Loan, 2 Conor Carey, 3 Eoin McCusker, 4 Niall Dickson, 5 Declan McCauley, 6 Sean Higgins, 8 Calum Higgins, 9 Cathal Hynds, 10 Niall Hynds, 11 Aidan O’Donnell, 12 Joe Martin, 13 Fergus Donaghy, 14 Harry Fyfe, 15 Daire Higgins.

CREGGAN – 1 Mark Dougan, 2 Conor McCann, 3 Ricky Johnston, 4 Liam McLernon, 5 Sam Maguire, 6 Ethan Carey-Small, 8 Martin Johnston, 9 Jamie McCann, 10 Fintan Close, 11 Kevin Small, 12 Sean Duffin, 13 Joe McAteer, 14 Liam Quinn, 15 Shea McCann.

TO SEE MORE OF DYLAN’S PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://myalbum.com/album/G9b48excyutGZL/?invite=364bc05e-d6e0-469b-b0ac-766ee4a703e6