Senior Hurling League

Division One

Loughgiel 2-21 Dunloy 3-18

Sunday 21 June

Brendan McTaggart reports from Healy Park, Loughgiel

The points were shared on Sunday evening in this derby as Loughgiel and Dunloy played out an intense contest at Healy Park.  In a game that for long periods looked like the Shamrocks were going to take the bragging rights over their rivals, it was the Cuchullains who produced a strong finish to maintain their push for the league crown.

Going into the final quarter, the home side led by eight points with Paul Boyle putting in a man of the match performance.  Boyle would finish with 1-7 before coming off late in the game while the genius of Jack McCloskey always gave Loughgiel a threat inside.  His goal helping the Shamrocks into an early lead.

Conal Cunning top scored for the Cuchullains, finishing the match with 1-11 beside his name while Oisin McCallin’s two majors came at crucial times for the visitors.  Dunloy dug deep at the death however, finishing the game strongly with Cunning instrumental.  There were some unsavoury scenes towards the end that gave referee Kevin Parke plenty to consider but there was no separating the sides at the final whistle.

To say Loughgiel made a fast start would be an understatement.  By the ninth minute of the game, they had 1-7 on the scoreboard with Nigel Elliott and Cunning points the only response for the Cuchullains at the same time.  Paul Boyle (4), Jack McCloskey (2) and Eoin McGarry with the points while Jack McCloskey’s goal was a tidy finish after great work from Liam Glackin in the build up.

After Coby Cunning and Boyle swapped further scores, the Cuchullains found their scoring range with five points unanswered in the space of six minutes.  Keelan Molloy (2), Nicky McKeague, Nigel Elliott and Cunning (’65) with the scores for Dunloy.

A Ben McGarry score from distance put Loughgiel’s lead out to four points by the 17^th minute before Dunloy scored their first major of the contest.  Ryan Elliott’s free from distance dropping into the danger area where McCallin broke the sliotar into his own path before pulling first time to the back of Cormac McFadden’s net.

Loughgiel finished the half strongly however, raising the white flag on six occasions to just a brace of frees from Cunning  in the same period of time.  Ruairi McCormick, Rian McMullan (2), Roan McGarry (free) and a long distance free from Jack McCloskey leaving the half time score 1-13 to 1-9 in the home sides favour.

The opening exchanges of the second half were fairly even with Cunning firing over three frees and Molloy splitting the uprights for the third time in the match while the Shamrocks found the target through Roan McGarry (free), Boyle and substitute James McNaughton (2).

Loughgiel’s second goal looked to have put some daylight between the sides in the 42^nd minute with Boyle finishing off a super move that involved substitute Dan McCloskey, Jack McCloskey and Pearce Patterson. 

Dunloy responded with Cunning’s second point from open play before a quickfire brace of points from Paul Boyle put eight between the sides with a little over 13 minutes remaining.  But, it was Dunloy’s turn to finish a half strongly with McCallin’s second major giving them hope of reeling in the Loughgiel lead.  Collecting a sliotar delivered over the top of rushing challenges from Aaron Crawford, McCallin rifled a fierce shot that McFadden partially stopped but the sheer force of his drive meant the sliotar went over the line.

The challenges were heavy in the closing stages with the temperature increasing.  Crawford and Rian McMullan swapped scores before Cunning’s major came in the 50^th minute as off the ball skirmishes began to develop.

Roan McGarry pointed for his fourth of the contest and first from open play to leave three between the sides with nine minutes remaining.  That would be the Shamrock’s last score of the contest however.

Tensions boiled over with unsavoury scenes that Kevin Parke eventually brought control to.  Tensions were barely calmed when play resumed but it was the Cuchullains who had enough composure and the accuracy of Cunning to tie the scores in the fifth minute of injury time.

Loughgiel had one last roll of the dice to get a winner when substitute ‘Betty’ McKee took a sideline cut from close to 40 yards out, but his effort fell to the right hand side of the posts and wide.

On the longest day of the year and Fathers Day, there was little friendly or neighbourly about this contest.  There’s always and edge to the games when it comes to contest between these sides, throw in the fact the championship isn’t far away and this was always going to be a contest not to be missed.

Dunloy are three points clear with two matches of their schedule remaining, the first of those against Ballycastle at Pearse Park next Sunday while Loughgiel will travel to Cushendall for their next league game on the 1^st July.

TEAMS
Loughgiel Starting XV: Cormac McFadden; Rory McCloskey, Enda Og McGarry, Liam Glackin; Ruairi McCormick, Declan McCloskey, Ben McGarry; Eoin McGarry, Ronan Fitzgerald; Rian McMullan, Pearce Patterson, Roan McGarry; Jack McCloskey, Paul Boyle, Shan McGrath

• Subs: James McNaughton for E McGarry (30+2), Dan McCloskey for S McGrath (38), Ryan McKee for P Patterson (46), Conall McCloskey for P Boyle (56)
• Scorers: P Boyle 1-7, J McCloskey 1-2, R McGarry 0-4 (3fs), R McMullan 0-3, B McGarry 0-2, J McNaughton 0-2, R McCormick 0-1

Dunloy Starting XV: Ryan Elliott; Oran Quinn, Ryan McGarry, Reece Cunning; Eamon Smyth, Eoin McFerran, Aodhan McGarry; Aaron Crawford, Nigel Elliott; Oisin McCallin, Paul Shiels, Conal Cunning; Ciaran Elliott, Keelan Molloy, Nicky McKeague

• Subs: Seaan Elliott for P Shiels (37), Barry Scott for A McGarry (39), Chrissy McMahon for N McKeague (51)
• Scorers: C Cunning 1-11 (7fs, 1’65), O McCallin 2-00, K Molloy 0-3, N Elliott 0-2, A Crawford 0-1, N McKeague 0-1

Referee: Kevin Parke (Naomh Éanna)

To see more of Brendan’s photos from the game, follow the link below….

https://myalbum.com/album/vLCZu9AAUYehj6/?invite=03a4aa27-3b94-4782-8f2c-b76fafd4d752

TO SEE CURLY’S PICS FROM THE GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://myalbum.com/album/GD8uSYpBAo9CNZ/?invite=7cdc597d-7222-4bcc-b2bb-0ddc95fac046

Antrim Hurling League – Division 1

St Enda’s 3-18 (27) | Glenariffe Oisins 0-25 (25)

St Enda’s breathed life into their Division 1 survival hopes with a hard-fought, two-point victory over Glenariffe Oisins at Waterfoot. In this first fixture since the league split, the stakes could not have been higher. With only one win to their name prior to throw-in, defeat would have left St Enda’s with a mountain to climb.

Instead, their ability to find the back of the net proved the difference in a high-scoring shoot-out. The win moves St Enda’s level on four points with Ballygalget, throwing the relegation battle wide open. While a victory would have put the Oisins in a commanding position to secure safety, they remain nervously looking over their shoulders, sitting just two points above the bottom two.

The match opened at a frantic pace. Seanie McIntosh got the hosts on the board immediately with a point from play in the opening minute, but St Enda’s quickly settled. Cormac Jennings, who would prove lethal all afternoon, responded with a free and a point from play to give the visitors an early edge.

The first half settled into a rhythm of trading scores. Glenariffe relied heavily on the dead-ball accuracy of Alex O’Boyle, who flawlessly punished St Enda’s indiscipline, while Michael O’Boyle and Calum McIlwaine chipped in with fine scores from play. By the 25th minute, Alex O’Boyle’s fifth free of the half had the Oisins firmly in contention.

However, the turning point of the half arrived in the 26th minute. Following a sustained period of St Enda’s pressure, Luke O’Connor broke through the Oisins’ defensive line to rifle home the game’s first goal. Despite a late free from Alex O’Boyle to narrow the gap, St Enda’s took a narrow two-point advantage into the dressing room.

Half-time: St Enda’s 1-11 | Glenariffe Oisins 0-12

Glenariffe came out firing after the restart. Back-to-back points from Oliver Kearney and another Alex O’Boyle free briefly swung the momentum back to the home side. But St Enda’s response was ruthless.

In the 7th minute of the half, Luke O’Connor struck again, bagging his second goal from play to silence the Waterfoot crowd and restore the visitors’ cushion. St Enda’s capitalized on the shock, with Ruairi Donnaghy and Cian O’Connor quickly adding points from play to stretch the lead.

The Oisins refused to lie down. Alex O’Boyle orchestrated a mid-half revival, slotting over four frees in an eight-minute spell, complemented by scores from Michael O’Boyle and McIlwaine. As the game entered the final ten minutes, the tension was palpable.

The decisive blow landed in the 22nd minute. A foul in the square awarded St Enda’s a penalty, and Cormac Jennings stepped up to bury it past the keeper, bringing his personal tally to an immense 1-8 for the day.

Glenariffe pushed hard in the closing stages. Canice McIntosh and Colla Ward found the target from play, and Alex O’Boyle tapped over his 13th free of the match. However, late insurance points from St Enda’s Eoin Conlon, Christopher Roberts, and Jennings ensured the Glengormley men held on for a vital lifeline in their season.

St Enda’s: Cormac Jennings (1-8: 1-0 pen, 0-4f, 0-1 ’65’, 0-3 ), Luke O’Connor (2-5: 2-2, 0-3f).

Glenariffe Oisins: Alex O’Boyle (0-13: 0-13f), Michael O’Boyle (0-3), Canice McIntosh (0-3 ), Callum McIlwaine 0-02, Michael Kearney 0-02

Senior Hurling League

Division One

Dunloy 2-28 Cushendall 2-11

Wednesday 10 June

Brendan McTaggart reports from Pearse Park, Dunloy

Dunloy overcame the challenge of an understrength Cushendall team on Wednesday evening to move clear at the top of the league.  The win was built on a brilliant first half from the Cuchullains that saw them come out of the traps quickest and play at a level that rarely dropped.  The intensity and work rate, especially in the forward unit that saw them score a high number of points from turnover ball will have pleased the Dunloy management.

Keelen Molloy shone, especially in the first half, scoring 1-7 overall and top scoring for the home side while Chrissy McMahon and Nigel Elliott shared six points evenly between them.  Nicky McKeague took over the free taking responsibilities and had five of his nine points from placed ball in a top performance.

Cushendall won’t have taken too much from this game given how many they were missing.  Ryan McCambridge and Conor McCann played well in an overworked defence while Joseph McNaughton and Fiontan Bradley always looked threatening in attack.  Bradely would top score for the Ruairi’s with seven points beside his name at the end of the hour while the goals came from Christy and Joseph McNaughton in either half but the second half was procession like.  Dunloy had nine different scorers over the hour with 2-23 coming from open play and could still afford to hit double figures in wides such was their overall dominance.

The home side had three points on the board inside the opening three minutes with Molloy (two) and McKeague (free) on target while it was the Ruairi’s who scored the first goal of the game.  Christy McNaughton’s long delivery into the danger area wasn’t dealt with by Ryan Elliott in the Dunloy goals and the sliotar went over the line.

The concession of the soft goal did little to deter the Cuchullains however as they scored six unanswered points in the next nine minutes, all from open play with Molloy excelling, McMahon and Ben O’Kane also getting in on the scoring act.

Christy McNaughton would score Cushendall’s first point of the contest in the 14^th minute as they looked to finally get to grips with the Dunloy work rate.  A trio of Fiontan Bradley points in less than two minutes reduced the Dunloy lead to four points before the home side scored their first goal.  It came from a turnover ball deep in the Cushendall half and Molloy punished the error by the Ruairi’s with a tidy finish in the 22^nd minute.

That lead was extended to 11 points going into injury time of the first half when the home side found the back of Conor McAllister’s net once more.  This time it was Eamon Smyth who was making his way towards the goal before finding Ciaran Elliott on the edge of the square.  Elliott’s effort was well saved by McAllister but Smyth was on hand to hammer the rebound to the back of the net giving Dunloy a 2-18 to 1-7 lead at the interval.

Cushendall made the perfect start to the second half with Joseph McNaughton scoring their second major.  Fiontan Bradley turning provider as he made inroads into the Dunloy defence before blind passing to McNaughton and while he still had work to do, his finish was emphatic.

McKeague and Bradley swapped frees before Dunloy went through the gears again.  Another run of six unanswered points in less than 10 minutes with Molloy, McKeague, O’Kane and Nigel Elliott all raising the white flag.

A brace of Bradley frees either side of McKeague’s ninth point of the evening put 17 between the sides with 10 minutes of the contest remaining.

The game rather petered out though with Nigel Elliott splitting the uprights on two occasions and Cushendall sending a number of high ball into the Dunloy defence in search for another major.

Neither side will have learned too much from this game as this fixture falls foul to holiday season.  One of the downsides to the split season as teams look to juggle game time and preparations for later in the summer.

The Cuchullains are back out in action on 21 June as they travel to Loughgiel with the league title within their grasp while Cushendall will travel to St John’s on the same afternoon hoping to get back to winning ways.

TEAMS

Dunloy starting XV: Ryan Elliott; Reece Cunning, Ryan Elliott, Sean Og Blaney; Eamon Smyth, Eoin McFerran, Aodhan McGarry; Ben O’Kane, Aaron Crawford; Nigel Elliott, Paul Shiels, Chrissy McMahon; Ciaran Elliott, Keelan Molloy, Nicky McKeague

• Subs: Paudie McGilligan for P Shiels (43), Oran Quinn for S Og Blaney (52), Barry Scott for C Elliott (52), Jack Martin for A Crawford (52), Conor Mort for K Molloy (54)
• Scorers: K Molloy 1-7, N McKeague 0-9 (5fs), N Elliott 0-3, C McMahon 0-3, B O’Kane 0-3, E Smyth 1-00, S Og Blaney 0-1, P Shiels 0-1, R Elliott 0-1 (1f)

Cushendall starting XV: Conor McAllister; Connor McCann, Liam Gillan, Alex McCambridge; Senan Black, Ryan McCambridge, Charlie McAuley; Callagh Mooney, Fergus McCambridge; Ed McQuillan, Joseph McNaughton, Thomas McLaughlin; Fintan McKillop, Christy McNaughton, Fiontan Bradley

• Subs: Nicholas McNaughton for E McQuillan (24), Darach Bradley for F McKillop (45), Stephen Walsh for A McCambridge (49), Aodhan Campbell for S Black (49), Cahir McCambridge for F McCambridge (58)
• Scorers: F Bradley 0-7 (5fs), J McNaughton 1-1, C McNaughton 1-1, E McQuillan 0-1, R McCambridge 0-1 (1f)

Referee: Declan McGarry (Loughgiel)

To see more of Brendan’s photos from the game, click on the link below…..

https://myalbum.com/album/mrnwkgkPszCaMw/?invite=35bae4cc-4b38-4107-86be-5ca474499b9b

Antrim Hurling League – Division 1

Glenariffe Oisins 3-25 Ballyalget 3-21

Glenariffe held off a late rally by visitors Ballygalget in the high-scoring game in Glenariffe on Sunday. The Oisins led by ten points at halftime and appeared to be comfortable, but the men from the Ards Peninsula staged a late comeback. Though their third goal came deep in injury time, there were still a few anxious moments for the home fans to suffer before match referee Tarlach Conway sounded the final whistle. The win brings their points tally to six and all but secures their place in the Division next season.

In the first half, Glenariffe opened the scoring with a point from play by Brogan O’Connor, but Ballygalget responded with a free of their own from Eoin Pucci. Glenariffe built momentum with multiple points from play, including scores by Oliver Kearney, Alex O’Boyle, and Seanie McIntosh. A well-worked team point by Glenariffe’s Oisín Gillan further extended their lead. Although Ballygalget struggled to keep in touch, they managed key scores from Eoin Pucci via a free and Owen McDermott from play. The Ballygalget goalkeeper made a crucial save at 25 minutes to deny Glenariffe’s Oisín Gillan what seemed a certain goal. However, Glenariffe secured a great goal from play by Alex O’Boyle in first-half injury time, giving his team a commanding ten-point lead at the break. ( Glenariffe Oisins 2-15, Ballygalget 0-11)

Ballygalget started the second half strong with a point from Fergal Gilmore and they could have had more but for the Glenariffe goalkeeper Paul McMullan who responded with a brilliant save from a 20-metre free to maintain his team’s advantage. Ballygalget worked to narrow the gap with points from a sixty-five by Marc Fisher and frees by Eoin Pucci but Glenariffe responded with points from Alex O’Boyle—who scored from a sideline cut and from frees, plus a team point from Seanie McIntosh. Ballygalget showed resilience during this stretch, landing a goal from a 20-metre free by Marc Fisher, a goal from play by Tim Prenter on 32 minutes, and an additional point from Dara Pucci. Glenariffe quickly responded with another goal from play by Oisín Gillan. Late points from frees by Alex O’Boyle helped Glenariffe secure the lead, despite a final goal for Ballygalget from an unknown scorer.1

Glenariffe Oisins: 1 Paul McMullan, 2 Donall Kearney, 3 Colla Ward, 4 Odhran Gillan, 5 Canice Mcintosh, 6 Daniel Kearney, 7 James Kearney, 8 Calum McIlwaine, 9 Niall Magee, 10 Brogan O’Connor, 11 Oliver Kearney, 12 Orrin O Connor, 13 Alex O’Boyle, 14 Seanie McIntosh, 15 Oisín Gillan.

Ballygalget: 1 Eoin Clarke, 2 Michael Toner, 3 Ben Teggart, 4 Caolan Coulter, 5 Jon Fisher, 6 Marc Fisher, 7 Cian Clarke, 8 Tim Prenter, 9 Eoin Pucci, 10 Oisin Coulter, 11 Shea Pucci, 12 Owen McDermott, 13 Daniel Toner, 14 Michael Dorrian, 15 John McManus.

Referee – Tarlach Conway

TO SEE MORE OF BERT’S PICS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://myalbum.com/album/2ohR7FM4ABvGA6/?invite=da285eeb-ba18-4a71-8590-2a8094640e50