Category / Intermediate Hurling Championship

by thesaffrongael

Loaf Points Emmets To The Decider

McKeever Hotels Intermediate Hurling Championship

Semi Final

Cushendun 0-21 Creggan 2-14

Saturday 10 October

Brendan McTaggart reports from Glenravel

Cushendun produced a dramatic comeback to seal their place in the intermediate final on Saturday afternoon.  Creggan had held an eight point lead at half time and were playing some fantastic hurling, Kevin Rice and Morgan Nelson causing mayhem in the Cushendun full back line at every opportunity.

The Emmet’s hit back after the interval however and when they needed a big performance, Connlaoth ‘Loaf’ McNeill stepped up to the mark for them.  He finished the game with 14 white flags, 10 of those from placed ball as he gave an exhibition from frees while pointing a sideline and scoring as good a point as you’ll see half way through the second half.

The Kickham’s men were superb in the first half and were full value for their eight point lead.  Morgan Nelson and Kevin Rice with the majors while Oran McCann marked his return to a Creggan shirt for the first time in two in a half years with two points.

Conor McCann was the glue that held Creggan together.  Playing in the six role, McCann was outstanding with a masterful performance.

Cushendun had to dig deep in that second half and with Loaf leading the way, there was an air of inevitability of them taking the lead.  Creggan had chances to take the game into extra time but Cushendun hung on.

Playing with the wind at their back, Kickhams opened the scoring through Kevin Rice.  Cushendun struck back with points from McNeill (’65) and Conor McHugh before Rice doubled his tally in a frenetic start to the game.

A free from McNeill and point from Shane McQuillan came either side of Oran McCann’s first point of the game to give Cushendun a one point lead after 10 minutes.

The next 10 minutes saw Creggan go through the gears, finding the back of the Cushendun net twice in the space of three minutes and putting them in charge of the game.

Conor McCann split the uprights with his first of six frees before Rice scored the opening goal in the 13th minute.  Collecting the sliotar after Conor McCann sent it towards the opposite corner, Rice collected and made a bee-line for the Cushendun goal.  He made no mistake and gave John Morgan little chance between the sticks.

The second goal was the best move of the first half with Keelan and Thomas McCann combining before sending Morgan Nelson through.  His finish was expert like and with a further point along with a score from Aidan McKeown, Creggan were in a commanding position.

Cushendun briefly halted the Creggan charge with Loaf’s third point of the half before Kevin Rice and Conor McCann (free) stretched the Creggan lead to nine points with a little under eight minutes of the half remaining.

A trio of unanswered points from Loaf (two) and Thomas Scally revived the Cushendun challenge but Creggan answered with Conor and Oran McCann raising white flags to leave the half time score 2-10 to 0-8 in Creggan’s favour.

The Emmet’s started the second half with a quick score from Sean McKay and while Conor McCann responded with his fourth free of the match, the Kickhams men had a gilt-edged goal chance in those opening exchanges.

Rice and Nelson combining but Morgan was alert to the danger and made a top save to deny Nelson with the goal at his mercy.

The reprieve seemed to spur Cushendun into life and had the opposite effect on Creggan, however.  The Kickhams wouldn’t register another score for fully 15 minutes and by the time Conor McCann would score his fifth free of the semi final, the Creggan lead was gone.

Cushendun reeled off eight scores in a 14 minute spell that saw them come back from the brink.  Jack McKay and Shane McQuillan finding scores while Loaf’s free taking was exemplary.  He sent over a side line cut in the same period of time while splitting the posts with the kind of instinctive point you would see in a Sunday Game highlights reel – intercepting a pass and firing over all in the one movement.

With the sides tied and still a quarter of the game remaining, it looked like Cushendun were set to push for home.  McCann’s fifth free was answered with a brace of points from Loaf to give Cushendun the lead with a little over five minutes remaining.

Substitute Sean Duffin fired over for Creggan to restore parity to the scoreboard once more as the Kickham’s men showed more fight in the closing stages but points from a Loaf free and Thomas Scally in the 57th minute gave the Emmet’s what felt like a huge, two point lead.

While Scally’s second white flag of the match was Cushendun’s last score of the semi-final, Creggan began to misfire.  Conor McCann saw two frees go to the wrong side of the posts and one played short when they still had time to take the game into extra time.  He would add another free in the second minute of injury time but the Cushendun defence held out to seal a one point win and book the Emmet’s place in the Intermediate decider in two weeks time.

TEAMS

Cushendun Starting XV: John V Morgan; Mark McSparran, Archie McSparran, Pearce McKeegan; Jack McKay, Donal O’Hara, Shane McQuillan; Thomas Scally, Calum Kilgore; Harry Kilgore, Conor McHugh, Connlaoth McNeill; Fiontan McQuillan, Sean McKay, Matthew McCartin

Subs: Aidan Corbett for A McSparran (35); Donncha Laverty for H Kilgore (54); Conor Bannon for F McQuillan (54)

Scorers: C McNeill 0-14 (10f); S McQuillan 0-2, T Scally 0-2; J McKay 0-1

Creggan Starting XV: Cormac Rice; Eunan McAteer, Keelan McCann, Paeder McGuckian; Senan O’Boyle, Conor McCann, Aidan McAteer; Jake McAteer, Sam Maguire; Oran McCann, Ruairi McCann, Dan Doran; Morgan Nelson, Thomas McCann, Kevin Rice

Subs: Sean Duffin for T McCann (45); Kevin Small for J McAteer (49); Lee Johnston for D Doran (58)

Scorers: K Rice 1-3; C McCann 0-6 (6f); M Nelson 1-1; O McCann 0-2; A McKeown 0-1; S Duffin 0-1

Referee: Declan McGarry (Loughgiel)

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by thesaffrongael

Carey v Glenarm is too close to call

McKeever Hotels Intermediate Hurling Championship – semi-final

Carey Faughs v Glenarm at Dunsilly – Throw-in 7pm.

Like Cushendun in Group 2 Carey have been out of action for a month since their last game against Creggan in St Patrick’s Park, Ballyvoy. Although they lost that game they still qualified as group winners, due to their score difference. they started their campaign in Fr Leonard Park, Cloughmills where they gave a first-half display that will rate with anything that the intermediate campaign has seen all year. They took their foot off the pedal in the second half, and in fairness to Cloughmills, they came back into it fairly well, but the Faughs still had eight points to spare at the final whistle.

They were impressive once again in their next game in Dreen, when they convincingly beat the 2024 Junior Champion Rasharkin by 2-21 to 0-18. Their first home game was against St Gall’s at St Patrick’s Park, when they gave a really good display to beat the visitors by 2-21 to 0-18 and make it three wins from three, but things began to go wrong when they lost out to Creggan in their last home game by 2-25 to 3-15 on a day when one of the stars of the team Conal McGlynn received a serious knee injury.

The Faughs won Antrim and Ulster two years ago but they  have lost a few key individuals from that team with ace free taker Conor McBride emigrating to Australia, James McQuoaig stepping aside because of work commitments and now have McGlynn joining those not available. Conleth McKinley sat out the Creggan game because of a hamstring injury but he may well be in the reckoning for a first fifteen place on Saturday evening.

Glenarm’s Intermediate run started back in July when they really turned on the style to beat St Paul’s by 3-21 to 0-14 at Shaw’s Road, their best display of the year. They had nine to spare in their first home game against Con Magees Glenravel, winning in the end by 0-23 to 0-14 but finished just four to the good in their following game against Tir na nÓg, 2-17 to 2-13. They were well beaten by Cloney Gaels in Ahoghill 3-18 to 2-16 which left qualification in the balance going into their last group game against Cushendun, which was played in Cushendall. A win would have put them straight into the semi-final and for most of the match, it looked like that was going to happen. Cushendun fought back in the second half and overturned an eight-point deficit to earn a draw, which put them straight into the semi-final. Glenarm, meanwhile, now faced a quarter-final tie with St Gall’s.

What a game it turned out to be with St Gall’s in charge for most of the game in very changeable weather conditions. The men from the Bog Meadows dominated the opening half and had a good lead at the break. Most fans at the game felt that Glenarm would easily overturn the deficit with the win behind them in the second half, but that did not happen and the Belfast side stayed in control until injury time when a point from a Niall McGarel free brought the game to extra time.

It was nip and tuck during those extra 20 minutes, 10 each way, but in the end, the home team grabbed the vital scores to send them through to tomorrow’s semi-final.

To be honest, this one’s too close to call so I will sit on the fence and hope that tomorrow night at Dunsilly, both teams will put on a good show.

by thesaffrongael

MacLiam’s injury stops St Gall’s in their tracks as Glenarm prosper

Antrim Intermediate hurling Championship – Quarter Final

Glenarm 2-21 St Gall’s 1-21

Glenarm secured a dramatic 2-21 to 1-21 extra-time victory over St Gall’s in the Antrim Intermediate Hurling Championship quarter-final, overcoming a six-point halftime deficit to book a semi-final meeting with Carey Faughs in two weeks’ time.

Played in muggy, challenging conditions at Feystown, the fixture frequently devolved into a grueling physical battle rather than a showcase of free-flowing hurling. St Gall’s utilized the favorable elements in the first half to build a commanding lead, driven almost entirely by a spectacular performance from full-forward Dubhultach MacLiam.

The Milltown talisman was unplayable early on, controlling the game’s tempo and netting a penalty into the top corner after Mark Napier was fouled. Despite a Darren Hamill goal and points from Fergus Donnelly keeping the hosts in the contest, St Gall’s entered the break with a comfortable six-point cushion.

Glenarm came out firing in the second half, cutting the deficit to three within three minutes through scores from Niall McGarel, Niall Rodgers, and Daniel Black. The match quickly evolved into a tense shootout. Whenever Glenarm threatened to overtake the visitors—spurred on by excellent play from Black and Aiden Scullion in the middle of the park—MacLiam responded with precision frees and points from play. Glenarm never led during the sixty minutes of normal time, ultimately relying on a high-pressure free from McGarel deep into injury time to level the game and force extra time.

The additional period began with the teams trading points before the game’s decisive twist: immediately after striking a free, MacLiam pulled up with a hamstring injury and was forced off the field. His departure ended an incredible individual showcase of 1-16 and stripped St Gall’s of their attacking anchor.

Glenarm immediately capitalized on his absence. With the visitors’ momentum shattered, McGarel stepped up to convert crucial placed balls, while Black and Hamill commanded the outfield. The hosts’ defense firmly shut out St Gall’s in the closing stages, completing the comeback to seal their final-four spot.

Final Score: Glenarm 2-21 | St Gall’s 1-21 Venue: Feystown

Glenarm Starting XV & Scorers:

  • M Abram; B Hamill, J Scullion, K O’Boyle; C Magill, M Furey (0-1), A Scullion (0-2); S McDermott, N McGarel (0-10, 8F), D Black (1-5), D McLaughlin; S O’Boyle, N Rodgers (0-2), D McDermott, D Hamill (1-1).

St Gall’s Starting XV & Scorers:

  • S McAreavey; E Rush, M Marlow, G Adams; D Churchill, J Hopkins, A Mackel; E Walsh, O McIlhatton; F Donnelly (0-1), T O’Ciarain (0-2, 1F), S Burke (0-1); D MacLiam (1-16, 11F, 1-0 Pen), A Gallagher, M Napier (0-1).
  • Referee – Shane McDonnell (Oisins)

Shane O’Neill’s chairman Eamon Matthews presents a sponsorship cheque to the Saffron Gael before Sunday’s game at Feystown

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by thesaffrongael

McCann Points Kickhams to the Last Four

McKeever Hotels Intermediate Hurling Championship

Quarter Final

Creggan 2-14 St Pauls 0-19

Saturday 26 September

Brendan McTaggart reports from Creggan

Conor McCann was the toast of Creggan on Saturday afternoon as his 65th minute free proved to be the winning score in a gripping quarter final.  Despite trailing by three points at half time and being reduced to 14 men with seven minutes of the hour remaining, St Pauls had the lead in the second minute of additional time.  Creggan responded with Morgan Nelson and captain McCann having the final say as the Kickhams defeated St Paul’s to reach the last four.

This contest had a dramatic ending and felt like neither team were going to win it.  Both had chances with the scores tied at the death with composure leaving them.  It came at the end of a second half where St Paul’s and Caolán Ó Duibhfhinn came back from the brink and looked the more likely to progress.

Creggan corner forward Kevin Rice celebrates after scoring an early goal

Creggan controlled the first half with goals from Kevin Rice and Ruairi McCann while their work rate in the middle third couldn’t be faulted.  The home side were pinned back and kept scoreless for 12 minutes in the second half however and while St Paul’s hit back, Creggan came good with the winning post in sight.

Sean Munce opened the scoring for St Pauls with the game barely a minute old while the Creggan response came via a Kevin Rice major.  Rice had the presence of mind to take his shot in an unorthodox fashion to prevent the St Pauls defence from hooking him and the sliotar went high to the back of Christopher Murray’s net.

Conal Finnegan and Sean Munce split the uprights either side of scores from Morgan Nelson and Dan Doran.

Senan O’Boyle dissected the uprights to leave the Kickhams three points ahead after 10 minutes.

The home side were making light of playing into the wind but St Paul’s began to get to the pitch of the fight.  Ó Duibhfhinn with a brace of frees before Mark Munce brought parity to the sides by the 18th minute.

Ruairi McCann responded with a point for Kickhams before Nelson did the same from placed ball.

Sean Munce fired over for his third white flag of the half before Ruairi McCann scored the second goal of the quarter final.  Sean McAuley with the assist as he delivered a blind hand pass into McCann’s path and he made no mistake to give Creggan a four point lead by the 24th minute.

The home side had another chance for a major moments later with Nelson and Doran going close but a huge score from Daire Stevenson had St Paul’s within three going into the closing stages of the first half.

Both sides registered further scores from placed ball with Nelson and Ó Duibhfhinn adding to their tallies to leave the half time score 2-6 to 0-9 in favour of the home side.

With the wind at their back for the second half, Creggan were well placed and despite substitute James McDonnell opening the scoring, the home side put daylight between the sides.  Unanswered scores from Thomas McCann, Kevin Rice and Aidan McKeown in the space of four minutes had the Kickhams men firing.

St Paul’s responded superbly though.  McDonnell firing over for his first of two points before Caolan Crossan did the same to leave three between the sides.

Nelson briefly halted the St Paul’s charge with his first free of the half and fourth point overall, but the Shaws Road side found another level.  Five successive points from Mark Munce and four from placed ball by Ó Duibhfhinn had St Paul’s one point ahead with a little over 10 minutes remaining.

Creggan looked to have weathered the storm when Thomas and Conor McCann fired over scores only for Ó Duibhfhinn to restore parity to the score line in the 52nd minute.

The game took a huge swing in favour of Creggan when Lorcan Phillips saw red for a second yellow card in the 53rd minute but neither side really took the game by the scruff of the neck.  Chances came for both sides with before Ó Duibhfhinn split the posts with his seventh free in the second minute of injury time to give St Pauls the lead once again.

Morgan Nelson replied instantly and with thoughts turning to extra time, St Pauls had a massive chance to score a goal.  James McDonnell through on goal with a bit of work to do, he went low only for Cormac Rice to deny him superbly.

The stage was set for Conor McCann to have the final say when he fired over a free from distance in the fifth minute of injury time and seal Creggan’s place in the semi final and a game with Cushendun.

TEAMS

Creggan Starting XV: Cormac Rice; Odhran Hampsey, Keelan McCann, Paedar McGuckian; Senan O’Boyle, Conor McCann, Aiden McKeown; Jake McAteer, Sam Maguire; Sean McAuley, Ruairi McCann, Dan Doran; Morgan Nelson, Thomas McCann, Kevin Rice

  • Subs: Ronan McGuckian for S O’Boyle (37); Aidan Maguire for O Hampsey (41)
  • Scorers: M Nelson 0-5 (3f); K Rice 1-1; R McCann 1-1; R McCann 1-1; T McCann 0-2; C McCann 0-2 (1f); D Doran 0-1; S O’Boyle 0-1

St Paul’s Starting XV: Christopher Murray; Tiarnan Auld, Daire Stevenson, Declan Quinn; Liam Walsh, Tomás Duffin, Lorcan Phillips; Mark Munce, Caoimhin Killyleagh; Sean Munce, Sean Og McLaren, Conal Finnegan; Shea Burns, Caolan Crossan, Caolán Ó Duibhfhinn

  • Subs: Stephen Rooney for C Finnegan (HT); Gerard Maguire for T Duff (33); Declan Chapman for S Og McLaren (49); Odhran Donnelly for C Crossan (59)
  • Scorers: C Ó Duibhfhinn 0-9 (7f, 1’65); S Munce 0-3; M Munce 0-2; J McDonnell 0-2; D Stevenson 0-1; C Finnegan 0-1; C Crossan 0-1

Referee: Coly Thompson (St John’s)

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Conor McCann fires over the match winning point

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by thesaffrongael

St Gall’s book quarter-final place with win over Cloughmills

Antrim Intermediate Hurling Championship

St Gall’s 0-24 Cloughmills 1-13 at Milltown

St Gall’s secured their quarter-final spot in the Antrim Intermediate Hurling Championship with a commanding 0-24 to 1-13 victory over Cloughmills in Round 3 at Milltown. Both sides entered the match knowing a win would guarantee progression, but St Gall’s demonstrated superior scoring depth across their forward line. Cloughmills relied heavily on the exceptional striking of centre-forward Michael Devlin, who kept them in contention throughout the first half.

St Gall’s asserted their dominance early, with Tomas O’Ciarain firing over two long-range points within the first two minutes. Cloughmills goalkeeper Christopher McKernan was forced into a brilliant point-blank save forty seconds in to deny an early breakthrough. Cloughmills quickly responded through a sideline cut from Mickey Devlin and a well-taken point from James Doherty. However, St Gall’s began to stretch the play; Mark Napier hit excellent scores from narrow angles and Dubhaltach Wilson found his range on the left wing.

Cloughmills struck a crucial blow at the 20-minute mark when Stephen Smyth found the net for the game’s only goal. Despite another impressive sideline cut from Devlin and a second outstanding point-blank save from McKernan, St Gall’s finished the half strongly to carry a 0-13 to 1-07 lead into the break.

The men from the Bog Meadows were on the front foot, at the start of the second half, with Mark Napier pointing from play just 15 seconds after the restart. Shortly after, and Aodhan Gallagher, introduced as a substitute for Daniel Churchill, added his name to the scoresheet. Cloughmills battled back with a massive free from his own 65-yard line by Devlin and another placed point from Doherty but Fergus Donnelly then concluded a well-worked St Gall’s move with a fine point from play.

The turning point arrived midway through the second half when Cloughmills’ player received a straight red card. Reduced to 14 men, Cloughmills struggled to keep pace. Dubhaltach Wilson and Mark Napier capitalized on the extra space, continuously converting both from play and frees under pressure. Cormac Sheehan chipped in with a late point to seal the comfortable eleven-point victory, putting the final score at 0-24 to 1-13 in favour of the Milltown men.

St Gall’s: 1 Sean McAreavey, 2 Eoghan McCurdy, 3 Ewan Rush, 4 Patrick Friel, 5 Gairech Mac Adhaimh, 6 Aodhan Gallagher, 8 Daniel Churchill, 9 Jack Hopkins, 10 Sean Burke, 11 Fergus Donnelly, 12 Ethan Walsh, 13 Mark Napier, 14 Tomas O’Ciarain, 15 Dubhaltach Wilson,

Subs – 17 Michael Marlow, 18 Oran McIlhatton, 19 Aaron Mackel, 20 Tom Ghee, 22 Anthony Healy, 23 Cormac Sheehan, 24 Stephen McIlhatton, 25 Aodhan McDonagh, 27 Simon Dowds, 28 Ségdae Mac Adhaimh, 29 Joshua Southern, 30 Niall Fallon.

Cloughmills: 1 Christopher McKernan, 2 Sean McKendry, 3 Corey Blair, 4 Rian Dobbin, 5 Kevin O Boyle, 6 Geoffrey Og Laverty, 7 Ruairi Laverty, 8 Ryan McFarlane, 9 Johnny Duffin, 10 James Doherty, 11 Michael Devlin, 12 Eoin Dobbin, 13 Ryan Watson, 14 Conor Laverty, 15 Stephen Smyth,

Subs – 16 Cathaoir McFerran, 17 Jack McDowall, 18 Aaron McGuckian, 19 Shemus Duffin, 20 James O’Boyle, 21 Reece Watt, 22 Dara Watterson, 23 Conor Mc Kendry, 24 Michael Reid, 29 Dean Boyle.

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