Junior B Hurling Championship

Loch Mor Dal gCais 2-14 Kickham’s Ardoyne 2-14

As darkness fell at St. Agnes on Friday night, Bailey Graham fired a rocket to the Ardoyne net in the fading light to give Loch Mor Dal gCais a share of the points that seemed highly unlikely minutes earlier.

The Kickkham’s had finished strongly with three points on the bounce from corner-forward, Patrick McGreevey and looked to have done enough to have edged a thrilling Junior B Hurling Championship encounter.

With time almost up Graham applied the coup de grâce and these two sides could meet again in the decider if the final round of games fall in both their favour.

In a game of changing fortunes that swung in favour of one and then the other throughout these two well matched sides could not be separated during an exciting opening half where both teams played some excellent hurling in far from ideal conditions

The game turned into a shootout between Loch Mor’s Darragh Turley and Patrick McGreevey of Ardoyne who both gave an exhibition of free taking over the hour despite the driving wind and rain.

Turley would account for 0-6 of his sides 0-11 first half total while McGreevey replied with three for the Kickham’s but significantly it was Aaran Stewart with goals in the 2^nd and 27^th minutes that kept them on level par at the change of ends.

On the restart it was Loch Mor Dal gCais who looked the more likely winners as they dominated the opening exchanges with Turley carrying on where he had left off with three points in the opening four minute, one a superb long range effort.

It certainly look to be swinging very much in favour of the Lough Shore side when Bailey Graham fired home their opening goal of the contest in the 5^th minute and Ardoyne looked in trouble as they trailed by six points.

McGreevey began the comeback for the Kickham’s with points in the 10^th and 11^th minutes with Daniel Moore and Paul McGuigan splitting the posts as they slowly reeled in the Loch Mor lead.

The momentum was now very much with Ardoyne as McGreevey and Goodall brought matters level by the 22^nd minute and three late strikes from the Ardoyne corner-forward looked to have secured victory.

Loch Mor were not yet finished however and Bailey Graham became their hero when he fired home with time almost up to secure his side a point that on the balance of play was probably the right result.

Both side deserve credit for their performances on the night and both are still in there battling for Junior B Championship success.

Loch Mor Dal gCais travel to Loughbeg Harps on the 5^th September while Ardoyne face Belfast Saints at Fennell Park on the same day.

Kickham’s Ardoyne: 1 JP Agnew, 2 Pascal Clarke, 3 Paul Baker, 4 Cahal Clarke, 5 Sean Searle, 6 Micheal McGreevey, 7 Christopher McShane, 8 Dean Goodall, 9 Oisin McVicker, 10 Daniel Moore, 11 Cahal Keown, 12 Pearse Hull, 13 Patrick McGreevey, 14 Aran Stewart, 15 Jim Og McAuley, 19 Paul McGuigan

Loch Mor Dal gCais:  1 Michael Morgan, 2 Aaron Monaghan, 3 Sean Burke, 4 James Magorrian, 5 David McAreavey, 6 Conor Jones, 7 Declan Phillips, 8 Martin Braniff, 9 Cormac Dwyer, 10 Ruairi Bannon, 11 Bailey Graham, 12 Cal Burke, 14 Ferdia Carson, 15 Darragh Turley, 22 Gerard Pickering

Casement SC Antrim Junior Hurling Championship, Group Two

Gort na Móna 1-20 St Brigid’s 1-4

Gort na Móna had too much scoring power for St Brigid’s when the sides met in round 2 of the Casement Park Social Club Junior Hurling Championship at Davitt Park on Friday evening, the Turf Lodge men having sixteen points to spare at the end.

On a dreadful evening for hurling the Gorts handled the conditions much better as they powered ahead from the start with an Aaron Hicks point. Further scores followed from Darren Boyd, Neill Henry Niall Healey and the mercurial Desi McClean as the opened a commanding 0-8 to 0-0 lead. Oisin McDonnell ( who was to end with 1-3 to his name) got St Brigid’s on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when he fired over a free, and though the right half forward was to add another from a placed ball the dominant Gorts went on to lead by 0-11 to 0-2 at the break.

A McDonnell goal early in the second half gave St Brigid’s renewed hope, but Gort na Móna continued to dominate the game with Desi McClean continuing to pull the strings. McClean was now adding point himself and when he was dragged down in the St Brigid’s penalty area top scorer Neill Henry fired home the resultant penalty to put the game beyond doubt.

The win seals a place in the knock-our stages for the Gorts and their meeting with All Saints in the final group game will decide the quarter final pairings.   

GORT NA MÓNA: M Ward; J Monaghan, G McKenna, C Healy; D Hughes, P McHugh, N Gibson; Neill Henry (1-7, 1-0 penalty, 0-4 frees, 0-1 65), A Hicks (0-1); D Dixon, D Boyd (0-2, 1 free), N Healy (0-4); M McMullan (0-1), M Carlin, D McClean (0-5, 2 frees).

Subs: E Loughran for A Hicks (48), T O Cadlaigh for M Carlin (51)

ST BRIGID’S: B McGurk; M Burke, P Heaney, C Quinn; J McCarney,  B Hallihan, R McDonnell; R McErlean,  N Murtagh; O McDonnell (1-3, 0-3 frees), J Pardy, N Duffy; D Prenter (0-1), J McGuckian, C Lundy.

Subs: N Finnegan for M Burke (27), F Cleary for C Lundy (37), T Engman for J McGuckian (51), G Gilleece for N Duffy (56)

REFEREE: Brendan Toland (Lámh Dhearg)

Casement SC JFC Group 2

St. Brigid’s 0-15 All Saints 0-9

St. Brigid’s Cloughmills made it two wins from two starts in Group 2 of the Casement SC Junior Hurling Championship when they overcame the challenge of All Saints in the wind and rain and descending darkness in Rasharkin on Friday night.

The ‘Biddies’ always held the upper hand against a relatively young All Saints side who gave it everything over the hour but were unable to convert good second half possession into scores.

Cloughmill, with the wind and rain behind them, raced into and early 0-4 to 0-1 lead with Eoin Dobbin, Ruairi Laverty, Michael Devlin and Liam Kearns their marksmen and All Saints solitary score coming from a Ciaran Neeson free.

Neeson hit his second point of the evening from another free in the 8^th minute and when Joseph O’Rawe sent over a good point to close the gap to one by the 11^th minute we looked to have a contest on our hands.

Eoin Dobbin and Ciaran Neeson exchanged further frees to keep the gap at one at the end of the opening quarter but Dobbin converted two frees and then a ‘65’ to move St. Brigid’s four in front by the 22^nd minute.

The Ballymena side were enjoying their share of possession but finding it hard to break down a resolute St. Brigid’s defence and were relying on the free taking of Ciaran Neeson for scores and he pulled one back from a 45 meter free in the 22^nd minute.

There was only three between the sides at this stage but the minutes leading up to half time would prove crucial for the ‘Biddies’ as they out-scored the opposition 0-5 to 0-1 with Eoin Dobbin hitting three and Mickey Devlin and Stephen Smyth on target while All Saints solitary response came from another Neeson free.

With the increasing wind and driving rain in their favour for the second half 7 points didn’t look an insurmountable lead and when Eoin McGuigan opened the scoring with an All Saints point in the first minute it was looking better for the Slemish Park side.

Two in quick response from Mickey Devlin dampened the early All Saints enthusiasm however and while they enjoyed quite a bit more possession during the second period they could not turn that possession into scores.

All Saints hit a series of wides while a number of attempted deliveries overshot their target and it was 11 minutes before Eoin McGuigan would raise the Ballymena side’s second white flag.

The scoring dried up after this as both sides struggled to deal with the worsening conditions and the descending darkness before Neeson struck the game’s final point from a free in the 24^th minute.

The question on everyone’s lips after was, why was these games (7 in all) fixed for a Friday night and at this time of the night instead of on Sunday when there is only one game down for decision.

I didn’t have the answer but this result ensures that St. Brigid’s Cloughmill’s will qualify for the play-offs as Group winners while All Saints now meet Gort na Mona in a battle for second place in Ballymena on Saturday 2^nd September.

St. Brigid’s Cloughmills: 1 Chris McKernan, 2 Sean McKendry, 3 Kevin O’Boyle, 4 Stephen Martin, 5 Pearse Smyth, 6 Corey Blair, 7 Johnny Duffin, 8 Martin Dobbin, 9 Joe Smyth, 10 Rian Dobbin, 11 Ruairi Laverty, 12 Michael Devlin, 13 Liam Kearns, 14 Eoin Dobbin, 15 Stephen Smyth

All Saints: Ciaran Cassley, 2 Kevin Brady, 3 Colum Neeson, 4 Archie McGreevey, 5 Conor O’Rawe, 6 Luke O’Rawe, 7 Daniel Gray, 8 Padhraig Magill, 9 Damian Gillan, 10 Jack Magill, 11, Eoin McGuigan, 12 Liam Cassley, 13 James O’Boyle, 14 Ciaran Neeson, 15 Joseph O’Rawe

Referee: Darren Mullan

Casement Social Club Junior Hurling Championship – Group 2

St Brigid’s 1-8 All Saints 4-19

Last year’s Devenish All Stars top scorer Ciaran Neeson gave another exhibition of score taking as All Saints travelled to Musgrave Park on Saturday afternoon and beat St Brigid’s convincingly in the first round-robin game of the competition. The Ballymena man was in top form as he hit scores from all angles and distances against last year’s Junior B champions, who found the going tough at the higher level.

Neeson got the first point of the game in the opening minute bfore cutting through the St Brigid’s defence soon afterwards and surprisingly firing wide, with the goal at his mercy. However he made up for his rare mistake on seven minutes when he picked up a long ball from centre back Luke O’Rawe before finishing superbly to the net.

St Brigid’s top score Fintan Cleary got his team on the scoreboard a minute later and the full forward appeared to get a hurl to a lobbed shot by David Prenter soon afterwards to flick to the All Saints net, and suddenly it was all square. However the Ballymena men soon regained control and a series of points by Neeson, a goal from a penalty from the same player, plus well taken point from Liam Cassley had them 2-9 to 1-3 ahead at half time, despite playing into a fresh breeze.

James O’Boyle increased the All Saints lead early in the second half and Neeson added one from a free before Liam Cassley cut in along the endline and finished to the net from a narrow angle for his team’s third goal. Cleary (2) and Eoghan McMainnin came back with points for St Brigid’s, but James O’Boyle grabbed goal number four for Ballymena to stretch their lead even further.

Neeson hit a few more quality points, one in particular from inside his own 45 meter line a real stand out score, and to their credit St Brigid’s kept battling away as Cleary, Owen McCarney and Oisin McDonnell got on the scoreboard, but All Saints were home and hosed from a long way out and their outing against Cloughmills in two weeks’ time should be a very interesting contest.

One St Brigid’s player who really caught the eye in the game was goalkeeper Brian McGurk. To be honest he didn’t really have much chance with the goals that beat him, but his catching under the high ball, and his poc-outs, were superb.

Casement Social Club JHC Group 1 

Lámh Dhearg 5-15-6-11 Rasharkin 

Kevin Herron reports from Hannahstown 

Lámh Dhearg began their Junior Hurling campaign with a hard fought 5-15-6-11 win over Rasharkin in an 11-goal thriller at Hannahstown on Friday evening. 

The hosts had lost the subsequent league fixtures between the sides, but were boosted by the return of Declan Lynch, Michael Herron and Aidan McGuigan from injury. 

Fionn Mervyn floated over the opener for the Hannahstown side, though Conor McKeever replied and a score from Donagh Quigg edged the Dreen ahead. 

An angled Adam Murray point tied things up and Murray then found the first goal of the game with a floated shot that dropped over Liam Tunney and into the net to give his side a 1-02-0-02 lead. 

It was a short-lived lead however as Rashaekin won a free at the other end and rather than settle for a point, Conor McKeever went low and found the net. 

McKeever would give his side the lead for the second time, on this occasion firing over the bar from a free. 

Their advantage lasted around two minutes before a quickfire double had Lámh Dhearg firmly on the front-foot. 

Daniel Murray dropped a high ball into the danger area that Micko Herron gathered, and he stabbed the ball to the net to make it 2-02-1-03.

Within less than 60-seconds Herron turned provider with a lay-off to Daire Cunningham and Tunney was unable to repel the corner-forwards low shot that gave his side a 3-02-1-03 lead. 

Cunningham would depart through injury a few minutes later, but the hosts stayed in control with Daniel Murray floating over a fantastic effort from range and Adam Murray converting successive frees. 

After going over 15 minutes without a score, Conor McKeever led his sides revival before the break with two points from the placed ball before finding the net with an effort that dropped in at the near post from the same scenario to make it 3-05-2-05. 

The sides traded scores before the half was out through Adam Murray (free) and a Donagh Quigg point in reply as a goal separated the duo at the midway point in proceedings. 

Lámh Dhearg extended their lead upon the resumption. Half time substitute Declan Straney made an instant impact, firing over the bar and Aidan McGuigan then followed up with his first of the evening. 

Rasharkin responded through talisman McKeever though, the full-forward collected a high lofted pass, held off the subsequent pressure and dispatched his shot past Rhys Camlin to close the deficit to 3-08-3-06. 

The frantic nature of the game continued as Lámh Dhearg struck back immediately. Michael Herron bore down on goal, but instead opted to a pop pass across the face of goal that substitute Mark Finnegan poked to the net to give restore his sides five-point advantage. 

Donagh Quigg landed his third point of the evening before the scores dried up due to a number of stoppages. 

Midway through the half Adam Murray converted his third free of the contest and he would add another in-between a fantastic long-range point from influential Declan Lynch.  

Conor McKeever brought his personal tally to 2-06 from the placed ball before another goal glut. 

On 52 minutes Adam Murray appeared to have landed a knock-out blow, bursting through, and fizzing a shot to the corner of the net past Liam Tunney. 

Murray’s second goal had his side 5-11-3-08 in front, but less than 60-seconds later and Rasharkin had cancelled it out in slightly fortuitous circumstances. 

Cathair Henderson cut-in down the left-hand side and took aim for an angled point which dipped and dropped into the net amongst a congested six-yard area. 

Talisman Murray chalked up back-to-back points, the first after taking an offload from Micko Herron and confidently firing over. A foul on Herron gave him the opportunity to increase his personal tally and he made no mistake. 

In response Conor McKeever added another from the placed ball and Donagh Quigg produced a fine angled point. 

Points were traded between Daniel Murray and Quigg and an angled Murray point would prove to be his sides insurance, giving the Hannahstown men a 5-15-4-11 advantage four minutes into time added on. 

Rasharkin refused to throw in the towel and Conor McKeever found the net from a free for the third time. 

There was enough time for the full-forward to claim his fifth when an angled pass was floated into the area and he did enough to steer the ball home with the last decisive action of the game. 

Upon Rhys Camlin pucking the ball back into play, Niall Clifford sounded his full time whistle as Lámh Dhearg came out the right side of the 11-goal thriller and join Armoy at the summit of Group 1. 

Lámh Dhearg: R Camlin, C Nolan, O Waldon, M McGuigan, D Murray (0-02), D Lynch (0-01), F Mervyn (0-01), C Boyd, P Mervyn, A McGuigan (0-01), M Herron (1-01), A Murray (2-08, 0-05f), N McGarry, G Smyth, D Cunningham (1-00). Subs: M Finnegan (1-00) for D Cunningham (15), D Straney (0-01) for G Smyth (HT), T McKenna for A McGuigan (58). 

Rasharkin: L Tunney, C Doherty, D Doherty, C Higgins, R O’Boyle, S Hasson, T O’Boyle, E McFerran, D Hasson, C Henderson (1-00), C McFerran, C McKillop, A McKeever, C McKeever (5-07, 3-07f), D Quigg (0-04). Subs: C Maria for C McKillop (HT), C Donaghy for E McFerran (36), C McMullan for A McKeever (46), D McKay for D Hasson (55), J Quinn for C McFerran (57). 

Referee: Niall Clifford (Cuchuliann’s, Armagh)