Junior Hurling Championship Final

Rasharkin 2-10 Armoy 0-14

Two goals in the opening four minutes of the second half swung this Junior Hurling Championship decider decisively in the direction of St. Mary’s Rasharkin though they were forced withstand a late rally from Glen Rovers in Loughgiel on Saturday afternoon.

With the gale force wind at their backs St. Mary’s led by 0-8 to 0-5 at the interval but with the elements in their favour in the second half, Glen Rovers were expected to take control.

Instead it was the men from Dreen who dictated the early second half exchanges with Conor McFerran following up on a Conor Devlin save from Donagh Quigg in the opening minute to finish to the net from close range.

Three Minutes later the excellent Quigg got in for a second St. Mary’s goal and suddenly a three point lead had been stretched to nine and the Blue & Amber’s were firmly in the driving seat.

It was Donagh Quigg who opened the scoring in Fr. Healey Park with a point in the first minute with Trevor Linton replying from a 4^th minute free to level the contest.

Slowly Rasharkin, with the strong wind at their backs began to get on top as Conor McKeever pointed from play and added another from a ‘65’ and when Conor McFerran added another in the 13^th minute things appeared to be going to plan.

Significantly the Dreen side were off target with a number of scoreable efforts at this stage of the game and Armoy started to get a foothold with Trevor Linton bringing a smart save from James O’Mullan.

The Glen Rovers continued to look threatening on the break as Turlach McBride pointed two frees into the breeze to close the gap to one by the 20^th minute as Kieran McToal replaced the injured Owen Kinney in the Armoy attack.

McKeever from a pointed free and Conor Christie exchanged further points and further exchanges from Emmet McFerran and McBride kept the gap at three and the Armoy management would have been the happier of the two at this juncture given the strength of the breeze.

Another pointed free from ace marksman, McKeever edged Rasharkin four ahead by the 28^th minute but the final score of the half fell to Trevor Linton who’s superb point left it 0-8 to 0-5 in favour of St. Mary’s.

The men in Blue & White were expected to take control as matters got underway again but they were rocked by those early goals from Conor McFerran and team captain Quigg and it was a double blow they never really recovered from.

They did respond with points from Emmet O’Hara and a Turlach McBride free but a pointed free from McKeever at the other end left the gap at eight at the end of the third quarter.

Two pointed frees from Turlach McBride and two more from Trevor Linton (1f) had it back to four with 12 minutes remaining and at this stage Armoy looked to be getting on top and when McBride (f) and PJ McBride from play followed with two more it was looking ominous for Rasharkin.

Another from Linton made it seven on the bounce for the Glen Rovers as the excitement ranked up a notch and closed the gap to the minimum with seven minutes remaining but incredibly this would be Armoy’s final score.

Conor McKeever eased the pressure with another pointed free for St. Mary’s in the 26^th minute and it would prove to be the game’s final score as his side withstood a late rally to claim the Junior Championship title.

Wild scenes of celebrations followed with blue and yellow flares going off in every corner of the ground as Rasharkin’s supporters rushed onto the field to greet their heroes with county chairman, Seamus McMullan presenting the cup to Rasharkin captain, Donagh Quigg.

Rasharkin: 1 James O’Mullan, 2 Daniel Doherty, 3 Conor Doherty, 4 Connaire Donaghy, 5 Ruairi O’Boyle, 6 Aidan McKeever, 7 Tiernan O’Boyle, 8 Shane Hasson, 9 Conor McFerran, 10 Cathir Henderson, 11 Emmet McFerran, 12 Conor McKeever, 13 Donagh Quigg, 14 Conor McKillop, 15 Declan McKay.

Subs: Brian Og O’Neill for Conor McKillop, Connor Higgins for Tiernan O’Boyle, Caolan Maria, Daniel Hasson

Armoy: 1 Conor Devlin, 2 Callum Coyles, 3 Shane Devlin, 4 Liam Dillon, 5 Arthur Devlin, 6 Emmett O’Hara, 7 Turlach McBride, 8 Ciaran McKenna, 9 Ronan Lavelle, 10 Thomas Burns, 11 Colin Lordan, 12 PJ McBride, 13, Trevor Linton, 14 Owen Kinney, 15 Conor Christie.

Subs: 19 Kieran McToal for Kinney, Ciaran Coyles, Hugh O’Kane              

Referee: Declan McGarry (Loughgiel)

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Junior B Hurling Championship semi-final

St Brigid’s 2-23 Loch Mor Dal gCais 0-19

James Kelly won the battle of the number 10’s as St. Brigid’s out-scored Loch Mor dal gCais in an excellent Junior B Hurling semi-final at Mallusk on Saturday.

The St. Brigid’s number 10 was matched all the way by his opposite number, Darragh Turley, the Loch Mor man equalling his final tally  on the score board as both men finished with 0-12 to their name over the hour.

It was the greater spread of scores from the Musgrave Park side that would prove the difference in the end and a great goal from Fintan Cleary after 17 minutes and another scrambled effort from Jack Pardy with 23 minutes gone saw the Musgrave side 10 in front at the break.

With the wind in their favour, Loch Mor did much better after the break and matched St. Brigid’s score for score but by that stage the damage had already been done and they were never able to get the goal that they needed to launch a comeback.

James Kelly led the way for the Belfast side and had 0-5 on the score board before Cleary rattled the Loch Mor net with 17 minutes gone. Cleary had opened the scoring with the game’s first point and David Prtenter and Jack Pardy also registered for the Musgrave side.

The excellent Darragh Turley did all in his power to keep his side in touch with their opening four points and Declan Phillips and Matthew Jones added points to keep the South West side in touch prior to Cleary’s goal.

Another point from Kelly and one from John McGuckian preceded Pardy’s kicked goal from close range and put a distance between the sides that Loch Mor were unable to close.

Kelly and Niall Murtagh added late St. Brigid’s points with Turley adding three for Loch Mor Dal gCais to leave the half time score 2-13 to 0-9 in favour of Naomh Brid and even at this stage they looked to have one foot in the final.

Half Time St. Brigid’s 2-13 Loch Mor Dal gCais  0-9

If Loch Mor were to get back into contention they needed a good start to the second half but it was Naom Brid who were first off the mark as James Kelly and  John McGuckian extended their lead with early points.

Darragh Turley finally got the Lough shore side going from a pointed free in the 5^th minute but James Kelly from a long range free replied for St. Brigid’s before he Musgrave Park side lost a man to a straight Red.

The shoot-out between Kelly and Turley continued with Kelly adding another three for Naomh Brid and David Prenter 0-2 and Fintan Cleary concluding the scoring for the Musgrave men.

Turley continued his scoring duel with Kelly for Loch Mor as he added a further 0-4 while Cormac Dwyer, Cathal McGreevey, Matthew Jones and Conor Jones brought their total to 0-19 for the evening.

A strong performance from St. Brigid’s who were tighter in defence and more productive in attack than their opponents and in James Kelly they had an excellent free taker with the right half forward also contributing from play.

His opposite number Darragh Turley gave it everything for a Loch Mor side who battled hard but never really recovered from those two first half goals.

St. Brigid’s now face Belfast Saints in the final after the West Belfast side travelled to Brustin Braes and recorded a good win over Latharna Og in the other semi-final.

St. Brigid’s: 1 Brian McGurk, 2 Michael Burke, 27 Chris Lundy, 4 Oliver Leggett, 5 Dara Sidebottom, 6 Peter Heaney, 7 Michael Kerr, 8 Cathal Conway, 9 Niall Murtagh, 10 James Kelly, 11 Jack Pardy, 12 Fintan Cleary, 13 David Prenter, 14 John McGuckian, 15 Oisin McDonnell.

Subs: 21 Cathal McGreevey

Loch Mor Dal cGais: 1 Cathan O’hEireamhoin, 2 Aaron Monaghan, 3 Bailey Graham, 4 Sean Burke, 5 Ruairi Bannon, 6 Conor Jones, 7 Jack Conway, 8 Martin Braniff, 9 Ruairi Moran, 10 Darragh Turley, 11 Cormac Dwyer, 12 Matthew Jones, 13 Declan Phillips, 14 Martin Robb, 15 Ferdia Carson

Referee: Colin Thompson (St John’s)

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Junior B Hurling Championship semi-final

Latharna Og 0-14 Belfast Saints 1-22

Belfast Saints withstood a second half come-back from Latharna Og at Brustin Brae on Saturday evening to advance to the final of the Junior B Hurling Championship.

Philip Maguire led the way for the West Belfast combination and his goal after 12 minutes put them in a strong position when they led 1-4 to 0-2 and the excellent number 14 would contribute 1-12 of his side’s total over the hour as they overcame the robust challenge of the Larne men.

The City side led 1-11 to 0-8 at the halfway stage and looked to be running away with it when they struck the first four points of the second half but Latharna Og rallied to close the gap to seven with 12 minutes remaining.

As the Brustin Brae men pressed, Corey Beggs saw a well struck shot come back of the crossbar and this seemed to bring the visitors back to life as they finished strongly to put the contest out of reach.

Phil Maguire got proceedings under way with the opening two points beforeRyan O’Donnell replied with a point for the visitors but it was the West Belfast side who were playing the sharper and more precise hurling.

They moved three in front through a Daniel McGuigan free and another from play from Ronan Carroll before Maguire’s goal put them five in front after Cathal McKillop had registered Latharna Og’s second point from a well struck long range free.

Robert Gallagher and Maguire extended the Belfast Saints’ lead to six by the 22^nd minute before McKillop replied with a couple more long range points to keep the Larne men with in touch.

A couple more Phil Maguire pointed frees and another from Daniel McGuigan edged the visitors further ahead and Ryan O’Donnell 0-2 and Daniel McGuigan and Maguire exchanged further points to leave it 0-8 to 1-11 in favour of the Saints at the break.

The Belfast side extended their lead through two more Maguire points on the restart and further scores from Daniel McGuigan and Pierce O’Rawe put them in a commanding position with only five minutes of the second half gone.

The home side opened their second half account with a point from Ryan O’Donnell and Robert Gallagher followed with another from a free as they introduced Corey Beggs before Conor Matthews pulled off a good save to deny Ronan Carroll as Belfast Saints tried to respond.

Niall McGettigan and Phil Maguire kept the scoreboard ticking for the Saints but a good spell saw Latharna Og reply through Ryan O’Donnell 0-2 frees, and Cathal McKillop with Beggs shot coming back of the woodwork as they continued to press.

Phil Maguire for the visitors and Cathal McKillop exchanged further points but Belfast Saints finished strongly with two more from the excellent Maguire and points from Carroll and Daniel McGuigan to secure a place in the final against St. Brigid’s of Belfast in two weeks-time.

Latharna Og: 1 Darren Martin, 2 Patrick Sherry, 3 Barry Petticrew, 4 Lee Magill, 21 Ciaran Martin, 6 Cathal McKillop, 7 Francis McCambridge, 8 Ronan McKillop, 10 Brian Rogan, 11 Mark Petticrew, 12 Ryan O’Donnell, 13 Daniel Heggarty, 14 Anthony O’Neill, 25 TJ McNeill.

Subs: 18 Corey Beggs, 19 Vincent McCorry, 23 Gary Bergan,

Belfast Saints: 1 Conor Grieve, 2 Dan McConnell, 3 Matt Carlin, 4 Phillip Glennon, 5 Briondan McLarnon, 6 Conor O’Rawe, 7 Brian Keatings, 8 Pierce O’Rawe, 10 Niall McGettigan, 11 Ronan Carroll, 12 Daniel McGuigan, 13 Robert Gallagher, 14 Phillip Maguire, 15 Niall Connolly,

Subs: 16 Joseph McQuillan, 17 Shane McCafferty, 18 Paul McGreevey

Referee: Declan McGarry (Loughgiel)

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Casement Social Club Antrim JHC Quarter-final

Davitts 3-13-2-13 Lámh Dhearg

Kevin Herron reports from Davitt Park

The noise that greeted the final whistle at Davitt Park on Saturday afternoon told the story of unbridled joy as Davitt’s caused a huge shock in their 3-13-2-13 win over Lámh Dhearg in the Junior Hurling Quarter-final.

The hosts opted to play with the wind advantage on a sun-soaked afternoon at their Beechmount base and went in at the break with a four-point lead after twice netting through Marcus Toner and Anthony Rowntree.

They held the Lámhs fightback off until deep in the second half when substitute Mark Finnegan rifled home from the spot and Gerard Smyth lashed home seconds later to reduce arrears to a single point but kept their nerve to claim a deserved win and book a spot in the semi-finals in two weeks’ time.

Lámh Dhearg were first off the mark on a perfect afternoon for hurling with Adam Murray converting two frees within the first four minutes, the first after he was chopped down and then a foul on Odhran Waldron led to the second.

It took Davitts until the 10^th minute to find their opening score – however it was to the game’s first goal and would edge them ahead.

Donn Whelan dropped a side-line cut into the small square and the Lámhs defence were unable to cut it, resulting in Marcus Toner swooping and sending a low effort to the net.

A foul on Calum Fegan gave Murray the chance to tie things up and he obliged, with Donal Martin then swinging over his sides first from play to restore the Hannahstown men’s advantage.

Points were exchanged between Deaglan Mooney and Adam Murray (free) but quickfire points from Lámhs captain Daniel Murray and Calum Fegan gave their side a three-point cushion.

It would be almost ten minutes before Lámh Dhearg would score again and in that time Davitts edged back in front.

Donn Whelan dropped over his first free of the afternoon and Colm McKee popped over twice on the bounce to level.

A second converted free from Whelan gave his side the lead for the second time, it was short-lived though as Adam Murray sent a free into the path of Gerard Smyth to swing over and open his account for the afternoon.

The hosts hit the front again before the break and crucially found the second goal when Anthony Rowntree claimed position and took off into a scoring position before pulling the trigger.

A further point from Marcus Toner before the break had Davitts 2-06-0-08 to the good and in a positive position at the midway point.

They would extend their lead in the opening minutes of the second half with Whelan dropping a free between the posts and Colm McKee’s shot taking a deflection and looping over the bar.

It took Lámh Dhearg until the 37^th minute to respond in the form of a Ciaran Boyd point and half-time substitute Mark Finnegan then landed two superb scores to half the deficit with a quarter of an hour remaining.

Adam Murray doubled his personal tally from the placed ball to have a single point separate the sides with 10 minutes plus injury time remaining.

Davitts were without a score in 16 minutes; though Donn Whelan doubled their lead from a converted free and on the 54^th minute they took what seemed to a giant stride towards victory when Marcus Toner dropped in a ball that Rhys Camlin spilled, and Anthony Rowntree appeared to flick home in the confusion to give his side a 3-09-0-13 lead.

The visitors looked to be sinking when Whelan dropped over another free and then was then gifted one from play after a wayward puck-out landed straight to him and he floated over unopposed.

Lámh Dhearg needed goals and quickly and their first clear-cut opportunity in the game came after referee Chris Brown awarded then a 57^th minute penalty that Mark Finnegan blasted home.

A quickfire second arrived when Gearoid Cosgrove sent his puck-out straight to Gerard Smyth in front of goal and Smyth rifled home from close-range to reduce arrears to a single score once again (3-11-2-13).

Cool heads were required from the hosts and talisman Whelan sent over his sixth free of the contest with the insurance score arriving through an angled point from Christopher Gallagher.

The Lámhs couldn’t safe face and force extra-time- which may have proved an injustice- and the final whistle was greeted with huge delirium from the Davitts players and support as they deservedly booked a semi-final spot in a fortnights time.

DAVITTS: G Cosgrove, C Rainey, T Toland, O Cosgrove, P Carleton, C Heaney, D Mooney (0-01), M Og Rowntree, C McKee (0-03), M Toner (1-01), S McGivern, D Whelan (0-07, 0-06f), S Thompson, C Rowntree (2-00), C Gallagher (0-01). Subs: C McGowan for S Thompson (52).

LÁMH DHEARG: R Camlin, C Camlin, A McGuigan, F Mervyn, N McGarry, SP Gibson, D Murray (0-01), C Boyd (0-01), A Murray (0-06f), C Fegan (0-01), O Waldron, E Stanley, D Martin (0-01), G Smyth (1-01), M McGarry. Subs: M Finnegan (1-02, 1-00p) for M McGarry (HT), T McKenna for E Stanley (46).

REFEREE: Chris Brown (St Pauls)