JHC Group 1

Rasharkin 5-29 Ardoyne 3-10

In a very convincing win over Ardoyne played at Rasharkin, the home side made it very clear that they are serious contenders for this year’s Junior Hurling Championship.

Ardoyne were first off the blocks with a point from play by Paddy Heaney after several wides from Rasharkin.

Declan McKay got Rasharkin into gear with a lovely point from a sharp angle before sharp shooter McKeever rifled over the next two points for Rasharkin. Paddy Heaney was the anchorman for the North Belfast men as they strove to keep in touch, with Padraig McGreevey playing his part with a goal that was a fitting end to a great solo run through the Rasharkin defence by Sean Searle.  However, with six different players getting their names on the scoreboard for Rasharkin, it was looking ominous for Ardoyne as the short whistle was blown.

Half-Time: Rasharkin 2-14 Ardoyne 1-06

Dan Moore opened the second half for Ardoyne with a point that sparked a revival for Ardoyne as they outscored Rasharkin by 2-04 to 0-05 in the third quarter of this game. McKeever was in form though and he kept the scoreboard ticking over for Rasharkin. Matt Killen has been a regular goal scorer for the Northenders this season and again he was on target but his goal at 15 minutes into the second half marked the end of any meaningful resistance from Ardoyne.

The final quarter exposed Ardoyne’s lack of experience at this level of competition as Rasharkin corrected their sights and put on a display of accurate shooting for which Ardoyne, despite several outstanding saves from Agnew, did not have the answer on the day.

Rasharkin will move on with confidence, while Ardoyne will hope that with several key players back on board that they can regroup as both teams move on to the next stage of the championship.

Full-time: Rasharkin 5-29 Ardoyne 2-10

Rasharkin: Liam Tunney Daniel Doherty Conor Doherty Conaire Donaghy Ruairi O’Boyle 0-03 Aidan McKeever 0-01 Tiernan O’Boyle Shane Hasson Conor McFerran 0-01 Caolan Maria Emmet McFerran 0-01 Declan McKay 0-02 Conor McKillop 1-03 Donagh Quigg 1-04 Conor McKeever 1-14 James O’Mullan Terry McGregor 2-0 Brian Og O’Neill

Ardoyne: JP Agnew, Paul O’Halloran Micháel McGreevy  Eamon Mac Lochlainn  Sean Searle Kealan McCallan Diarmuid Martin Dean Goodall 0-01 Paul McGuigan  Paddy Heaney 0-03 Dan Moore 0-01 Padraig McGreevy 1-03 Aran Stewart 0-03 Matt McKillen 2-0 Caolan Wallace, Enda Slattery Piarais O’Neill, Padraig O Deorain Connor O’Neill Cormac Curran Jonathan Larkin Ciarán Gaston

Referee: Declan McGarry

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Casement SC Antrim JHC Group 2

Gort na Móna 1-18 Lámh Dhearg 2-15

Despite a personal haul of 1-14 from former Antrim County player, Derssie McClean, Gort na Mona had to settle for a share of the spoils in this keenly contest Junior Hurling Championship encounter against Lamh Dhearg at Enright Park on Saturday.

The draw was enough however to secure them second spot in the group ahead of Saturday’s opponents on score difference but the Hannastown men will also go through to the quarter-final.

Lamh Dhearg  will be disappointed they didn’t see it out after leading by four with ten minutes remaining and two as the game edged into time added on but conceded two late frees which the mercurial McClean converted to give his side the draw they needed.

Patrick McCaffrey was first to register as he pointed he Gorts ahead in the second minute but Adam Murray brought the sides level with his first free of the day.

Points from Thomas McCaffrey and Nathan Gibson edged the home side back ahead and Odhran Waldron replied for the visitors but at this stage the scores dried up for a time as both sides wasted chances.

It would be nine minute before Adam Murray added his second of the day to bring the side’s level again and a further seven before Dessie McClean made his first contribution of the evening to edge Gort na Mona ahead for the third time.

McClean had taken 16 minutes to announce his arrival but he would go on to have a massive influence on the game and would ultimately provide the scores to give his side a share of the spoils.

He added two more converted frees with Odhran Waldron and Mark Finnegan replying for the Hannastown side before McClean weighed in with two more as Gort na Mona enjoyed the better of the exchanges.

The Mona Bye Pass men might well have had a goal at this stage but wasted a good opportunity but they made their next opportunity count and after Ryan McCamlinn saved from Tiernan O Cadhlaigh, McClean gathered the rebound and fired to the net.

Lámh Dhearg responded well with three points on the bounce from substitute Evan Stanley – who had replaced the injured Ryan Diamond – and a pair of Murray frees, but another from McClean left the hosts 1-9 to 0-9 ahead at the interval.

It was the Red Hands who made the better start to the second half as Murray pointed a free before Padraig McHugh was adjudged to have fouled Gerard Smyth with referee, Piaras McCaffery pointing to the penalty spot and Finnegan hammered the resulting free to the corner of the net.

Dessie McClean levelled matters again with Odran Waldron edging the visitors ahead once more before Lamh Dhearg got in for a second goal in the 38 minutes as a long ball broke to Waldron and he fired home despite the best efforts of Gort’s goalkeeper Caolan McCrory.

Waldron extended the gap out to four and it looked like the points would be heading up the road to Hannastown but Gort na Móna replied through three McClean frees and a fine effort from Thomas McCaffrey to draw level once more with time almost up.

Two more from the excellent Finnegan looked again to have sealed the win for Lamh Dhearg as McClean as Murray exchanged further score to keep the gap at two.

There would be a final twist in what had been an excellent contest as Gort na Mona were awarded a late fee which McClean converted and then another free was moved forward for dissent with McClean becoming the Gort’s saviour.

McClean finished with 1-14 to his name and 13 of those points came from the placed ball as his side now have a home quarter-final against Ardoyne to look forward to while Lámh Dhearg will head to Davitt’s

Gort na Mona: C McCrory; J Connolly, P McHugh, L Dixon; G McKenna, Neil Henry, N Gibson (0-1); J Hicks, T O Cadhlaigh; D McClean (1-14, 0-13f), T Morton, T McCaffrey (0-2); Niall Henry, P McCaffrey (0-1), M McMullan.

Subs: J Monaghan for Niall Henry (36), D Hughes for L Dixon (45), M Carlin for M McMullan (55).

Lamh Dhearg: R McCamlinn; N McGarry, A McGuigan, C Camlinn; T McKenna, R Diamond, D Murray; C Boyd, F Mervyn; A Murray (0-6, 5f), M Finnegan (1-4, 1-0 pen, 0-2f), O Waldron (1-4); M McGarry, G Smyth, C Lappin.

Subs: E Stanley (0-1) for R Diamond (22), O Lee for M McGarry (51)

Referee: Piarais McCaffrey (St Gall’s)

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JHC Group 2

All Saints 1-11 Glen Rover 3-18

Glen Rovers, Armoy completed their Group 2 Junior Hurling Championship with maximum points following this 13 point win over All Saints Ballymena in bad underfoot conditions at a wet Slemish park on Friday night.

Both sides were without key players and for a spell, early in the contest it looked like a youthful All Saints were going to present as challenge to their more experienced opponents.

A goal from one of the Ballymena side’s more experienced campaigners, Liam Cassley closed the gap to the minimum in the 11^th minute but before the celebrations died down, Owen Kinney scooped the sliothar home at the other end to restore his side’s four point advantage.

The Armoy side would go on to lead by 2-10 to 1-6 at half time with Kinney collecting a short free from Trevor Linton to fire home his second goal of the half with four minutes remaining to the break.

It was Kinney who got the visitors off the mark when he got his stick to a Turlach McBride free and McBride, Conor Christie, PJ McBride and Trevor Linton moved the visitors 0-5 to 0-1 ahead with the All Saints point coming from Liam Cassley.

After the exchange of goals Ciaran McKenna, Trevor Linton, Conor Christie and Owen Kinney added further points with Darach Bradley and Eoin McGuigan keeping the scoreboard ticking for the home side.

Bradley converted an early second half free to cut the gap to six with Trevor Linton and Timmothy Burns replying for the visitors before another converted free from the excellent Bradley had it back to six again.

Linton took advantage of slackness in the home defence to fire home goal number three for the Armoy side and Owen Kinney and Ciaran McKenna followed with point to open up a 12 point gap and at this stage the home side could have been forgiven for throwing in the towel.

To their credit they continued to produce some fine passages of hurling but lacked the penetration to trouble the Armoy defence with a number of promising attacks breaking down.

Cormac Magill struck an excellent long range point with PJ McBride replying for the Glen Rovers with Conor Christie and Turlach McBride from a long range free concluding the visitors scoring and the excellent Bradley hitting two late consolation points for the home side.

This win makes it three from three for the Glen Rovers and sees them top the group with Saturday’s meeting of Gort na Mona and Lamh Dhearg deciding who will finish second and All Saints now eliminated.

Armoy now qualify automatically for a semi-final spot while both Gort na Mona and Lamh Dhearg have quarter-finals to play against the sides who qualify second and third in Group 1.

Turlach McBride, PJ McBride, Conor Christie, Trevor Linton, Ciaran McKenna, Owen Kinney and Thomas Burns were best on the night for a very good Glen Rovers side who will be favourites to win the championship following last year’s defeat to Cloughmills in the final.

Despite finishing pointless in their group, All Saints have played some great hurling and after losing players to other clubs have had to rebuild with a handful of youngsters who look to have a bright future.

Stand in keeper, Luke Walsh pulled off a couple of good saves in the second half while Harry Connon, Archie McGreevey and Darach Bradley are amongst the new faces who have emerged as serious hurlers during this year’s campaign.

All Saints: 19 Luke Walsh, Conor O’Rawe, 3 Eoin McAllister, 4 Padhraig Magill, 5 Kevin Brady, 6 Harry Connon, 7 Archie McvGreevey, 8 Vincent Esler, 9 Jack Magill, 10 Cormac Magill, 11 Liam Cassley, 12 Eoin McGuigan, 13 Fintan Brady, 14 Sean O’Rawe, 15 Darach Bradley

Subs: Diarmuid Casey, Cathaoir Cunning

Glen Rovers: 1 Conor Devlin, 2 Callum Coyles, 5 Turlach McBride, 7 Emmet O’Hara, 8 Ronan Lavelle, 9 PJ McBride, 10 Ciaran McKenna, 11 Conor Christie, 12 Eoin O’Boyle, 13 Trevor Linton, 14 Owen Kinney, 15 Thomas Burns, 18 Colin Lordan, 19 Conor Watterson, 20 Hugh O’Kane

Subs: Ciaran Coyle for Owen Kinney, Timmothy Burns for Eoin O’Boyle

Referee: Sean Elliott Lamh Dhearg

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Casement Social Club Junior Hurling Championship, Group 2

Glen Rovers, Armoy 7-16-1-09 Lámh Dhearg

Kevin Herron reports from Slemish Park

Armoy all but secured themselves a place in the semi-final of the Junior Hurling Championship with a comfortable 7-16-1-09 win over Lámh Dhearg at Slemish Park on Friday evening.

They laid out their stall early on and had struck two goals within the first five minutes. Trevor Linton running onto the end of a Ciaran McKenna pass before slamming a low shot to the net and full-forward Owen Kinney added a second.

On each occasion Lámh Dhearg responded, first through an Adam Murray free and Calum Fegan split the posts after Kinney’s goal.

Kinney would clip over his sides first point of the evening and Murray doubled his account from the placed ball in response.

Goal scorer Linton converted a free – though Daniel Murray drove over a point from range and Mark Finnegan followed up with his first of the evening to narrow the deficit at the midway point (2-02-0-05).

The sides would trade the next four points, Thomas Burns sent a fantastic shot between the large posts and Trevor Linton added to his personal account with an angled effort that dropped over.

In between times Ciaran Boyd produced an excellent score and Mark Finnegan converted a free.

Adam Murray’s first point from play brought the Hannahstown side to within two-points five minutes before the break, however Armoy finished with a late flurry to take firm control at the break.

They restored their three-point lead through Owen Kinney’s second point of the half and then extended their advantage through successive Linton points, one from play and the other from a free.

A minute before the interval Kinney doubled his goal tally, taking full advantage of a mishap and rifling home to give his side a 3-07-0-08 lead.

Linton would add a further point from a free in the aftermath as Armoy were very much in the driving seat at the interval.

The Glen’s men picked up where they left off as Emmett O’Hara confidently landed a score inside the opening seconds of the restart and Owen Kinney then flicked home on the 33^rd minute to seal his hat-trick and make it 4-09-0-08.

Things didn’t let up with Kinney adding two further points, Turlach McBride scored a long range free in-between, and Arthur Devlin produced another impressive score from range.

Armoy’s fifth goal arrived on the 38^th minute as Emmett O’Hara’s long range shot squirmed to the net to make it 5-13-0-08 and 2-05 without reply since the restart.

Lámh Dhearg eventually got up and running for the half with Mark Finnegan converting his second free of the evening.

Turlach McBride dropped over another long-range free and two goals inside less than a minute before the midway point in the second half really emphasised the gap between the sides.

Kinney conjured up his fourth of the evening after it looked as the danger was clear and after a goal-mouth scramble less than 60-seconds later, Trevor Linton shot home his second goal to make it 7-14-0-09.

The changes flowed in the aftermath and after almost 10 scoreless minutes there was scant consolation for the Lámhs after Adam Murray’s side-line cut fell to substitute Aaron Ferris and he squeezed a low shot to the net.

Armoy added to their impressive tally in the closing stages with Turlach McBride adding another two frees from range to wrap up a 7-16-1-09 win and a home semi-final spot baring a monumental collapse in their final group game in two-week’s time.

GLEN ROVERS, ARMOY: C Devlin, C allum Coyles, S Devlin, L Dillon, T McBride (0-04f), A Devlin (0-01), E O’Hara (1-01), R Lavelle, C Lordan, C McKenna, C Christie, E Boyle, T Linton (2-05, 0-03f), O Kinney (4-05), T Burns. SUBS: K McToal for E Boyle (41), T Burns for C Christie (45), C Watterson for C McKenna (45), D Connolly for S Devlin (52), Ciaran Coyles for O Kinney (52).

LÁMH DHEARG: R Camlin, N McGarry, O Waldron, F Clenaghan, D Murray (0-01), R Diamond, F Mervyn, C Boyd (0-01), A Murray (0-03, 0-02f), A McGuigan, M Finnegan (0-03, 0-02f), C Fegan (0-01), O Lee, SP Gibson, D Martin. SUBS: T McKenna for R Camlin (36), M McGarry for F Clenaghan (42), A Ferris (1-00) for O Lee (53).

REFEREE: Paul O’Neill (CREGGAN)