Hurling takes centre stage in Antrim this weekend with finals in Junior, Intermediate and Senior with all three grades promising to produce entertaining and competitive deciders and all likely to attract bumper crowds.

The action gets underway on Saturday when close rivals, St. Brigid’s, Cloughmills and Glen Rovers, Armoy meet in the Junior final, hosted by Oisins Glenariff in Waterfoot.

Dunsilly provides the venue for the ANDERSONSTOWN SC Intermediate decider between Kickham’s Creggan and Patrick Sarsfield’s and once again we have all the ingredients for a cracker.

It’s on to Corrigan on Sunday where Loughgiel Shamrock’s, who produced something of a shock in their semi-final win over Dunloy take on a Cushendall side who recorded a resounding win over them in the Group stages.

CASEMENT SC JHC Final

1.00pm Waterfoot

Glen Rovers Armoy v St. Brigid’s Cloughmills

These two will need no introduction as Glen Rovers and St. Brigid’s have served up many tight and entertaining contests in recent years. The sides met in the Junior Feis final earlier in the year with St. Brigid’s winning that one with something to spare.

A master class of point taking by St. Brigid’s Eoin Dobbin inspired the Cloughmills’ club to Feis glory when they overcame the challenge of neighbours, Glen Rovers Armoy in the final in Dunloy.

The talented number 13 finished the game with 0-12 to his name and displayed unerring accuracy on a day when both sides missed a bucket full of scoring opportunities.

Only two of Dobbin’s total came from play but his free taking was right out of the top drawer as he struck at least three from 70 meters or more on a night when little went right for the men from ‘The Glen’.

Armoy did gain a measure of revenge when the sides met in Armoy in the league with the Glen Rovers coming out tops in that one and it will have given them confidence going into Saturday’s final in Glenariff.

From the outset of this year’s Junior Hurling Championship the smart money would have been on these two to make the decider.

Both dropped down from Intermediate where they had competed for some time and both played their hurling in division 2 for quite a number of years and they finished second and third in division 3 this year in the league behind winners Cuchulainn Hurling Club, Armagh.

The Armagh side dropped only three points on their way to the title with Cloughmill’s earning a draw in Armagh city after losing to the same side on the opening day of the league in Cloughmills while Glen Rovers inflicted Cuchulainn’s only defeat in Armoy back on the 2^nd July

Glen Rovers began their JHC campaign with a win away to Davitt’s at Davitt’s Park by 0-20 to 2-11back in August and went on to beat Rasharkin by the narrowest of Margins at Dreen in their second group outing.

The ‘Rovers’ went on to top their group with a win over Lamh Dhearg, 3-12 to 2-12 in Armoy before recording a fairly comfortable semi-final win over Gort na Mona at the same venue.

St. Brigid’s Cloughmills, like Saturday’s opponents, went through the group stages unbeaten and began their campaign with a 1-19 to 0-13 victory over Gort na Mona at Enright Park.

They followed that win with victory over All Saints in Cloughmills with six points separating them from the Ballymena side and finished their group campaign with a facile victory over the namesakes, St. Brigid’s Belfast.

Like Glen Rovers, St. Brigid’s earned a home venue for their semi-final against Lamh Dhearg by virtue of topping their group and ran out convincing 1-20 to 0-9 winners in the end to set up a meeting with Glen Rovers in the decider.

John ‘Rocky’ Dillon missed the semi-final against Gort na Mona with an ankle injury and the Armoy management will be hoping the former county full-back has recovered to take his place in the final.

Late goals from Ciaran McKenna and Eoin Kinney sealed victory and a place in the Casement Social Club JHC final for Glen Rovers when they held off a spirited challenge from Gort na Mona in Armoy.

Conor Devlin will line out in goals for Armoy and has been a reliable custodian for many years while Liam Dillon, Shane and Arthur Devlin, Thomas Burns and Hugh O’Kane will all be hoping to get the nod in the starting defence. PJ McBride accompanied McKenna at mid-field last day out and Turlach McBride was a major contributor from frees with Trevor Linton continuing to put in impressive performances in attack.

St. Brigid’s have their own Mr Reliable in goals in Chris McKiernan while Sean McKendry, Geoffery Og Laverty and Johnny Duffin all impressed in defence against Gort na Mona.

Kevin O’Boyle moved to mid-field for that one from his usual defensive birth while Eoin Dobbin, Mickey Devlin and Liam Kearns gave the ‘Biddies’ plenty of options in attack.

In a tight game this could become the battle of the free takers with Eoin Dobbin in impressive form from the placed ball for the Cloughmills side and Turlach McBride showing similar accuracy for Glen Rovers in their respective semi-finals.

I don’t expect there to be much between these evenly balanced sides come 2.10pm on Saturday and it could be all down to who settles quickest on the day but I’m going to stick my neck out and predict a Cloughmills win but it could go either way.

CASEMENT SC JHC Semi-Final

St. Brigid’s Cloughmills 1-20 Lamh Dhearg 0-9

St. Brigid’s Cloughmills recovered from a slow start to sweep aside the challenge of a Lamh Dhearg side who flattered to deceive in the opening exchanges of this Casement Social Club JHC semi-final in Cloughmills on Saturday afternoon.

After Mickey Devlin had given the home side the lead with an excellent long range point it was the Hannastown side who sprung to life to hit the next four points with Odhran Waldron, Adam Murray, Michael Herron and Murray again from a 7^th minute free putting them three in front and looking good.

The visitors would only add one further first half point however as Cloughmills suddenly realised they had a game on their hands and a couple of superb side-line cuts from Michael Devlin, which sandwiched an Eoin Dobbin point from play had them back on level terms by the 13^th minute.

Dobbin followed with a couple of converted frees by the 17^th minute and a fine point from Reece Watt from close to the side-line  had the ‘Biddies’ three in front and in control.

The Cloughmills side were now firing on all fronts as their opponents struggled to contain their pace and precision and James Doherty got his name on the score board with two well taken points.

Another long range effort from the sweet striking Devlin and a converted ‘65’ by Eoin Dobbin moved the Cloughmills side seven ahead by the 23d minute with Mark Finnegan replying with Lamh Dhearg’s first point for 23 minutes to leave the home side 0-11 to 0-5 ahead at the break.

After a slow start, the Cloughmills defence had taken control but they were thankful to Chris McKernan who made a sharp save to deny the visitors in the second minute of the new half.

Donal Martin did get the first point of the half for the visitors in the 5^th minute but the Hannastown side were conceding too many frees and these were being punished by the radar like accuracy of Eoin Dobbin.

Dobbin added two more in the 6^th and 9^th minutes with Liam Kearns getting one in between from play and as St. Brigid’s threatened to overrun the opposition, Conor McConville in the Lamh Dhearg goal brought off an excellent save to deny them.

Dobbin added another point from a free before things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Aidan McGuigan got his marching orders following a second yellow card in the 11^th minute.

To their credit Lamh Dhearg responded with a pointed free from Adam Murray and another from play from Mark Finnegan to give them a glimmer of hope but the Cloughmills reply was immediate and decisive.

Eoin Dobbin added another pointed free and substitute Odhran McCurdy put the contest to bed with a goal in the 25^th minute with Dobbin adding to his ever increasing total from the placed ball in the 26^th and 28^th minutes.

The Hannastown side kept fighting against impossible odds and Christopher McKernan pulled off his second good save of the half as they briefly threatened before Odhran Waldron struck a late consolation point to bring matters to a conclusion

After a slow start, Cloughmills went on to play some excellent hurling and their well organised defensive structure denied Lamh Dhearg the space and time they needed.

Mickey Devlin’s two points from side-line cuts and a couple of massive efforts from deep in his own half were worth the admission money on their own while Eoin Dobbin’s free taking was right out of the top drawer.

Cloughmills now face neighbours, Glen Rovers in the final in a fortnight’s time and it promises to be an interesting decider with Cloughmills having defeated Armoy in the Junior Feis Cup final earlier in the year but Armoy gained revenge when they met in the league in Armoy.

Cloughmills: 1 Christopher McKernan, 2 Sean McKendry, 3 Kevin O’Boyle, 4 Stephen Martin, 5 Johnny Duffin, 6 Geoffery Og Laverty, 7 Corey Blair, 8 Joe Smyth, 9 Martin Dobbin, 10 Reece Watt, 11 Ruairi Laverty, 12 Liam Kearns, 13 James Doherty, 14 Michael Devlin, 15 Eoin Dobbin, 18 Odhran McCurdy, 21 Oran Corrigan

Lamh Dhearg: 1 Conor McConville, 2 Christopher Nolan, 3 Sean Paul Gibson, 4 Tiernan McKenna, 5 Daniel Murray, 6 Padraig Mervyn, 7 Fionn Mervyn, 8 Ciaran Boyd, 9 Aidan McGuigan, 10 Mark Finnegan, 11 Declan Straney, 12 Adam Murray, 13 Odhran Waldron, 14 Michael Herron, 15 Donal Martin

Referee: Piarais McCaffery

Casement SC JHC Semi-Final

Loch Mor Dal gCais 2-14 Belfast Saints 0-17

Loch Mor Dal gCais booked their place in the Casement SC JHC final after a hard fought victory over Belfast Saints at Dunsilly on Saturday. Last week Belfast Saints conceded 8 goals to Ardoyne at Fennell Park but they recovered from that setback to give Saturday’s game a real lash and were still in contention right up to the final whistle.

 Belfast Saints put in a great shift but with some outstanding performances right across the field, Loch Mor held on and secured their place in the county final.

They will now go head to head once again with Ardoyne in two weeks-time and if previous meetings between these two are anything to go by then we should be in for an excellent final.

Casement SC JHC Quarter-Final

Lamh Dhearg 6-16 All Saints 0-13

Veteran full-forward, Michael Herron was the star of the show in the proverbial game of two halves at Hannastown on Saturday when Lamh Dhearg came from a point down at half time to overrun All Saints in this Casement SC Junior Hurling championship quarter.

Former Antrim and Ulster hurler, Herron led the comeback with four second half goals and proved unmarkable as the visitors meekly surrendered the lead they had fought so hard to win in the opening half.

Chris Dornan’s side certainly looked up for it as they dominated the opening exchanges with their high press forcing quite a number of turn overs and raced into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead after11 minutes and should have been further ahead.

Three of the opening four points came from Ciaran Neeson frees while Luke O’Rawe struck an excellent point from play with Lamh Dhearg’s point coming from a well struck 50 meter free from Adam Murray into the wind.

Murray and James O’Boyle exchanged further points and another great point from Eoin McGuigan had the Ballymena side four in front by the 17^th minute and looking good.

Indeed at this stage they might well have had a goal with Conor McConville somehow blocking a close range effort from Damian Gillan and it was a miss that the visitors would live to regret.

Herron made his first contribution to his sides cause with a point in the 17th minute before the influential Murray pointed a 45 meter free and then cut in from the left to fire past Ciaran Cassley after the All Saints defence had failed to deal with a long ball into the danger area.

Neeson levelled matters from another free and in the run in to half time Donal Martin and Murray again added points for the Hannastown side but Neeson replied with his first from play and another free and James O’Boyle added another to leave the visitors leading by the narrowest of margins at the break.

Niall McGarry brought his side level with a point in the opening minute of the second half and with the wind now behind them it would be the Hannastown side who would push on.

Michael Herron added a goal in the second minute and added another in the third with full-back Colum Neeson injured in the build up to the second and ther bifg number 3 was unable to take any further part with Archie McGreevey replacing him in defence.

The mercurial |Murray extended the Lamh Dhear lead before Cormac Magill pulled one back for All Saints with their first score of the second half in the 6^th minute.

Adam Murray was making a massive contribution for the home side and he pointed a ‘65’ before Ciaran Neeson in gthe All Saints goal made a great save to deny Herron his third goal of the game.

The big full-forward wouldn’t be denied his hat-trick for long however as he fired to the net in the 12^th minute after Neeson had converted another free at the other end.

The Lamh Dhearg dominance was almost constant at this stage and Adam Murray and Declan Straney split the uprights before Murray got in for his second goal and his side’s fith of the game in the 19^th minute.

There would be no respite for the visitors going down the home straight with Micko Herron getting his fourth goal and Daniel Murray and Adam Murray adding points with All Saints only reply coming from another Neeson conversion.

Lamh Dhearg now face St. Brigid’s Cloughmills in the semi-final in two weeks -time while the other semi-final sees Gort na Mona take on Glen Rovers Armoy on the same weekend.

Lamh Dhearg: 1 Conor McConville, 2 Christopher Nolan, 3 Sean Paul Gibson, 4 Tiernan McKenna, 5 Daniel Murray, 6 Odhran Waldron, 7 Fionn Mervyn, 8 Ciaran Boyd, 9 Aidan McGuigan, 12 Adam Murray, 11 Declan Straney, 10 Mark Finnegan, 13 Donal Martin, 14 Michael Herron, 15 Niall McGarry.Subs: Micky McGuigan, Ryan Diamond, Darra Cunningham, Evan Stanley, Joel Brady

All Saints: 1 Ciaran Cassley, 2 Dwayne McKee, 3 Colum Neeson, 4 Kevin Brady, 5 Conor O’Rawe, 6 Cathaoir Cunning, 7 Daniel Gray, 8 Padhraig Magill, 9 Luke O’Rawe, 10 Cormac Magill, 11 Eoin McGuigan, 12 Jack Magill, 13 Damian Gillan, 14 Ciaran Neeson, 15 James O’Boyle. Subs: Vinny Esler, Finton Brady, Anthony Mitchell

Referee: Ray Matthews (Rossa)

Junior B Hurling Championship

Ardoyne 8-18 Loughgbeg Harps 0-11

It was a goal feast for Ardoyne at Fennell Park this afternoon as the Kickhams made it into the final of the Junior B Hurling Championship against a valiant Loughbeg. The men from the loughshore had no answer to Ardoyne’s machine Matt McKillen, who bulged the net on four separate occasions to put the Northenders back into a hurling final.

It didn’t look like it was going to be the visiting team’s day from the start, as a free from Aran Stewart somehow found its way into the Loughbeg net. The depth of Ardoyne’s first half dominance was demonstrated through eight different players lighting up the scoreboard, while Loughbeg struggled to get a grip on the game.

Half-Time: Ardoyne 6-8 Loughbeg Harps 0-4

The second half started with another McKillen goal for Ardoyne in the opening minute. However, while still outscored, Loughbeg showed glimpses of play as the game proceeded that must surely give them heart in the quest to re-establish hurling around the loughshore. They more than held their own at times during the second half but in the end they had no answer to the strength in depth of the Ardoyne team.

Padraig O Deorain came off the Ardoyne bench in the closing stages and produced a point of the highest quality that Henry Shevlin would have been proud of. Ardoyne now look forward to a final against Loch Mór Dál gCais who have run them close on several occasions this season. Ardoyne will know that their finishing will need to be more clinical if they are finally to lift the Junior B Championship.

Ardoyne: 1 JP Agnew, 2 Pascal Clarke (0-2), 3 Paul Baker, 4 Cathal Clarke, 5 Sean Searle (1-0), 6 Caolan Wallace, 7 Micheál McGreevy (0-1), 8 Dean Goodall, 9 Paul McGuigan, 10 Oisin Mac An Bhiocaire (1-2) 1f, 11 Aran Stewart (1-3), 12 Pearse Hull(1-2), 13 Matt McKillen (4-2), 14 Cormac Barnes (0-3), 15 Jim Og McAuley (0-1), Kealan McCallan, Diarmuid Martin, Joe McDowell, Conor Flannery, Stephen Hill, Eoghain Mac An tSearraig, Eamon Mac Lochlainn (0-1), Matthew Crommie, Padraig O’Deorain (0-1), Paul O’Halloran, Christopher McShane, Cahal Keown

Loughbeg: 1 Francis Boyd, 2 Gary Maybin, 3 Diarmuid Scullin 0-1, 4 Paul Quinn, 5 Aidan McErlain, 6 Seanchan O Duifinn, 7 Rory Taggart, 8 Colm McStocker, 9 Shannon O Lochlainn, 10 Damian Carroll, 11 Conor McElhinney 0-5 (3f), 13 Shane McGinty 0-1, 14 Brian McManus 0-3 (2f), 15 Conor Harrison 0-1, 17 Adrian Hegarty, 18 Mark Walsh