Category / Hurling

by thesaffrongael

Cloney too strong for the Carey Faughs

ACHL Division 2

Cloney Gaels 1-21 Carey Faughs 1-12

Ghaeil Cluanaidh continue to set the pace with Oisin Glenariffe when they proved too good for an under strength Carey Faughs in near perfect conditions in Ahoghill on Sunday.

The Ballyvoy side were well in contention when they trailed by four at half time, thanks to a goal from Conor McBride in the 26th minute but Cloney Gaels stepped it up a gear in the second half to run out winners by 9 points.

It was the Ahoghill side who made the better start to lead 0-4 to 0-1 after 9 minutes with Dan O’Neill 0-2, Eoin Graham and Colla McDonnell their marksmen and the Carey point coming from a Conall McGlynn ‘65’.

It was all Ahoghill at this stage and the excellent Dan O’Neill fired home a goal in the 13th minute and the same player added a point to move Cloney 1-5 to 0-1 ahead at the end of the opening quarter.

Darren McGowan final added Carey’s second point in the 17th minute but Dan O’Neill replied immediately for the home side to keep the gap at seven before Colla McDonnell moved the Gaels 8 ahead with 21 minutes gone.

O’Neill was proving unmark-able at the edge of the square and he added two more points before Carey finally sprung to life with Conor McBride firing over two points and followedwith a goal in the 26th minute to serve notice that this game was not over.

Fionnbar O’Neill replied from a converted ‘65’ for the home side with Conall McGlynn responding from a late free to leave it 1-10 to 1-6 in favour of Cloney Gaels as Piarais McCaffrey sounded the half time whistle.

The Faughs made a bright start to the second half with Conall McGlynn, Daniel McBride and Michael McVeigh adding early points and Colla McDonnell and James O’Connell 0-2 replying for the Ahoghill men.

Half time substitute O’Connell was on fire as he pointed three frees and added another from play to bring his total to 0-6 by the 17th minute to move the Gaels 10 ahead and even at this stage it looked as good as over.

The visitors were still giving it their best and Conor McBride and Martin Hunter replied with points but it only served to bring another response from the rampant home side.

Colla McDonnell, Dan O’Neill, Fionnbar O’Neill with a massive point from deep in his own half and James O’Connell brought their total to 1-21 for the evening with Conor McBride replying with a late consolation point for the visitors.

This win leaves Cloney Gaels level with Oisin’s Glenariffe on points with the waterfoot side ahead in the table on score difference and the sides not scheduled to meet until Sunday 1st June in Ahoghill.

Cathaoir an Ri have struggled this season after finishing top of the division last year and winning the Antrim Intermediate Championship and going on to collect the Ulster Intermediate title but they are badly in need of points as they sit perilously close to the bottom of the table.

They are missing a number of key players at present however and I would expect them to climb up the table when they get their missing men back on board.

Cloney Gaels: 1 Aiden Graham, 2 Jack McFall, 3 Patrick Dougan, 4 Harry O’Donnell, 5 Fionnbar O’Neill, 6 James Magee, 7 Adam Mullan, 8 Eamonn Brady, 9 Bernard Graham, 10 Sean O’Neill, 11 Donal Graham, 12 Eoin Graham, 13 Colla McDonnell, 14 Daniel O’Neill, 15 Ryan Martin, 18 James O’Connell  

CAREY: 1 Christopher Butler, 2 Michael McVeigh, 3 John McBride, 4 Oisin Healey, 5 Somhairle Mathers, 6 Conall McGlynn, 7 Shea Hunter, 8 Michael McCormick, 9 Ryan McQuaid, 10 Callum Kane, 11 Darren McGowan, 12 Andrew McGarry, 13 Daniel McBride, 14 Connor McBride, 15 Eoin McKinley

Subs: 17 James McNeill, 19 Daniel McKinley, 20 Martin Hunter

Referee: Piarais McCaffrey

by thesaffrongael

Dunloy beat Loughgiel in Feile A final

Dunloy won the Feile A Division 1 title when they beat Loughgiel in Saturday’s final at Fr Healy Park after a great day’s hurling.

Dunloy actually played Loughgiel in their opening group game and after a great contest they came out on top by 1-07 to 0-05. Loughgiel then faced a very good St Paul’s team in the next round, winning by 3-11 to 2-06 to set up a semi-final meeting with Naomh Padraig, who had moved up to Division 1 this season.

Runners up Loughgiel Shamrocks

The north Antrim combination played well but Dunloy had just too much power for them and with Loughgiel beating Belfast side Ard na Rí in the other semi-final the scene was set for another meeting between these two great rivals.

Dunloy held the upper hand for most of the game and ran out winners to claim the famous Feile na nGael trophy.

DUNLOY TEAM

Tom Richmond, Sean Johnston, Peadar Doherty, Noah Bradley, Oisin O’Brien, Aaron Richmond, Iarlaith O’Kane, Paidi O’Kane, Cadhan Doherty,  Cillian Cunning, Harry Blaney, Lorcan Martin, Fionn McCloskey, Ronan Elliott, Blaine Mullan.

Naomh Padraig

Ard na Rí

by thesaffrongael

Con Magee’s are Division 3 Feile winners

Con Magee’s, Glenravel are this year’s Antrim Division 3 Hurling Feile champions after defeating a young but talented Shane O’Neill’s in the decider at Slemish Park, Ballymena on Saturday.

Originally 6 teams were scheduled to take part in the division 3 section at Slemish Park and Quinn Park but matters were thrown into disarray when Gort na Mona pulled out on Friday night and Laochra Loch Lao failed to show.

It meant a reduced programme of games but the event went ahead with Con Magee’s beating the All Saints-Cloney Gaels combination, Slemish Gaels in their opening game at Quinn Park.

Across the road at Slemish Park Shane O’Neill’s recorded a good win over Davitt’s and with the previous withdrawals taken into account the meeting of Con Magee’s and Shane O’Neill’s was the division 3 decider.

Beaten finalists, Shane O’Neill’s

Despite playing into a strong breeze it was the Feystown side who took the game to their opponents early in the game with PJ Kelly and Cormac McMullan firing over early points.

They were rocked back on their heels however when Con Magee’s towering Dylan McMullan raced through and fired to the net and Aiden O’Neill added a point.

McMullan would add another in the second half and Con Magee’s looked to be in control but an excellent goal from Oisin Daly and a point from the same player closed the gap to the minimum but that would be as close as Glenarm got.

A Cormac Higgins point for Con Magee’s edged the Glensmen 2 in front and that was how it finished with the CCC’s Shaun O’Reilly presenting the division 3 Feile Cup to Glenravel captain, Niall Duffin.

Shaun O’Reilly, CCC presents the division 3 Feile Cup to Con Magee’s captain Niall Duffin

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by thesaffrongael

Antrim minor hurlers win the Peadar O’Liathain Cup

Leinster Minor B Hurling Final

Antrim 0-21 | Wicklow 2-9

Report by Ryan Mcafee

Photos by Mickey Morgan

Antrim’s minor hurlers showed grit and resilience to secure a hard-fought victory over a determined Wicklow side in the Peadar O’Liathain final at Dowdallshill, Dundalk.

James McDonnell set the tone with the opening score, and it was one-way traffic in the early stages as the Saffrons burst out of the blocks with real purpose. Hitting eight unanswered points, Antrim’s inside forward line wasted no time asserting their authority, with all three getting on the scoresheet inside the opening ten minutes thanks to sharp deliveries into the danger area.

To their credit, Wicklow responded with determination. A slick attacking move carved open the Antrim defence and Tom Brennan finished low to the net to register their first score of the afternoon. A string of frees from Brennan brought them level before a well-taken point from Sean Smyth edged Antrim ahead at the break.

Jay McAlonan opened the second-half scoring for the Saffrons, but the game remained tight as Cadhan Crawford and Brennan traded placed-ball efforts. McDonnell (2) and Dylan McNaughton then helped stretch Antrim’s lead to five, and Canice McIntosh added a superb long-range point to keep the pressure on.

Antrim keeper Liam Magee was called into action with a brilliant low save to his right, but as the ball broke loose, the referee awarded a penalty to Wicklow for holding in the square. Magee stood tall again, producing another top-class save to deny Brennan, who had been clinical from placed balls all game.

Wicklow continued to fight and struck for a second goal late on to reduce the gap to three, but Antrim responded well under pressure. Points from McIntosh and Anthony Cochrane—both from distance—steadied the ship, and a vital late block from Paddy Morgan ensured there would be no route back for Wicklow.

A strong team display sealed a satisfying victory for this promising Antrim group, as captains Conor McCann and Cadhan Crawford proudly lifted the Peadar O’Liathain cup.

On their way home from the final in Dundalk the team called into Corrigan Park, Belfast where the team were paraded before the fans during the half time inteval in the Antrim v Dublin SHC game.

Antrim: 1. Liam Magee 2. Aaron Quinn 3. Liam Smyth 18. Paddy Morgan 5. Canice McIntosh (0-2) 6. Conor McCann 7. Eunan Johnston 8. Caolan Wilson 9. Dylan McNaughton (0-1) 10. Ronan Taylor (0-2) 11. Christy Leech 12. James McDonnell (0-3) 13. Sean Smyth (0-2) 14. Jay McAlonan (0-2) 15. Cadhan Crawford (0-7) Subs: Anthony Cochrane (0-1), Daire Jemfry

Wicklow: 1. Conor O’Sullivan 2. John Lynch 3. Sean Traynor 4. Se Killoran 5. Ciaran Darcy 6. Sean Byrne 7. Sean Byrne 8. Rian Rooney 9. Senan Shorthall 10. Luke Cotter 11. Tom Brennan (2-7) 12. Jim O’Brien 13. Cillian Brady (0-1) 14. Daniel Duffy 15. Joe Keeshan (0-1)

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by thesaffrongael

Antrim well off the pace as Dublin maintain their 100% record

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship – Round Robin 3

Antrim 0-19 Dublin 3-25

Antrim hurlers were well off the pace when losing to Dublin in Saturday’s Leinster Senior Hurling Championship round 3 game at Corrigan Park, Belfast. There were spells in their previous game against Kilkenny when it appeared the Saffrons were making some progress but this time out they were way off the pace as Dublin dominated from start to finish t win by fifteen points in the end, and it has to be said they were worth every one of the them.

Apart from a brief spell just after half time when the home side hit full forward James McNaghton hit three points in a row, they never really challenged, and to make things even worse their talisman McNaughton received a straight red card which will definitely rule him out of their meeting with Galway in Salthill next weekend, but may even worse could also see him sidelined for the last game of the campaign against Offaly in Tullamore, a game that most likely will determine the destiny of those two sides.

With Keelan Molloy and Conor Johnston missing from the starting line-up Antrim struggled to get anything going, while Dublin sharp from start to finish, their ball winning ability and first touch a world away from the home side. Antrim centre back Conor Boyd gave Antrim an early lead but it was short lived and after Chris Crummey drew the visitors level Sean Currie and John Heatherton put the Dubs two clear inside five minutes.

The gap widened as the game advanced with James McNaughton’s free taking keeping Antrim in touch, but the Dubs had the upper hand and some great finishing by Currie and Cian O’Sullivan pulled them well clear. McNaughton added two more from frees and Ryan McCambridge grabbed a great score from play but they struggled to sustain their brief spells on top. Antrim’s uphill task got a lot steeper when Dublin got through for goals through Cian O’Sullivan and their excellent corner-forward Ronan Hayes and by half time they were 2-14 to 0-7 to the good.

With the fresh breeze at their backs in the second half Antrim made a promising start when McNaughton grabbed the first three points to cut the gap back to ten. However the boys in blue were soon back in full control as Hayes and O’Sullivan sent over points from play. Antrim battled hard but it just wasn’t working for them and each time they managed a score their opponents came back two of their own. A brilliantly taken goal by substitute Fergal Whitely really sealed the deal for visitors.

Thing couldn’t get any worse, or so we thought, but McNaughton’s red card dismissal proved us all wrong at the Dubs maintained the 100% record to all but seal their place in the top three.  

Scorers – Dublin: S Currie 0-12 (8f, 2 65s); C O’Sullivan 1-3; F Whitely 1-1; R Hayes 1-0; C Crummey 0-3; B Hayes, J Hetherton, C Burke, P Doyle, C McHugh, C Currie 0-1 each. Antrim: J McNaughton 0-10 (8f, 1 65); R McCambridge, J McLaughlin 0-2 (1f) each; C Boyd, C McKeown, E Campbell, N Elliott, G Walsh (1f) 0-1 each.

Dublin: E Gibbons 7; J Bellew 7, P Smyth 7, C McHugh 8; P Doyle 8, C Crummey 8, A Dunphy 7; C Burke 7, C Donohue 7; B Hayes 7, C O’Sullivan 8, D Power 7; S Currie 9, J Hetherton 6, R Hayes 7. Subs: P Dunleavy 7 for A Dunphy (26), D Burke 6 for J Hetherton (49), C Currie 7 for C Burke (53), F Whitely 7 for R Hayes (59), J Madden 6 for C Crummey (66).

Antrim: R Elliott 7; S Rooney 7, N O’Connor 7, P Burke 7; J Maskey 6, C Boyd 6, C Bohill 5; E Campbell 5, G Walsh 6; J McLaughlin 5, R McCambridge 6, S Walsh 5; E O’Neill 5, J McNaughton 7, N Elliott 5. Subs: S McKay 5 for S Walsh (HT), C McKeown 6 for E O’Neill (51).

Ref: L Gordon (Galway)

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