Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship

Semi Final

Cushendall 2-16 Loughgiel 0-20

Sunday 11 October

Brendan McTaggart reports from Ballycastle

Goals in either half from Joseph McLaughlin and the returning Fiontan Bradley built the foundations for the Ruairi’s to overcome Loughgiel and reach the senior hurling final.  Two points separated the sides at the end of an hour of high intensity hurling that saw these two giants of the game in Antrim push each other all the way.

Joseph McLaughlin was the top scorer for Cushendall, finishing with a further eight points along with his major while Neil McManus put on a masterclass.  When it comes to big matches and big moments, there aren’t many better than the Cushendall and Antrim legend when it comes to stepping up.  McManus was immense while Callagh Mooney added to his burgeoning reputation with another all action performance from midfield – especially in the second half.

The second Cushendall goal was the turning point in the contest.  Coming at a time when Loughgiel were having their best spell in the match.  Fiontan Bradley was barely on the pitch three minutes when he squirmed the sliotar below Cormac McFadden.  It gave Cushendall the lead and allowed them to keep the Shamrocks at arms length.

It was an enthralling second half that saw the Shamrocks really come to life.  Rian McMullan was putting in an excellent shift with all of his five points coming after the interval but there were too many in the Loughgiel red that played to their potential while Cushendall’s ability to score at crucial times in the match always gave them the edge.

The match took a while to get started, perhaps unsurprising with the underfoot conditions far from perfect.  The game was stuck in rucks for long periods as both sides tried to adapt to the heavy, sodden and lumpy surface.

There were just three scores in the opening 11 minutes with Shan McGrath and Roan McGarry (free) splitting the uprights either side of a Joseph McLaughlin free for the Ruairi’s.

The Shamrocks were denied a goal in those opening exchanges with Conor McAlister denying James McNaughton with an outstanding save after McNaughton had produced a brilliant catch among a packed Cushendall defence.

The first goal of the game came with the next attack.  Joseph McLaughlin hammering home a rebound from a McManus shot.  Cormac McFadden producing an excellent save but ‘Pep’ reacted quickest to the lose sliotar and made no mistake with a thundering, first timed effort.

James McNaughton and Ed McQuillan fired over points before Ben McGarry left his half back berth to split the posts and leave just one between the sides going into the final 10 minutes of the half.

Cushendall responded by hitting four of the next five scores.  McManus with two long range efforts and a third from a free while Pep scored the point of the game.  Wide on the right and no distance from the end line, he managed to split the posts with next to no angle to work with.  A sublime score.

The Shamrocks had a half sniff for a goal after Ruairi McCormick made a strong run into the Cushendall half.  The Ruairi’s defence scrambled and when the sliotar broke to Jack McCloskey, it looked like he was destined to find the back of the net.  Charlie McAuley got to the sliotar first to clear the initial danger and send the sliotar out for a ’65 which McNaughton duly converted.

The sides went score for score in the time that remained of the half and Cushendall holding onto that four point advantage to leave the half time score 1-11 to 0-10.

Loughgiel got out of the starting blocks quickest after the interval and that four point Cushendall advantage was gone inside seven minutes.  James McNaughton (free), Jack McCloskey and a brace from Rian McMullan for a Loughgiel side who had clearly upped their intensity after the restart. 

A brace of frees from Pep McLaughlin and McManus were answered with points from James McNaughton and Rian McMullan’s third of the half to leave the sides tied with 11 minutes of the hour remaining.

Cushendall’s second goal came at the perfect time for the Ruairi’s and with his first strike in the championship this year, Fiontan Bradley found the back of the Loughgiel net.  Callagh Mooney sending the sliotar his direction where Bradley spun his marker before finding the back of the net.  It wasn’t the most clean of strikes by the Cushendall man but there won’t have been many more important.

Loughgiel continued to take their scores with Rian McMullan continuing his rich vein of form.  He would split the uprights either side of Joseph McLaughlin’s fourth free of the match to leave two between the sides and a little over five minutes remaining.

The Shamrocks had a sight for a goal when substitute Darragh Patterson got on the end of a pass from Paul Boyle.  Conor McAlister once again denying the Shamrocks with another top save.

Cushendall’s response was match defining and winning.  Joseph McLaughlin with a brace of points, taking his tally to 1-8 for the match and giving the Ruairi’s a four point lead going into injury time.

Loughgiel looked for the goal that would bring them back into the game but points from Enda Og McGarry and Liam Glackin was the only reward for their efforts.

Cushendall progress to reach their tenth decider in 14 years and a meeting with rivals Dunloy for a fifth time in the last 10.

TEAMS

Cushendall Starting XV: Conor McAlister; Conor McCann, Martin Burke, Fred McCurry; Scott Walsh, Austin Birt, Charlie McAuley; Eoghan Campbell, Callagh Mooney; Thomas McLaughlin, Ed McQuillan, Ryan McCambridge; Fergus McCambridge, Neil McManus, Joseph McLaughlin

Subs: Fiontan Bradley for E Campbell (47); Sean McAfee for R McCambridge (54)

Scorers: J McLaughlin 1-8 (4f); N McManus 0-6 (2f); F Bradley 1-00; E McQuillan 0-2

Loughgiel Starting XV: Cormac McFadden; Rory McCloskey, Enda Og McGarry, Liam Glackin; Ruairi McCormick, Declan McCloskey, Ben McGarry; Rian McKee, James McNaughton; Rian McMullan, Ronan Fitzgerald, Shan McGrath; Roan McGarry, Paul Boyle, Jack McCloskey

Subs: Christy McGarry for J McCloskey (44); Darragh Patterson for R Fitzgerald (49); Pearce Patterson for R McKee (60+1), Eoin McGarry for R McGarry (60+1)

Scorers: R McMullan 0-5; J McNaughton 0-4 (1f, 1’65); S McGrath 0-2; E Og McGarry 0-1; L Glackin 0-1; R McCormick 0-1; B McGarry 0-1; P Boyle 0-1; J McCloskey 0-1

Referee: Colm McDonald (St Galls)

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Brendan McTaggart looks ahead to the weekends big games in the Bathshack Senior Hurling championship with a date in the final within sight.

The senior hurling championship goes into the final furlong this weekend with the semi finals on the horizon.  There are old faces there but the sight of last years Intermediate Champions in the last four is something that many would have been hoping to see, just many can’t have expected it.  Well, outside of Glenariffe that is.  We’ll start with that game as Glenariffe’s journey in their first senior championship campaign in 13 years sees them taking on the Cuchullains in Cushendall.

Dunloy v Glenariffe

Saturday 10 October @ 4pm in Cushendall

The Oisin’s reward for slaying the ‘Kings of Antrim’ in the quarter final is a meeting with a hungry Dunloy team in the semi final.  The Cuchullains come into the game having lost at this stage last year and with a huge majority of the squad involved in last weekends defeat in the senior football championship, you have to think there aren’t many worse times to be playing the men from The Village.

That being said, it is remarkable to see the position the Oisin’s are in.  We know about the gap from Intermediate to Senior and how teams have struggled.  Glenariffe were different in comparison to teams who have tried to make that step in that they had foundations with underage teams.  That doesn’t necessarily transfer into senior success but it goes along way into developing the tools for this level.

Oisin Gillan’s performances in the last two games for Glenariffe in the championship have been fantastic and when you consider he’s still minor, it’s frightening to think on the hurler he will develop into when he reaches his ‘peak’.  Glenariffe’s win against St John’s was far from a one man show but Gillan’s performance was a huge reason why they won.  He scored 1-1 but created so much more and did a lot of damage on the day.

I’ve been impressed with how the Glenariffe defence have developed since that game against Dunloy in the opening weekend of the championship.  They struggled to deal with the pace of the Dunloy forwards that day but Conor Patterson, Odhran Gillan and David Kearney have really warmed to the challenge.  They were excellent against Naomh Éanna and put in a similar performance against St John’s.

The Oisin’s showed in that group game against Dunloy they have the firepower to do damage.  Their ability to take scores from distance from the likes of Oliver Kearney and Michael O’Boyle will be worth watching while the work rate of Canice and Seanie McIntosh will be key.  If they start well then they will contribute heavily. 

Alex O’Boyle’s free taking will be key and as he showed in that game I keep referencing back to, he has an eye for goal also.

Dunloy have been focussing on the big ball since defeating Cushendall four weeks ago and from a momentum perspective, that’s not ideal.  Nothing beats games and games at championship level and intensity is different to anything you can replicate on a training pitch. 

That being said, it’s not as if to say they have been sitting idle.  They will still have been training, staying sharp and will be itching to get going.  The memories of the defeat 12 months ago linger on and the savage disappointment of relinquishing their football crown will develop a hunger.

Keelan Molloy has been playing more at 14 this year and it’s a move that has paid off.  They have brought him out deeper on occasions which is a great option to have but he did look like he was carrying an injury at the end of the St Brigid’s game last Saturday so it remains to be seen if he will be fit in time for this one.  Who Dunloy start in the attacking unit will be interesting.  Ciaran Elliott has been in top form for the majority of the year and has had one of his best years in a Dunloy shirt.  His goal scoring exploits have been eye catching and he did score two goals when these two last played.

The expectation is that Dunloy will win this one.  I would tend to side with that but I don’t expect to see us getting a repeat of the 4-30 to 1-17 scoreline we saw in the middle of August.  The Dunloy management will be looking to see where it went wrong from 12 months ago to ensure their troops get their psyche right.  If they do that then it should be another final for the Cuchullains.  The bookies have them at 1/20 and as we know the bookies are never far away.

Cushendall v Loughgiel

Sunday 11 October @ 130pm @ Ballycastle

Sunday afternoon in Ballycastle will round off the hurling semi finals for the weekend and what a way to sign off.  Loughgiel versus Cushendall, the Shamrocks and the Ruairi’s and another episode of a rivalry that we will never get old of watching.

Both sides have shown indifferent form in the championship with the Ruairi’s handsomely defeating Naomh Éanna and having to dig deep a small bit against Glenariffe in the second group game.

Against Dunloy, Cushendall struggled to hit their straps.  Dunloy never really looked like they would lose that one as the Cuchullains defence cancelled out the Ruairi’s major threat.

They did hit back against Ballycastle but that too was a game where they had their problems.  Not many teams will concede four goals and still go on to win the game.  Cushendall showed the good, the bad and the ugly side of them in that 60 minutes. 

Joseph McLaughlin’s ability to be in the right place and the right time is unerring and it’s got to the point where you know it’s not luck.  His movement and hurling IQ are to be applauded and he carried the fight for the Ruairi’s against the Town.

Callagh Mooney’s performance from midfield was as good as it gets and certainly the best performance I’ve seen from Callagh in a Cushendall senior shirt.  Five points and a man of the match performance from a lad who’s just out of minor, Callagh is developing into a pivotal cog within the Cushendall machine.

So often, the Ruairi’s have looked to Neil McManus for inspiration in an attacking sense yet he provided it at the other end of the pitch.  Being defensively shaky isn’t something you would associate with Cushendall teams yet it took McManus dropping into a sweeping role and effectively playing full back when they were reduced to 14 men to get the Ruairi’s over the line.

In their opening two matches, Loughgiel had more questions than answers.  They stuttered over the line against Ballycastle before finishing strongly to defeat Rossa.  Their performance against St John’s was excellent and probably been forgotten about given the furore there was after the game.

Scoring 30 points and 23 of those from open play will have pleased the Loughgiel management.  There were no goal chances of note where they had to make Domhnall Nugent work between the sticks for the Johnnies but they certainly upped their performance levels.  The Shamrocks were more slick and clinical in front of the posts with Rian McMullan and Shan McGrath both excelling.

Paul Boyle provides a different kind of threat on the edge of the square and Loughgiel will be hoping they get the type of performance out of him we saw 12 months ago against Dunloy at this stage where he was electric.  He has shown glimpses of that this year in the Shamrocks shirt, whether Boyle will line out there remains to be seen.  Given Cushendall’s apparent weakness under a high ball in their full back line, Loughgiel may opt for something different.

Dan McCloskey’s suspension will be a loss for the Shamrocks in the engine room.  He goes through a mountain of work and it largely goes unseen.  For the stars to shine and scores to be taken, every team needs a Dan McCloskey so it will be interesting to see who Loughgiel opt for when naming their starting 15.

In the We Are Antrim podcast, I gave my prediction for a Cushendall win, but honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if this one went to extra time.  These two tend to bring the best out of each other and Sunday’s game should be a cracker.  Cushendall usually have the edge when these two play in the championship and they get the nod from me to reach another decider.

Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship

Quarter Final

Cushendall 2-23 Ballycastle 4-13

Saturday 27 September

Brendan McTaggart reports from Pearse Park, Dunloy

Cushendall sealed their place in the last four of the senior hurling championship on Sunday evening but they were pushed to the pin of their collar by a gutsy Ballycastle side.

Four points was the difference between the sides at the end of an hour of enthralling championship hurling that saw the best of both sides.  Cushendall looked sharp with Callagh Mooney putting in a monumental shift from the middle of the park, tagging over five points in a top performance while Joseph McLaughlin’s uncanny knack for scoring goals on big occasions continues.  He found the onion bag in either half for the Ruairi’s with his second goal in particular coming at a vital time in the game for his side.

The Town’s never-say-die spirit saw them come back from the brink, three goals in as many minutes saw them rattle the Ruairi’s.  Tiarnan Smyth with goals in either half while Niall McKenna and Cadhan Crawford also raised green flags.

Cushendall needed someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, Neil McManus stood tall.  He played as a sweeper to fill the gap in front of Martin Burke and look to get under the high ball Ballycastle were sending into the danger area.  McManus proving yet again he is a managers dream.  At some point he will be donated to science for cloning.  A fascinating subplot to the whole game and one not many would have seen coming, was Neil McManus marking Conor Boyd on the edge of the Cushendall square.

The Ruairi’s were reduced to 14 men with four minutes of the hour remaining, Ryan McCambridge seeing his cameo cut short for a second yellow card.  It added to the drama of a nail biting ending.  Ballycastle threw everything bar the kitchen sink at the Ruairi’s but Cushendall withstood the barrage of amber and black that came their way.

Cushendall made a bright start to the game, leading four points to one after seven minutes.  Scores from Mooney, Ed McQuillan and a brace of white flags from Joseph McLaughlin got their scoreboard ticking.  A free from Conor Boyd was the solitary response from the Town.

Ballycastle showed their intent and a sign of things to come through Smyth’s first major in the eighth minute.  Boyd sending a long free into the heart of the Ruairi’s defence where Niall McClean broke the sliotar into Smyth’s path and he squeezed the ball over the line.

Seamus McAuley pointed from distance before Smyth added another to give Ballycastle a two point lead by the 12^th minute.  The Ruairi’s responded by firing over four points in as many minutes.  Mooney, Joe McNaughton, Fred McCurry and Ed McQuillan with the scores.

Niall McKenna cut the Cushendall lead, scoring from wide on the right before Joseph McLaughlin scored the Ruairi’s first goal.  Playing a one-two with Ed McQuillan, ‘Pep’ showed great footwork to evade the Ballycastle challenges before hammering the sliotar to the back of Eamon Elliott’s goal.

Points followed from Scott Walsh and a brace from Pep McLaughlin gave Cushendall a seven point lead with a little over eight minutes of the half remaining.

The Town landed scores from Cadhan Crawford and substitute Ronan McCarry with Fergus McCambridge the sole response from Cushendall to leave the half time score 1-12 to 1-6 in Cushendall’s favour.

The second half started identically to the first, Callagh Mooney breaking free from the restart and splitting the posts with barely 20 seconds on the clock.  McManus added his name to the list of Cushendall scorers with a brace of points to put Cushendall in the driving seat and a nine point lead.

‘Rambo’ McCarry split the uprights for Ballycastle’s first score of the half in the fifth minute before the Town hit their first of three goals in the space of three frenetic minutes.

Conor Boyd sending the sliotar deep into the danger area where Smyth was holding off Fred McCurry.  The Town forward managed to get the sliotar and get his shot away while on his knees.  A brilliant finish from Smyth as the Town sensed an opening.

Their third goal came from Cadhan Crawford and again, coming from a long Conor Boyd free.  Taking the free early and landing it in around the house, the Cushendall defence didn’t deal with the danger and Crawford pounced to pull home to leave two between the sides.

Ed McQuillan pointed to give Cushendall some form of respite but Ballycastle’s fourth major came with the next attack.  Niall McKenna getting on the end of a break by Conor Donnelly and sending the sliotar high to the back of Conor McAlister’s net.  A remarkable period of the game that saw Ballycastle rattle the Ruairi’s and bring the sides level.

Cushendall’s response was both instant and brilliant.  Joseph McLaughlin finding the back of the Ballycastle net after great work from McQuillan and Fergus McCambridge in the build up.  Pep would follow up with another free to give the Ruairi’s a four point lead only for Ballycastle to respond once again.  Points from Seamus McAuley, Smyth and Rambo McCarry bringing Ballycastle to within one point of Cushendall with a quarter of the game remaining.

Cushendall seemed to weather the Ballycastle storm and with McManus dropping deeper, they looked to deal with the aerial bombardment that came their way.

They fired over another four unanswered points through substitute Ryan McCambridge, Callagh Mooney, Pep McLaughlin and Scott Walsh before Conor Boyd fired over his second point of the afternoon.

With four between the sides going into the final five minutes, the game had another twist with Ryan McCambridge seeing red for a second yellow.  Darragh Kelly cut the Cushendall lead to three but as the Town’s need for another major grew, they found the Ruairi Og’s defence had tightened.  The aerial bombardment continued but Pep McLaughlin and Callagh Mooney fired over points either side of a ’65 from Cadhan Crawford, ending the scoring.

A dramatic ending to what felt like an old school, championship game of hurling.  Cushendall book their place in the semi finals and a meeting with Loughgiel and while Ballycastle bow out, they do so in the knowledge that they’re on the brink of an awakening.

TEAMS

Cushendall Starting XV: Conor McAlister; Conor McCann, Martin Burke, Fred McCurry; Scott Walsh, Austin Birt, Charlie McAuley; Neil McManus, Callagh Mooney; Thomas McLaughlin, Ed McQuillan, Joseph McNaughton; Fergus McCambridge, Eoghan Campbell, Joseph McLaughlin

• Subs: Ryan McCambridge for E Campbell (40); Oisin Woodhouse for J McNaughton (42); Sean McAfee for F McCambridge (52); Liam Gillan for F McCurry (56)
• Scorers: J McLaughlin 2-7 (5f); C Mooney 0-5; E McQuillan 0-3; S Walsh 0-2; N McManus 0-2; F McCurry 0-1; J McNaughton 0-1; F McCambridge 0-1; R McCambridge 0-1

Ballycastle Starting XV: Eamon Elloitt; Oran Kearney, Conal Colgan, Cathaoir Donnelly; Darragh Donnelly, Conor Boyd, Eoin McAlonan; Ronan Laverty, Jack McGowan; Niall McClean, Seamus McAuley, Tiarnan Smyth; Conor Donnelly, Niall McKenna, Cadhan Crawford

• Subs: Ronan McCarry for J McGowan (27); Ardan Kelly for R Laverty (33); Neal McAuley for N McClean (42); Darragh Kelly for E McAlonan (51)
• Scorers: T Smyth 2-2; C Crawford 1-2 (1f, 1’65); N McKenna 1-1; R McCarry 0-3; S McAuley 0-2; C Boyd 0-2 (1f); D Kelly 0-1

Referee: Kevin Parke (Naomh Éanna)

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Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship

Group 2

Dunloy 1-21 Cushendall 0-18

Brendan McTaggart reports from Cushendall

Dunloy sealed their place in the last four of the senior hurling championship on Sunday afternoon as they defeated Cushendall with six to spare.  In a top of the group clash, both sides knew that a win would give them the luxury of a four week break and any psychological advantage a win would have over the other at this stage of the season.

These teams are two of the big hitters in the club game in Antrim hurling and would be looking for any edge over the other.  Dunloy’s win would be a welcome advantage to the Pearse Park men given their dual commitments and fighting on both fronts.  The overriding feeling before the match was that the win was more beneficial for the Cuchullains while Cushendall would be happy to take another game via the quarter final route.

Any thoughts that the Ruairi’s weren’t taking the game seriously were gone as soon as Mark O’Neill blew for the game to start.  This was a keenly contested game that had plenty happening all over the pitch.  A game that had plenty of moments of brilliance both in an attacking and defensive sense and a game that had plenty of talking points.

Conal Cunning top scored for the Cuchullains in a quite brilliant performance for the Cuchullains.  13 white flags were unlucky for the Ruairi’s put ‘Coby’ put in a phenomenal performance showcasing his touch, speed, agility and power.

Keelan Molloy’s goal was the pivotal moment of the game and came at a time when Cushendall were looking like were starting to get an edge on the game.  The Dunloy star would finish the hour with 1-3 while a further five men in green and gold added their names to the list of scorers.

Joseph ‘Pep’ McLaughlin was the main attacking threat for Cushendall, raising the white flag on 11 occasions with eight of those from placed ball.  The Ruairi’s had another six names on their list of scorers and posed a serious threat up front.  The physical presence of Sean McAfee and Neil McManus always causing Dunloy cause for concern while Thomas McLaughlin’s aerial ability ensured they had an outlet to create space.

The Ruairi’s didn’t register another score from the 52^nd minute however as Dunloy finished the game strongly.

Both sides started the contest brightly with the wind have little or no effect on the game.  Dunloy held an early advantage with scores from Molloy, Cunning (free) and Eoin O’Neill coming in response to points from Callagh Mooney and Joseph McLaughlin.

McMahon had the first sniff of a goal chance in the eighth minute but his shot flashed wide from an acute angle.

Ed McQuillan and Cunning (free) swapped scores to leave Dunloy ahead by the minimum.  The visitors looked to have the momentum but a run of four wides looked to knock the wind out of their sails and when Joseph McLaughlin fired over his first free of the match in the 18^th minute, the sides were tied.

The Cuchullains put daylight between the sides with a run of four successive scores in a little over five minutes – all coming from the hurl of Cunning as he tormented the Cushendall defence.

The four point Dunloy advantage stayed until injury time as Charlie McAuley, Austin Birt and Joseph McLaughlin split the uprights in response to a trio of white flags from Cunning – two from placed ball.

Cushendall had the final say of the half with a brace of white flags from a Joseph McLaughlin free and Ed McQuillan’s second of the game to leave the half time score 0-11 to 0-9 in Dunloy’s favour.

For how good the second half was, both sides found another gear in the second half.  Cushendall restored parity to the scoreline with a brace of points from placed ball by Joseph McLaughlin before Keelan Molloy got the Cuchullains off and running in the second half.

Cunning fired over for his 10^th point of the game after another Joseph McLaughlin free before Thomas McLaughlin had a sight of Ryan Elliott’s goal.  Using his feet to pick up the sliotar while on the run, McLaughlin fired his shot at goal but the angle was against him and Ryan Elliott dealt with his effort expertly.  Joseph McLaughlin converted the resulting ’65 as the sides went toe to toe.

Aodhan McGarry and Cunning (free) adding scores for Dunloy with Joseph McLaughlin and Scott Walsh responding for the home side.

As the game entered the final quarter, it was the Cuchullains who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck.  Keelan Molloy’s goal came from a moment of brilliance as he broke through the heart of the Cushendall defence and while his initial shot was blocked by Conor McCann, substitute Luke McFerran recycled and found Molloy and he made no mistake.

The Ruairi’s continued to find ways and scores at the other end with Joseph and Thomas McLaughlin on target while Nigel Elliott and Eoin McFerran did the same for Dunloy.  Joseph McLaughlin reduced the Dunloy lead to two points with eight minutes of the hour remaining but the Ruairi’s wouldn’t register another score.

Dunloy had another sight of Conor McAllister’s goal, Cunning going close only for his effort to be well saved by the Cushendall shot stopper but he would add a further two white flags in the time that remained. 

Keelan Molloy and Seaan Elliott added further scores to add gloss to the scoreline for the Cuchullains before the final whistle.

Cushendall will have a quarter final tie with Ballycastle to look forward to in a fortnights time while Dunloy will cast their eyes towards a quarter final clash with Lámh Dhearg next Sunday.

TEAMS
Cushendall Starting XV: Conor McAllister; Conor McCann, Martin Burke, Fred McCurry; Scott Walsh, Austin Birt, Charlie McAuley; Neil McManus, Callagh Mooney; Thomas McLaughlin, Ed McQuillan, Ryan McCambridge; Oisin Woodhouse, Sean McAfee, Joseph McLaughlin

• Subs: Fergus McCambridge for O Woodhouse (48); Eoghan Campbell for E McQuillan (52)
• Scorers: J McLaughlin 0-11 (6fs, 2’65s); E McQuillan 0-2; S Walsh, A Birt, C McAuley, C Mooney, T McLaughlin – all 0-1

Dunloy Starting XV: Ryan Elliott; Aaron Crawford, Daire McMullan, Oran Quinn; Aodhan McGarry, Eoin McFerran, Ryan McGarry; Nicky McKeague, Tom McFerran; Nigel Elliott, Conal Cunning, Barry Scott; Chrissy McMahon, Keelan Molloy, Eoin O’Neill

• Subs: Seaan Elliott for T McFerran (HT); Luke McFerran for B Scott (39); Ciaran Elliott for C McMahon (46); Paul Shiels for O Quinn (52); Eamon Smyth for D McMullan (59)
• Scorers: C Cunning 0-13 (8fs, 1’65); K Molloy 1-3; A McGarry, E McFerran, N Elliott, E O’Neill, S Elliott – all 0-1

Referee: Mark O’Neill (Armoy)

TO SEE MORE OF BRENDAN’S PHOTOS FROM THE GAME, CLICK ON THE LINK….

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