Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship

Group One

Sunday August 16

Rossa 0-18 Dunloy 1-15

Brendan McTaggart reports from Rossa Park, Belfast

I pity those that don’t have hurling in their lives.  The greatest game on earth and this was a fine advertisement for our beautiful game.

Where do you start to dissect this one?  Breath-taking intensity, incredible desire and a hunger to do whatever it takes for your club.  Both Rossa and Dunloy gave everything they had and the Jeremiah’s looked like they had recorded a massive two points.

They didn’t.

The clock ticked into the 14^th minute of injury time when Paul Shiels riffled the sliotar into the roof of the net from over 30 yards out and with the next poc, the Cuchullains recycled and deep into his own half, Chrissy McMahon showed composure and belief.  A trust in his ability and boom.  The sliotar never looked like wavering.  The young Cuchullain celebrated, Rossa players sank to their knees and referee Kevin Parke blew the final whistle.

To say Dunloy pulled a ‘Dick Turpin’ would be an injustice to the ending of this incredible game.  Rossa had created the perfect storm and were riding the turbulence superbly.  Colly Murphy’s men were five, yes five, points clear going into the final minute of the hour.  Thanks largely to a masterclass in free taking from James Connolly but this was more than just a free taking contest.  The Jeremiah’s were brilliant for 74 minutes.  It’s that 75^th minute that cost them.

The Cuchullains made changes from seven days ago.  Two in defence and three in attack and from memory the first time there wasn’t a McKeague in the championship starting 15 for close to 20 years.  A reshuffled pack allowed for Ronan Molloy to move into wing half back.  Ronan was imperious.  If he didn’t claim primary possession from the clouds, he was winning it among a group of bodies.  Head and shoulders the best performer in a Dunloy shirt although a 20 year old Aaron Crawford wasn’t far behind him after an immense display on the edge of the square.

Connolly’s contribution was more than just frees for Rossa.  An enigma on the field making him near impossible to mark and a player capable of producing pieces of brilliance when he’s on his game.  This was his game. 

Rossa had got their tactics pitch perfect on the day.  Cricky McGuinness made a nuisance of himself on the edge of the Dunloy square while Mickey Armstrong covered every blade of grass on Rossa Park.

It was a display full of intensity where they put their bodies on the line time and again.  They made sure Dunloy couldn’t ever settle and while the Cuchullains matched that same intensity and desire, nothing was going to hand.  The slickness we’ve become accustomed to witnessing was missing yet they still found a way.  A mark of champions.

Rossa had the wind at their backs in the first half and had a three point lead by the short whistle.  Connolly’s accuracy, but their graft and cuteness were winning the day.  Mickey Armstrong dropping deeper and Walsh pulling the strings.

Dunloy had Coby Cunning to thank for keeping in touch.  Brilliant from frees, outstanding from open play.  When given the ball in the right areas, Coby was causing mayhem.

Three points wasn’t a massive lead and at the turnaround, they would have been confident in turning the deficit and while they did, it was thanks to Ryan Elliott that lead wasn’t doubled soon after the restart.  A long Walsh free dropping into the parallelogram, McGuinness caught the ball in the clouds and his shot was instinctive.  Elliott’s save was superb.

The Cuchullains had their own goal chance when the deficit was down to the minimum, seven minutes into the second half.  Kevin Molloy’s side line was sent across the pitch where Coby caught the sliotar and turned two men in a quite brilliant piece of skill.  His rasping drive was saved by Donal Armstrong between the sticks for the Jeremiah’s.

Dunloy changed their own tactics, keeping an extra man deeper to take a foothold where they could.  They fought fire with fire in the second half and by the water-break, they had restored parity to the scoreboard and looked in pole position.  Incredibly though, they were kept scoreless from the 51^st minute until the 71^st.

Rossa upped their intensity, Connolly fired over frees, taking his tally to 11 points for the match and Rossa had opened up what felt like an unassailable lead.

But the match continued to go.  The clock ticked on and Dunloy, somehow, managed to revive their championship campaign with ‘Shorty’ taking centre stage.  First a drilled free, no doubt he was going for goal but the sliotar went over before he scored a quite incredible goal just two minutes later.  Rossa only had one player in the Dunloy half when Shiels lined up the free and he still managed to find the corner of the net. 

Yet there was still time for one more play.  Fittingly, Ronan Molloy was involved in reclaiming possession before substitutes Nicky McKeague and Chrissy McMahon combined.  He had options in front of him, players screaming, the crowd roaring but McMahon remained coolness personified.  On the pitch for less than five minutes, McMahon struck.  It never looked in doubt.  A gargantuan score both physically and metaphorically speaking for the Cuchullains as referee Kevin Parke blew the final whistle upon the restart.

A heart breaking end for the Jeremiah’s and they’re bound to feel like this was a defeat such was the position they were in.  There was frustrations all round from both camps but as it is, we’re nowhere near knowing who’s going through to the next phase of the championship in this group.

For the second week in a row, they have hurled the shirt off their back and have been in winning positions.  Yet they stand with one point from two games.  On another time or in a parallel universe, they could be sitting top of the group.  They now travel to Ballycastle with rejuvenated confidence, a spring in their step and everything on the line.

Dunloy travel to Corrigan Park chasing their first win in this year’s championship.  Anyone who saw that coming is telling you porkies. 

The championship and hurling has been worth the wait.  Next weekend promises to be a cracker.

TEAMS

Rossa: Donal Armstrong; Ciaran Orchin, Niall Crossan, Aidan Orchin; Gerard Walsh, Chris McGuinness, Stephen Shannon; Stephen Beatty, James Connolly; Seaghan Shannon, Dominic McEnhill, Deaglan Murphy; Cónall Shannon, Michael Armstrong, Tiarnan Murphy

Subs: Dara Murphy for D McEnhill (47); Michael McGreavey for C Shannon (51); Oisin McVicker for C McGuinness (inj); Owen May for T Murphy (inj)

Scorers: James Connolly 0-11 (9f); Tiarnan Murphy 0-2; Gerard Walsh 0-1; Stephen Beatty 0-1; Deaglan Murphy 0-1; Michael Armstrong 0-1

Dunloy: Ryan Elliott; Oran Quinn, Aaron Crawford, Conor Kinsella; Ronan Molloy, Eamon Smyth, Ryan McGarry; Paul Shiels, Kevin Molloy; Anton McGrath, Keelan Molloy, Gabriel McTaggart; Eoin O’Neill, Conal Cunning, Seaan Elliott

Subs: Chrissy Brogan for A McGrath (30); Nicky McKeague for E Smyth (HT); Deaglan Smith for G McTaggart (52); Chrissy McMahon for D Smith (inj)

Scorers: Conal Cunning 0-9 (6f, 1 ’65); Paul Shiels 1-2 (1-1f); Keelan Molloy 0-2; Seaan Elliott 0-1

Referee: Kevin Parke (Naomh Éanna)

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Bathshack Antrim Senior Hurling Championship Group 1

Ballycastle 2-15 St John’s 1-18

Six minutes into injury time in Sunday’s Senior Hurling Championship clash at Pairc MacUílín the sliotar broke out to Ballycastle’s Neill McAuley about 70 meters from the St John’s goal. The veteran defender took aim and went for what would have been the winning point. At first he raised his hurl in celebration thinking his shot was on target, but as the ball neared the posts he could see it had drifted the wrong side of the upright and he turned away dejected, knowing a great chance of a semi-final spot was gone.

It was a dramatic end to a dramatic game and in truth it was a fair result, for neither side deserved to lose this epic battle. It was tense and exciting from start to finish and though St John’s appeared to be in control when they led by 0-8 to 0-3 after twelve minutes, they could not contain the genius of Ciaran Clarke who hauled his team back into contention with a series of brilliant scores, including a great individual goal on 25 minutes, to put them 1-10 to 0-12 ahead at the break.

When the Town were reduced to fourteen men at the throw-in at the start of the second half their task appeared massive, but they battled on bravely, but when man of the match Conor Johnston scored his team’s goal just after the second half water break the smart money was on the Johnnies. When he added a points seconds later to put his side four clear with just eleven minutes of normal time left to play they appeared to be in a strong position, but when Ballycastle substitute Dairmuid McShane took advantage of a slip by the St John’s netminder to flick the ball to the net it was game on again. The excitement was a fever pitch as Clarke pushed his team three ahead three minutes into added time, but the Johnnies battled back with two late points to earn a deserved draw, a result that puts them in the driving seat in Group 1

Conor Johnston put the Corrigan Park men ahead inside 30 seconds, but Rambo McCarry had the home side level inside a minute. Johnston worked his magic again seconds later to restore the lead but Ciaran Clarke levelled this up for the second time with a point from a free. Two excellent points from Domnhall Nugent put the Johnnies two clear on seven minutes and though Clarke cut it back just one soon afterwards, four points without reply from Padraig Nugent (2), Michael Bradley and Shay Shannon (from a free) saw the visitors open up a five point gap. The game appeared to be getting away from Ballycastle but Ciaran Clarke steadied the ship with two pointed frees from distance to cut the gap back to three by the first half water break.

Two more from Clarke frees just after the restart were answered by Conor Johntson and Shay Shannon but on 25 minutes Ciaran Clarke turned the game around with two points inside 30 second, before breaking through from midfield and drilling the ball low to the St John’s net to put his side two clear. Shay Shannon sent over two points from frees as the game entered injury time, but a cracking point from corner forward TT Butler gave the Town a slender one point lead at the break.

Ballycastle must have been buoyed by their comeback but when Ryan McCook received a second yellow card for a loose swing on the restart hearts surely sunk. Shay Shannon’s point from the resultant free brought St John’s back on terms and though it too a further six minute for their next score, another peach of a finish from Conor Johnston, they were now in front. Clare missed a couple of very scoreable frees before bringing his team back level again but when they were still level at the second half water break Ballycastle confidence began to grow.

As is so often the case with the water breaks it can act more as a momentum break and so it proved again as Conor Johnston put his team back on top with a goal and a point inside a minute. The Johnnies held onto that four point lead and were looking like winners when Ballycastle got the bit of luck you needed in these situation, and when substitute Dairmuid McShane nipped in to flick the ball to the net it was game on again. Clarke tied the scores with a point from a free out on the sideline before McShane edged the home team in front with an excellent point from play.

When Clarke added another on 33 minutes it appeared that the Town would hold on for a famous win, but well taken points under pressure from Domnhall Nugent and Peter McCallin tied it up once again. Ballycastle did have a couple of chances of a winner but some great hooking and blocking by the Johnnies defence kept them at bay, and though McAuley had a late chances to snatch it his shot drifted wide and so set up enthralling finale to this group on Sunday next.

BALLYCASTLE

Brendan Connor, Oran Kearney Matthew Donnelly Sean Kelly Oisin McAuley Conor Boyd Eamon Elliott Ronan McCarry Ryan McCook Ciarán Clarke James McShane Ciarán Butler Tiernan Butler Neal McAuley Cathal Connor

Subs Séamus McAuley for C Connor

Fergal McKiernan for O McAuley

Dairmuid McShane for C Butler

ST JOHN’S

Declan Cregan, Conal Morgan, Ciaran Johnston, Sean Wilson, Simon McCrory, Stephen Tierney, Ryan McNulty, Andrew McGowan, Aidan McMahon, Conal Bohill, Conor Johnston, Michael Bradley, Shea Shannon, Pdtrick Nugent, Domnhall Nugent.

Subs Peter McCallin, Michael Dudley

Referee – Tarlach Conway

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Bathshack Antrim Senior Hurling Championship Group 2

St Galls 1-10 Loughgiel Shamrocks 2-26

Paul McIntyre was at De La Salle Park

Loughgiel Shamrocks served notice of their intentions to claim back the Volunteer Cup as they saw off the challenge of St Galls at Milltown in clinical fashion. The Shamrocks built on last week’s win over Cushendall to claim top spot in group two and with a visit to St Enda’s next week to come, a semi-final place looks all but certain for Hugh McCann’s side, and if James McNaughton can continue the form he showed today, they just might go a bit further.

McNaughton finished the day with 0-13 to his credit as he glided through the St Galls defence time and time again. Eddie McCloskey and Shay Casey weighed in with a goal each while Tony McCloskey and Neil McGarry were on hand to stop Conor Burke being on the end of any long balls into the St Galls full forward line.

For St Galls it was a tough day at the office. While Chris Dornan’s team refused to throw in the towel, they were just second best all over the field. Jackson McGreevy was the one bright spark for the West Belfast side and he capped a fine performance with 0-5 from play. With Tomás Ó Ciarain already sidelined, St Galls were dealt another severe blow during the week that Karl Stewart will be out for 12 weeks with a broken foot. To make matters worse the were forced to play the final 17 minutes with 14 players following the dismissal of Mark Napier on a straight red card after a tangle with Neil McGarry.

St Galls to their credit started with a bit of fire in their bellies but once again, Lady luck was not their friend. Firstly, they thought that Napier had tied the game at one point each but after much discussion, the umpires signalled wide. Then just a minute later Jackson McGreevy thought he had given his side a lead when his long ball sailed into the net but referee Eamon Hasson penalised full forward Conor Burke for a square ball.

The bad luck wasn’t just consigned to the home side as Loughgiel lost Brendan McCarry with an ankle injury after just 13 minutes. The half forward tried his best to battle on but had to make way with the experienced Joey Scullion coming on in his place.

Shay Casey pointed after 15 minutes to give Loughgiel a 0-5 to 0-2 lead as the teams paused for the first water break. It was a first quarter that was keenly contested but on the resumption the visitors took full control.

James McNaughton struck wide when it looked like a routine score was on the cards but he quickly made up for this glaring miss as he scored three points in the next 90 seconds, before the first green flag was raised in the game on 24 minutes. A high ball into the St Galls square wasn’t cleared and Shay Casey acted quickest, while lying on the deck he still managed to direct the ball to the net after Mark McFadden was denied by Kurtis McGreevy in the St Galls goal. This helped the visitors to a comfortable nine-point lead, 1-11 to 0-5 at half time.

Loughgiel were in total control and on 47 minutes Joey Scullion played Eddie McCloskey in behind the St Galls defence to claim a second Shamrocks goal before the homeside claimed a late consolation when Antoin McGreevy finished expertly to the corner of the net. But the last word was left to McNaughton as he converted a free for his thirteenth score of the afternoon.

Teams & Scorers:

St Galls: Kurtis McGreevy, Jack Hopkins, Sean Burke, Stephen Morrison, Ryan Irvine (0-2), Aodhan Gallagher, Joseph McDaniel, Anthony Healy, Jackson McGreevy (0-5), Marcus Donnelly (0-1), Kieran McGourty (0-1), Patrick Friel, CJ McGourty (0-1), Conor Burke, Mark Napier.

Subs: Liam McCluskey for Sean Burke 40 minutes, Antoin McGreevy (1-0) for Conor Burke 42 minutes, Gregory McGreevy for CJ McGourty 48 minutes, Fergus Donnelly for Anthony Healy 49 minutes, Colm McCloskey for Joseph McDaid 52 minutes.

Loughgiel:

Chris O’Connell, Tieran Coyle, Neil McGarry, Tony McCloskey, Odhran McFadden, Damon McMullan, Declan McCloskey, Mark McFadden (0-1), Daniel McCloskey (0-1), James McNaughton (0-13 6f), Callum McKendry (0-1), Eddie McCloskey (1-3), Shan McGrath (0-1), Brendan McGarry, Shay Casey (1-4).

Joey Scullion (0-2) for Brendan McGarry 13 minutes, Donal McKinley for Mark McFadden 38 minutes, Bernard McAuley for Callum McKendry 45 minutes.

Referee: Mr Eamon Hasson (Swatragh)

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Bathshack Senior Hurling Championship

Match Day Two

By Brendan McTaggart

Meatloaf sang a song back in the day about ‘Two outta Three’ not being bad.  I wonder what he would have said about my ‘one out of four’ predictions last weekend?  I can only imagine that it would not be song worthy, by any stretch of the imagination.

But……it could have been different. 

A McCal penalty hitting the post, a Snoozer effort drifting wide and Naomh Éanna running out of steam in their senior championship debut.  All if’s, but’s or maybe’s. 

Thanks to Michael Bradley for giving me some shred of confidence to cling onto as a pundit.  Late and all as it was, I’ll take it.

Even if the result for my own club didn’t go the way I wanted, all four matches were close and exactly how you’d want it from a hurling fan’s perspective. 

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It was great to have hurling back.  I was in Pearse Park and witnessed what looked like the first shock of the championship.  Ballycastle pushed the Cuchullains all the way and were unlucky not to come away with anything other than a share of the points.  Squeaky bum time and additional time that seemed to last forever.  The joys of the water break and while it’s got it’s detractors, having so much injury time adds to the tension that only the championship can bring. 

A draw and maybe the awakening both sides needed.  For the Town, they’ve shown that they have the game to make waves in the championship and with a bit more belief, they could have made it over the line.

For Dunloy, maybe any overconfidence they might have had is now gone.  They didn’t hurl or hit the heights they have in the recent past.  Ballycastle didn’t allow them but they fought and dragged their way back into the game.  Moving Ronan Molloy to the half back line proved to be a master-stroke and a major factor in the Cuchullains turning the tide last weekend.

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I’m sure the Cuchullains were disappointed not to get off to a winning start and with their two remaining group matches in the City, they would have wanted two points on the board.  I’d imagine there will be a reaction – something Rossa don’t need to hear.

The Jeremiah’s come undone against their Old Firm rivals last weekend having led for most of the match.  A defeat tomorrow and a Ballycastle win against St John’s will see their hurling championship ended.  A very possible permutation.  Sunday could well be looked upon as knockout hurling for the Shaw’s Road men already.

St John’s and Rossa is a match that really does throw the form book out the window.  Rossa looked like they had it, the Johnnies had the final say.  Their match against Ballycastle will be worth watching.  A win for either side put’s them in pole position in the group.

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Loughgiel travel to the Milltown Row off the back of a morale boosting win against Cushendall.  Their first against their rivals in the championship since the 2016 championship final.  Having watched the game back, the first assessment is the Ruairi’s missed the assuredness of Neil McManus over placed ball and won’t have been jumping over the moon at hitting 18 wide’s.  But in true Cushendall fashion, they hurled the shirt off their backs until the final whistle.  A side who truly never know nor accept defeat.

That match alone saw the return to a Loughgiel shirt for Neilly McGarry and Benny McCarry.  Both with massive games, Neilly in particular on the edge of his own square in fine form while McCarry has that impish brilliance that makes him a constant threat.  Then there’s Liam Watson.  Giving Floyd Mayweather a run for his money for the number of times he’s came out of retirement.  From a neutral, brilliant to see him back, as a Dunloy man, well, not so brilliant. 

The Shamrocks are now in pole position and anything other than a direct route to the semi-finals will be a massive shock.  St Galls and Naomh Éanna might have something to say bout that but that’s the nature of the beast in our game at the moment.

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Any niggles McManus might have had that ruled him out last weekend, I’d imagine Eamon Gillan et al won’t be rushing him back.  The sight of Christy McNaughton having to come off after 20 minutes or so will have been a major setback for both player and club.  Sambo’s youngest has battled his way back from serious knee injuries and showed tremendous determination to get back out on the field once again.  Let’s hope it’s not reoccurrence.

Naomh Éanna travel to the glens with nothing to lose.  They came close last weekend to getting an opening senior championship win on their debut, if they get that win on Sunday the ‘Dall are in trouble.  That, however is a massive ‘if’.

Prediction time.

My time for redemption after last weekend’s disaster.  Loughgiel, Cushendall, Dunloy and Ballycastle.  A very north Antrim feel about that selection when I see it written down.  I’ll be in Rossa Park for those who want to tell me any different. 

It’s been anything but straight forward for St Galls hurling manager Chris Dornan. Appointed at the start of the year he has had to wait until early August for his first competitive game, and a championship game to boot. It’s far from ideal championship preparation and to make matters worse, he loses the experienced Karl Stewart with barely 45 seconds elapsed on the clock. This makes his Sunday’s eleven-point win at Naomh Eánna more remarkable. The Glengormley outfit came into this clash buoyed by a recent shock win over St John’s as they looked to make a lasting first-time impression in Antrim hurling’s premier club competition.

This meeting also pitted together the previous two winners of the Antrim Intermediate championship and with fixtures against heavy weights Loughgiel and Cushendall to follow, both sides would’ve viewed this fixture as a great opportunity to claim a win that would see them finish at least third place in the group and claim a quarter-final spot. Speaking after the full time whistle a delighted Dornan told The Saffron Gael “I’m really happy that we got over this and now we can look forward to the next two games, not take them for granted, but we can learn from them because I think now that will get us to a quarter final, I think we are looking at a quarter final.” 

Asked if he had viewed the game as essentially a quarter-final play-off Dornan said “Since we came back after lockdown this is what we have been looking forward to, is this game.” “This was a knockout game in our group, and it was good that it came in the first fixture because we put all our focus into it.” “I had the footballers for the first time for a whole week and they put in some savage work and you seen that today.” “Our dual players really stood up” continued Dornan who was in understandably buoyant mood.

One player who came in for a special mention was Marcus Donnelly. “Brilliant” was the instant reply from Dornan when asked to sum up his contribution. Thrown into the white-hot heat of championship hurling with barely a minute on the clock, the young half forward had big shoes to fill replacing Karl Stewart who was helped from the field with an ankle injury. “To lose him (Stewart), he’s vice-captain and he’s a leader, but Marcus came in and he must’ve had a hand in three or four points in the first half and that’s the first I’ve seen him play hurling this year”.

Looking ahead Dornan has another five or six faces to welcome back while he hasn’t ruled out Karl Stewart returning to action before the end of the group stages. Despite Sunday’s win Dornan says that St Gall’s don’t intend to take their foot off the pedal as they look to take a big scalp over the next two weeks.

The Cushendall native spoke defiantly when asked how he would view the remaining two group two fixtures. “I don’t manage any team to go out and get beat, no matter who it is, whether I’m the strongest or the weakest in the fight I still think there’s a chance to win the game, and if we have a chance to win it, we’ll go and try.” With a great blend of youth and experience mixed with Dornan’s passion and drive, maybe this could be the year that St Galls make an impression on the senior championship.