St Mary’s Aghagallon sent out a clear statement of intent in the ACFL Division 1 on Wednesday evening, dismantling a shell-shocked St Paul’s side with a ruthless display of attacking football at Pairc Na nGael. The home side’s ability to find the net at crucial intervals proved the difference, as they finished with a massive nineteen point winning margin.
From the throw-in, Aghagallon looked sharp, utilizing the wide expanses of their home turf. Ruairi McCann was the orchestrator-in-chief, finishing the day with an incredible 2-01. While his finishing was exemplary, it was his ability to link play with onrushing forwards and midfielders that caused the Belfast men endless headaches.
Aghagallon’s goal-scoring spree was spread across the forward line. Jack Lenehan showed his engine by getting forward from midfield to raise a green flag, while Gareth Magee, Ruairí McCann and Tommy Mallon also found the net to put the game out of reach. Enda McCartan, Marc McAfee, Jamie Lamont and Jack Lenehan pulled the strings from the ‘forty,’ in a dominant middle-third performance.
St Paul’s did find some joy through Conall Duffy, who managed to breach the Aghagallon goal twice, but these scores proved to be mere consolidations against the home side. Brendan McMorrow fought a lonely battle in the full-forward line, hitting five points, but the supply line was frequently cut off by impressive performances from Cormac Mulholland and Kieran Hamill.
The victory moves Aghagallon further up the Division 1 standings, leaving St Paul’s with plenty of defensive questions to answer before their next outing.
Referee: Ray Matthews (Rossa)
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Glenravel had five points to spare over local rivals All Saints in this sometimes tempestuous affair which Darren McKeown did well to control as the man in the middle. Both sides had periods of dominance but over the hour Glenravel were the hungrier for victory and despite some wayward shooting in the opening half they were well worth the five point win in the end. A shout out to the ground staff at Fr Maginn Park that the game could be played at all. Throw-in followed a torrential downfall of biblical proportions but luckily the weather Gods granted us dry conditions throughout actual game time. Indeed quite a few other games needed to be called off very late.
Glenravel absolutely dominated possession in the opening quarter but shot choice in soft underfoot conditions led to them not troubling the umpires perhaps as much as they should have. Harry Fyfe opened for the home side with five minutes gone and that was levelled by All Saints veteran Sean McVeigh one minute later. the spectators had to wait another eighteen minutes before Matthew Downey put the visitors in front. That was followed by a point from Emmet Killough and a wonder score 2-pointer from Sean McVeigh to open up a four point gap. All Saints were certainly a lot more ruthless in front of goal in that four minute segment but that was really their only period of dominance in the entire game. As we approached half time Glenravel were awarded a penalty when Eamon Ward was pulled to the ground as he was about to pull the trigger. Rian Lennon found the net from the spot and both teams went in at half time of a low scoring game with the visitors slightly ahead 0-05 to 1-01.
The local side came out of the blocks faster in the second half with three scores in the opening minutes supplied by Aiden O’Donnell and Rian Lennon and were now two points to the good. Benny McDonnell pointed a free but back came Con Magees with scores from Harry Fyfe and Colla Ward. Matthew Downey and Ciaran Campbell reduced the score to the minimum and with one quarter of the game to play the contest was neatly balanced. In that closing quarter Glenravel displayed a hunger for victory evidenced by a combination of dogged defence and enterprising forward play. Eamon Ward and Rian Lennon put Con Magees ahead 1-08 to 0-08 but having their attack smothered and turned over, All Saints chose the aerial route and it paid dividends when Emmet Killough rose high to punch to the net and level the game with one minute of the thirty left to play. Darren McKeown ignored the calls for a square ball from the local supporters and we headed into a period of six minutes added time. During that time Glenravel broke at pace and the Ward brothers Colla (1-01) and Eamon (0-01) put the final nails into All Saints coffin so when McKeown blew the final whistle the local led by five points, 2-10 to 1-08.
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1 Ryan Stewart, 2 James Gillan, 3 Michael Read, 4 Sean Mc Dermot, 5 Patrick Ferris, 6 Connell Lemon, 7 Matthew Downey, 8 Peter Mc Nicholl, 9 Sean Mc Vaigh, 10 Sean O Brian, 11 Emmet Killough, 12 Charlie Matrustry, 13 Darach Bradley, 14 Brendan Mc Donnell, and 15 Ciaran Campbell.
Lámh Dhearg minors got their league campaign off to a winning start on Sunday with a 3-19-1-7 win over Davitts on Sunday morning.
The Hannahstown outfit were sporting their brand new jerseys sponsored by Hannahstown Credit Union.
Lámh Dhearg are delighted to announce that Hannahstown Credit Union have generously broadened their partnership of the club and will be sponsors of our under 18 Hurling panel.
Under 18 manager Gary Murray commented he is very appreciative of the valuable partnership of the Hannahstown Credit Union and their support is a great boost to the Minor Hurlers and the club. Bernie Murphy from the Board of Directors of the Hannahstown Credit Union added “We are delighted to broaden our partnership of Lámh Dhearg. The club like ourselves are an integral part of the community who invest great time and energy in meeting and serving the needs of the local community. I wish the u18 hurlers all the best . The club would encourage all members to support Hannahstown Credit Union or any of our other many generous partners if the opportunity arises as they are all vital in facilitating the successful organisation of the club.
Antrim Camogie Div 1 league Brídíní Óga 0-10 Loughgiel Shamrocks 7-13
Match report and photos from Michael Corcoran at Fr. Maginn Park, Glenravel
A breezy, damp evening heralded in the start of the Antrim camogie division 1 league, much to the relief of many to just get club business underway after a long winter. Loughgiel were deferential in building the hosts a guard of honour at the pitch entrance to acknowledge Brídíní Óga’s All Ireland Junior win towards the end of last year. But a break in County activity for a few of the Shamrocks meant the hosts would be facing a strong opposition, exacerbating the hosts concern for a depleted panel for a variety of reasons. Nonetheless, the Brídíní girls battled to the final whistle, showing much of the grit and tenacity witnessed throughout their All Ireland campaign.
Owen Elliot rolled in for 6:45pm after the hosts won the toss and elected to play into the wind for the first half. It wasn’t long before Loughgiel would strike and an Amy Boyle to Róisín McCormick pass had the visitors one point up within the first fifteen seconds.
Loughgiel would visit the club end frequently within the opening minutes with a further four points before a skilful sideline cut intercept by Sarah Fyfe ended up over Loughgiel’s bar to open Brídíní Óga’s score account.
With the wind and drizzle in their faces, Brídíní Óga felt the might from all of tonight’s elements, as the Shamrock sisters of Orlagh and Marie Laverty opened the green flag book from short range, at ten and thirteen minutes respectively before Annie Lynn and Katie McKillop made it four and then a fifth from Lynn that had an air of confidence about it. Lynn’s goal was a volley shot taken down above her shoulders and to prove it wasn’t luck, Lynn repeated the same shot for a goal in the second half.
Loughgiel’s Annie Lynn proved a handful with two overhead volleys in tonight’s league opening game
The hosts would reply in that period with a fine point from Caoimhe Duffin, all along the Shamrocks were building their points too and at the short whistle, scores stood at Brídíní Óga 0-02 Loughgiel 5-11.
At the restart, Brídíní Óga used the time to push hard into Loughgiel’s territory with some ease as the Shamrocks recalibrated their play into the wind along with a change of the guard, running players off the bench for familiar county names. Lynn though would enjoy a busy second half and after dropping down another volley from above her shoulders for her second goal of the evening, placed a ball and watched Carla Sullivan make it seven.
Brídíní Óga tallied a better second half with fine points from the likes of Eimhear McAleenan, Shauna McDonnell and Sarah Fyfe as the light dropped quickly with the persistent drizzle forcing car headlights to appear along the sideline, until the long whistle brought the game to a conclusion, Brídíní Óga 0-10 Loughgiel 7-13.
You can see photos from tonight’s game by following the link here…
The opening game of the Antrim Senior Camogie League Division 1 delivered a classic game of two halves at Pearse Park, heavily dictated by a strong breeze. Visitors Ballycastle put on an excellent first-half display to build a commanding lead, but a ferocious second-half comeback from Dunloy—fueled by the wind and the introduction of key county players—saw the hosts run out comfortable winners with a final score of 4–13 to 0–13.
Playing with the aid of the wind, Ballycastle started exceptionally well and completely dominated the opening 20 minutes. Ellen McIntosh was in scintillating form for the visitors, expertly supported by Maeve Kelly. Kelly struck two early points from play, while McIntosh was lethal from placed balls, adding four from frees and another from play to give Ballycastle an early 0–7 to 0–1 advantage. The visitors kept the scoreboard ticking over, with Kelly and a McIntosh ’45 extending the gap to 0–9 to 0–3, despite Dunloy managing to get on the board through points from Áine McGill, Nicole McAtamney, and Eimer McAllister. By the 22nd minute, another McIntosh point from play made it 0–10 to 0–3. Dunloy finally found a lifeline a minute later when Aine Magill raised a green flag, pulling a crucial goal back, but Ballycastle responded immediately through McIntosh. Just before the break, Ballycastle nearly found the net themselves when full-forward Nuala Devlin fired a shot on goal, only to be denied by a brilliant save from Dunloy keeper Aileen McManus. McIntosh converted the resulting ’45, sending Ballycastle into the dressing rooms with a commanding 0–12 to 1–3 lead.
McIntosh opened the second-half scoring with a free to push Ballycastle’s tally to 13 points, but the tide was about to turn dramatically. Now playing with the wind at their backs and bolstered by the introduction of several county players, Dunloy began to claw their way back into the tie. Emier Johnson sparked the revival with a point six minutes into the half. The gap was quickly reduced to three as Nicole McAtamney knocked over three more points. The turning point arrived on 16 minutes when Áine McGill struck a well-taken goal to level the game. With the momentum entirely in their favor, Dunloy pushed ahead just a minute later through a Caoimhe Malloy point. McAtamney continued her fine form with another two points, and on 24 minutes, Eobha McAllister set up Áine McGill to extend the hosts’ advantage.
Ballycastle struggled to escape their own half against the breeze, and Dunloy put the seal on the win with a late flurry of goals. Two minutes before full time, Bronagh Magill found the back of the net, and in injury time, Eobha McAllister broke through the defense and unselfishly hand-passed to her sister Eimer, who finished the move with Dunloy’s fourth goal of the afternoon. Nicole McAtamney then capped off the remarkable turnaround with a final point from play, completing a spectacular 13-point victory for the home side.
