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by thesaffrongael

Antrim’s late comeback earns them their 12th Ulster title

Ulster Minor Camogie Final

Antrim 2-17 Derry 2-16

Venue- CushLig an Airgid – Cushendun

The Ulster minor camogie final at Cushendun on Saturday evening delivered a classic encounter, with Antrim ultimately retaining their title in a 2-17 to 2-16 thriller against a resilient Derry side. While a dramatic 56th-minute goal from Emma Quinn looked to have secured a fifth title for the Oak Leaf county, the holders demonstrated remarkable composure in the closing stages. Late points from Eimear McCaughan and Player of the Match Caoimhe McErlean allowed Antrim to claw back the lead and secure the trophy for the 12th time in their history.

Derry enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, using the breeze to establish a 0-6 to 0-2 lead within the first quarter thanks to the accuracy of Emma Quinn, Grace McCartney, and Ciara O’Loughlin. Antrim found a lifeline when a long-range free dropped into the Derry square, falling kindly for Eimear McCaughan who made no mistake in finding the back of the net. The remainder of the half was a tightly contested affair where both sides traded scores, leaving Derry with a narrow 0-12 to 1-7 lead as the teams headed into the break.

The momentum shifted immediately upon the restart as Antrim hit four unanswered points through Aoife Fitzsimons, Caoimhe McErlean, and Brogan Graham to take a two-point lead within four minutes. Derry responded with a point from Brianna Donaghy and a clinical goal from Emma Quinn to regain the advantage, but the lead was short-lived. Barely a minute later, Louise McBride got the decisive touch on a cross into the danger area to put Antrim back in front.

The final quarter was defined by high tension as Antrim struggled to shake off their challengers. Despite Eimear McCaughan extending the gap to three points, Emma Quinn dragged Derry back into contention with two points before completing her brace of goals to put her side ahead in the final minutes. However, Antrim found the necessary response in the “sting in the tail” finish, as Caoimhe McErlean and Eimear McCaughan split the posts to ensure the title stayed with the Saffron county by the narrowest of margins.

Antrim: Molly McToal, Cara Lynch, Laoise Stone, Isabelle Martin, Hannah Mead, Fiadh Sands, Amy Gault, Erin-Mae Mitchell 0-1, Eimear McCloskey, Aoife Fitzsimons 0-2, Caoimhe McErlean 0-9 (8fs), Cara Delaney, Eimear McCaughan 1-3, Louise McBride 1-1, Brogan Graham 0-1.

Subs: Aoife Neeson for A Gault, Orla Munce for C Lynch

Derry: Aoife McAteer, Treasa Passmore, Ríonach Conlon, Gráinne McElhinney, Ellen Cullen, Ellie McCartney, Hannah Drinan, Áine Young, Ríonach McNally, Brianna Donaghy 0-1, Mary Therese McCullagh 0-1, Grace McCartney 0-3, Sara McTague, Emma Quinn capt 2-8 (0-7fs), Ciara O’Loughlin 0-3.

Subs: Odharnait Ward for S McTague, Aoife Harkin for G McElhinney

TO SEE MORE OF MICKEY MORGAN’S PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

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by thesaffrongael

Derry cruise to convincing win to book a semi-final place

Ulster SFC quarter-final:

Derry 2-23 Antrim 1-13

Derry enjoyed their first Ulster Championship win since winning the title back in 2023 on Saturday when the Oak leaf County proved too good for visitors Antrim to progress to the provincial semi-final.

The 13 point winning margin didn’t flatter the Oak Leaf side and indeed had it not been for a string of brilliant saves by Antrim keeper, John McNabb the margin of victory would have been much greater.

Played in glorious sunshine at Celtic Park, the first half took it’s time to get going and Antrim impressed early in the game and a goal from Niall Burns after 11 minutes moved them into a 1-1 to 0-2 lead.

Burns was Antrim’s best forward and opened the scoring in the very first Saffron attack but points from Lochlan Murray and Shane McGuigan edged the hosts into a one point lead.

Burn’s goal stung Derry into action and they replied through, Lachlan Murray, Ruairi Forbes, Eoin McAvoy and Paul Cassidy before Burns briefly edged the Saffron ahead once more.

Eoin McAvoy equalised and Niall Loughrin gave Derry back a lead they would hold and add to in impressive form with Padraig McGrogan adding a point a minute later.

The returning Eoin McEvoy fired over to ignite a scoring burst before Niall Loughlin and Padraig McGrogan both added points.

Better was to follow in the 23rd minute when Lachlan Murray intercepted a ball around the middle of the park with keeper McNabb caught out as he pushed up in support of his attack, and raced forward to unleash an unstoppable shot to the net.

Antrim came close to scoring a second goal of their own with the ball moved through the hands to Pat Shivers but his shot on goal was deflected over the bar by a defender.

Pat Shivers added another Antrim point but the hosts were well in command at that stage, with Shane McGuigan pointing a free and then raising an Orange flag and Loughlin slotting over another from an acute angle to see the Oakleafers lead by 1-11 to 1-4 ahead at the break.

Antrim attempted to close the gap on the restart but a Shivers point was ruled out following a breech with McGuigan kicking another 2 pointer from the resulting free for what amounted to a three point swing.

McGuigan, Lachlan Murray and McGuigan again stretched the Derry lead to 9 by the 43d minute and at this stage Antrim were finding it difficult to get their hands on the ball.

Slowly they regained a bit of possession with team captain, Eoghan McCabe pointing and then raising an Orange flag but once again the hosts were able to make an immediate response.

Paul Cassidy put any lingering hopes the Saffrons held beyond them when he followed up on a Loughlin shot that was parried by McNabb to side-foot to the net.

 The visitors continued to fight against impossible odds and Niall Burns put the icing on a fine individual performance to bring his total for the evening to 1-3 before being replaced.

Despite the loss of Ronan Boyle to a 60th-minute black card, impact sub Ryan McQuillan added an excellent point to the Antrim tally as Derry, with both McGuigan and Murray in scintillating form, cruised to a convincing victory.

Derry now go forward to face the winners of Monaghan and Cavan, who play on Sunday while Antrim will have to regroup in preparation for the Tailteann Cup in an attermpt to keep their season alive.

DERRY: S McGuckin, D Baker, R Forbes (0-0-1), C McCluskey, C Doherty (0-0-3), G McKinless, P McGrogan (0-0-1), E McEvoy (0-0-1), B Rogers (0-0-1), E Doherty, C Glass, P Cassidy (1-0-1), N Loughlin (0-0-2), S McGuigan (0-2-5, 2f), L Murray (1-0-3). Subs: P McGurk for D Baker, S Downey for E McEvoy (both 53 mins), N Toner for N Loughlin (57), N O’Donnell for B Rogers (60), R O Mianain (0-0-1) for R Forbes (65).

ANTRIM: J McNabb, J Morgan, E Walsh, K Keenan, E McCabe (0-1-1), P Healy, M Jordan, P McAleer (0-0-1f), J Finnegan, C Hand (0-0-1), A Loughran, R Boyle, N Burns (1-0-3), P Shivers (0-0-2), D McEnhill. Subs: R McQuillan (0-1-1) for A Loughran (37 mins), T McCormack for M Jordan, T McCann for D McEnhill (both 53), B Kelly for K Keenan (60), C Hynds for N Burns (66).

Referee: D Gough.

TO SEE MORE PICS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

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by thesaffrongael

Lightning Strikes Twice as Antrim are Down’ed in the McDonagh Cup

Antrim 0-23 Down 1-22

McDonagh Cup – Round 1

Saturday 18 April

Brendan McTaggart reports from Pearse Park, Dunloy

It was every inch the war of attrition that was forecast ahead of this Joe McDonagh Cup opener and just like four weeks ago in the Marshes, Down and Donal Hughes had the final say.  A goal in the fourth minute of five added on gave Down the lead for the first time in the contest and ultimately proved to be the winning of the game.

Antrim had chances after.  Their calls for a penalty fell on deaf ears when Keelan Molloy was felled on his way to goal.  The Saffrons wanted a penalty, on reflection they have every right to be frustrated.  Molloy looked like he was through and there was definitely a goal chance on.  But, after consultation with his umpires, referee Thomas Gleeson awarded a free from roughly 25 yards out on the angle.

Gerard Walsh went for goal, Down ‘keeper Pearce Smyth was equal to his effort and yet, there was still time for another play.  In fact, there was time for another two plays.  The game was called in the ninth minute of injury time and Down victorious while Antrim were left with that ‘what might have been’ feeling.

Seaan Elliott was top of the scoring charts, raising the white flag on 11 occasions while Ryan McCambridge, Keelan Molloy and Conal Cunning all had strong games.  Tom McGrattan and Pearse Og McCrickard shared 12 points between them while Daithi Sands was a constant threat.  Caolan Taggart patrolled the heart of the Down defence and pulled the strings and seemed to be at the break of every ball.

Antrim had the help of a strong wind from the first whistle and despite McGrattan opening the scoring, Antrim on top.  They only managed three Elliott frees in the opening 12 minutes though with four wides in the same period hurting their challenge.

The Saffrons continued to use Ruairi Donaghy inside on his own, packing the middle third and looking to break the lines for scoring chances.  The first score by Antrim from open play came in the 15th minute via the hurl of Elliott and while Pearce Og McCrickard responded for Down, Molloy and Eoin O’Neill dissected the uprights to put four between the sides midway through the first half.

That deficit was reduced to three with Sands’ first of the game and while James McNaughton and Conal Cunning found their range, Antrim’s tally of wides had reached eight before the 25th minute of the contest.

The free taking of McCrickard was keeping Down within touching distance everytime Antrim looked to be building a lead while McCambridge and Paul Boyle were raising white flags at the other end of the pitch.  McCrickard’s fourth free proved to be the last action of the half as Antrim took a 0-12 to 0-8 lead into the interval.

The consensus was that four points was never going to be enough, given the strength of the wind.  Down would have been the happier side at the interval, there’s no doubting that yet, for long periods of the second half Antrim were in control.  Everytime Down ate into the deficit, Antrim found a response.  The first 19 points of the second half were tit-for-tat with Elliott’s free taking to the fore for the Saffrons.

Antrim did create a couple of half goal chances, the most notable one saw Molloy and Cunning combining before Molloy’s shot was bravely blocked by a Down defender who launched his body in the path of the sliotar.

The lead was reduced to two points when substitute Marc Fisher dissected the uprights with a point from huge distance in the 64th minute.  Antrim responded with Elliott’s 11th point of the game while they called Pearce Smyth into action to deny McNaughton a goal from a fierce drive but with three minutes of the 70 remaining, Antrim still led by three points.

Down refused to lay down however.  Points from Owen McDermott and a brace of frees from McGrattan brought the sides level in the last minute of normal time.

Antrim regrouped and a brilliant score from substitute Jack McCloskey looked to have the Saffrons off to a winning start in the competition only for Down to score the only major of the game in the fourth minute of injury time.  Ronan Beatty rising highest to pluck the sliotar from the air with a brilliant catch before finding Hughes in space and he made no mistake.

Antrim rallied and sent an aerial assault on the Down full back line looking for a major that never came.  Calls for a penalty when Molloy looked to be through on goal fell on deaf ears, much to the frustration of the Antrim management.

Four weeks ago in Pairc Esler, it felt like Down got the rewards their efforts deserved.  This loss will sting for this Antrim team.  Lady luck didn’t shine upon those in a Saffron jersey and they have a short turnaround now to focus on a Laois side in O’Moore Park in Round Two.

TEAMS

ANTRIM: Cormac McFadden; Oisin Donnelly, Niall O’Connor, Stephen Rooney; Ryan McNulty, Paddy Burke, Joe Maskey; Eoin O’Neill, Paul Boyle; Keelan Molloy, Ryan McCambridge, Conal Cunning; James McNaughton, Ruairi Donaghy, Seaan Elliott

Subs: Conal Bohill for P Boyle (49); Gerard Walsh for E O’Neill (59); Ruairi McCormick for R McNulty (65); Scott Walsh for O Donnelly (68); Jack McCloskey for C Cunning (70+2)

Scorers: S Elliott 0-11 (10f); J McNaughton 0-3; C Cunning 0-2; R McCambridge 0-2; K Molloy 0-2; E O’Neill 0-1; P Boyle 0-1; J McCloskey 0-1

DOWN: Pearce Smyth; Tom Murray, Ruairi McCrickard, Ben Teggart; Barry Trainor, Caolan Taggart, Niall McFarland; Donal Hughes, Liam Savage; Daithi Sands, Finn Turpin, Pearse Og McCrickard; Tom McGrattan, Tim Prenter, Shea Pucci

Subs: Cathal Coleman for T Prenter (27); Marc Fisher for T Murray (52); Ronan Smyth for N McFarland (56); Paul Sheehan for P Og McCrickard (61); Owen McDermott for F Turpin (63)

Scorers: T McGrattan 0-6 (2fs); P Og McCrickard 0-6 (6fs); D Hughes 1-1; D Sands 0-2; B Teggart 0-1; C Taggart 0-1; L Savage 0-1; F Turpin 0-1; C Coleman 0-1; M Fisher 0-1; O McDermott 0-1

Referee: Thomas Gleeson (Dublin)

by thesaffrongael

Antrim fade after bright start against Ulster league winners

Electric Ireland Ulster Minor Football Championship Round One

Monaghan 3-14 Antrim 1-10

The start of this game in Iniskeen was delayed for 45 minutes after the Antrim bus got stuck under a bridge in the village with the Antrim players having to be relayed by car to the ground.

It failed to unsettle the young Saffrons however when play got underway as they set about putting an early stamp on proceedings.

Antrim took the game to a Monaghan team, who had defeated them earlier in the league by 12 points at Dunsilly and raced into a 0-6 to 0-2 early in the game and their ability to overturn the Monaghan attack and hit on the counter suggested that a major upset was on the cards.

The Antrim defence at this point was dealing with everything the ‘Farney’ could throw at them but an excellent 2 pointer from Cillian McKenna seemed to settle the home side and they gradually began to eat into the Antrim lead.

Roger Casements’ duo Dara Campbell and Tom Convery had dominated at midfield for much of the game, the latter striking a superb 45 and a two-point free early on, while Joey Griffin palmed home their goal, the smallest man on the pitch rising highest to pull it back to 2-9 to 1-8 at one stage in the second half.

The Monaghan defence, led by full-back Darragh Feeney finally got to grips with a lively Antrim attack and he got forward for an excellent point in the first half as the momentum of the game started to change.

Adam Borsje had the home crowd on their feet with a superb individual goal as he placed his shot in the corner of the Antrim net and another from Mickey Dooher-Burke finally killed the game off.

Malachy Treanor had lashed home Monaghan’s second goal just moments beforehand and the hosts emptied their bench with Mantas Palauskas making an instant impact to point, and Caoilte Kelly following with a two-pointer.

Despite this defeat there was much to be positive about in this Antrim performance with Niall Quinn excellent in goals and his kick-outs were pin point at times, while the St Ergnat’s Moneyglass man also made an excellent save to deny Noah Hughes.

Darragh Feeney, Cillian McKenna Malachy Treanor, Adam Botsje and Noah Hughes were excellent in a Monaghan team with an Ulster league title behind them and they will now fancy their chances to complete a league and championship double.

Antrim have struggled at times this season but their performance in Iniskeen suggest that they didn’t quite fulfil their obvious potential and in Niall Quinn, Tom Convery, Daire Thornbury, Sean McCormack Darra Campbell and Joe Griffin they have players who look to have a bright future.

Monaghan: R Quigley; C Farrelly, D Feeney 0-1, N Fanthorpe (C); M Doogan-Burke 1-1, A Lawless, M Treanor 1-0; J O’Loan, P Gilmartin; C McKenna 0-3 (tp), A Borsje 1-0, P Brady; A McGinnity 0-4 (3f), S McKenna, N Hughes

Subs used: C MacCionnaith 0-1 for A Lawless (inj), C McCluskey for P Brady (38), C Kelly 0-3 (tp) for J O’Loan (45), M Palauskas 0-1 for M Treanor (50), G Collins for S Mac Cinna (56)

Antrim: N Quinn; C McKenna, B O’Donnell, C McArt; S McCormack 0-1, T Douthart, C Wilson; D Campbell 0-4 (4f), T Convery 0-3 (45, tpf); A O’Hanlon, J Higgins, J Griffin 1-0; T Lee, S McFerran, D Thornbury 0-1.

Subs used: C McKeever 0-1 for T Lee (HT), S McMullan for A O’Hanlon (40), S McLernon for D Thornbury (45’), N Burns for J Higgins (53), S McPeake for B O’Donnell (58).

Referee: M Turley (Down)

by thesaffrongael

Antrim hoping to upset the odds in Iniskeen

Antrim enter their Ulster Minor Championship clash with Monaghan carrying a quiet sense of momentum and growing belief. After a promising run through their league fixtures, this is a side that looks more settled and confident than in recent years

Much of Antrim’s optimism centres on a hard-working midfield and a forward line that has shown it can take scores under pressure. Discipline and decision-making, however, will be crucial—turnovers in key areas have hurt them before, and against seasoned opposition, those mistakes tend to be punished.

Defensively, Antrim will need to stay compact and organised, with communication across the back line likely to play a big role in limiting Monaghan’s scoring chances.  If they can strike the right balance between patience and attacking intent, there’s a genuine opportunity to make this a competitive contest.

For Antrim, this fixture represents more than just a championship opener—it’s a chance for a young group to show their progress and lay down a marker for the future.

Antrim Minors make the trip to Inniskeen, mid-day Saturday to face Monaghan in the first round of the Ulster Minor Football Championship.

The young Saffrons will go into Saturday’s encounter with the Farney as rank outsiders but the underdog tag will probably suit Antrim and it’s something that Antrim teams have become accustomed to in recent years.

They face a Monaghan team who recently beat Tyrone in the Ulster Minor League final and will be amongst the favourites to lift Ulster and beyond.

This is not an Antrim team without hope however and while they suffered a number of defeats in the Ulster league they showed against Donegal just what they are capable of if they can put their best game together.

The Saffrons producing a solid performance but in the end they were forced to share the points with the Tir Connaill outfit in a game they should have won.

Dara Campbell, who had a fine game at mid-field for the hosts, responded for Antrim with Danny Og Cooney and Darragh O’Hare 2pt on target for the visitors and Tom Convery punishing a breech at the other end to leave Donegal 0-10 to 0-6 ahead at the break but with the breeze to face in the second half.

Antrim looked in a bit of trouble when Tadhd McDaid from play and then from a free extended the visitors lead at the start of the second half but they replied through Joey Griffin 2 pointer and another from Thomas Douthert to get their second half up and running.

The Saffrons were then punished as the ball was moved forward after a disputed free which O’Hare converted but they responded in the best possible way with Mark McFerran, Daire Thornbury and Aodhan O’Hanlon on target at the other end.

Indiscipline began to creep into the Antrim play though it has to be said that a number of the frees against them were of the soft variety and ace free taker, Darragh O’Hare took advantage with four on the bounce with Dara Campbell hitting a 2 pointer and a single from play to keep the home side in touch.

A great point from Sean McCormack had the side’s level going into injury time but again they were punished for an indiscretion, much to the annoyance of the home support, which O’Hare converted.

It looked as good as over at this stage but the young Saffrons showed tremendous fighting spirit and Daire Thornbury became their hero as he split the posts in the 34th minute to give them a share of the spoils.