Leinster Under 20 Hurling Championship play-off

Antrim 3-27 Down 1-13

Antrim produced a display of sharp, crisp, pacey hurling tonight at Páirc Esler in Newry to see of the challenge of Down in the Leinster Under  20 championship play-off. The home side may have been short a few regulars for various reasons but this was as good a display as I have seen from an Antrim team in years. Their precision passing, striking and score taking were right out of the top drawer and though there may not have been any work done in the build up to this game it certainly didn’t show as they hit some excellent scores while running up a score of 3 goal and 27 points to book a place in the Leinster Championship against Carlow in eight weeks’ time.

The young Saffrons had started well hitting a series of great points but their hopes were dealt a blow when Down full forward Ronan Blair grabbed a goal in the 13th minute. However the result was never in any doubt after Seaan Elliott fired a penalty to the Down net in the 18th minute for the Saffrons’ opening goal to give his team a 1-7 to 1-2 lead.

Blair’s major was very much against the run of play as Seaan Elliott

hit three early points and his Dunloy club-mate Declan Smyth (who ended with 0-7 from play) was dictating play around the midfield.

A great flowing movement which saw Dominic McEnhill place Conal Bohill for a second Antrim goal saw the Saffrons pull safely clear and they continued to hold the upper hand as they raced to a 2-17 to 1-6 to half time lead, with eight different players getting their name on the scoreboard.

Niall McCormick was the only Antrim forward not to trouble the score board in the opening half, but he corrected that with a goal on the re-start after Caolan Coulter and Ronan Blair had opened well for Down with points.

Indeed with Phelim Savage dropping back at times behind his half back line, Down played better during the second half and Coulter and Niall McFarland in particular picked off some fine scores.

Overall however Antrim kept Down on the back foot and played some excellent hurling, something that definitely pleased assistant manager Gary O’Kane.

“They actually have surprised us along the line with how well they played together.

“Believe it or not we haven’t had any collective training to date, but a number of them are in the senior panel and we would be pleased with their progress.

“However the team play was very good, striking top class, movement off the ball and the awareness of where each other was, you couldn’t ask for better. It gives us an excellent platform to move forward.”

It has to be said that the only down side of the night was the fact that nobody knew this game was on. There was no pre-publicity and it showed in the numbers that turned up to see the game. The old adage that there was more people on the pitch than there was in the stand certainly rang true. Overall I counted seventeen people at the game, which was a real shame for they were denied the chance of seeing some top class hurling.

Antrim : P McMullan, A Crawford, L Gillan, F McCurry, R McGarry, C Boyd, C McHugh (0-1), S Walsh (0-1), D Smyth (0-7), C McFadden (0-3), C Bohill (1-0), N McCormack (1-1), S Elliott (1-8, 1-0 pen, 0-1 free), D McEnhill (0-3), E McQuillan (0-1)

Subs : M Close for E McQuillan (41), J McKay for C McHugh (41), M Smyth for C Boyd (47), E Elliott (0-2) for S Elliott (49)

Down : C McAlornan, E Kelly, J Hughes, A Dorrian, C Smyth, T Murray, M McKay, P Savage, J Hanrahan, C Coulter (0-2), N McFarland (0-2), P Davidson (0-1), L McCaughey, R Blair (1-6, 0-6 frees), S Martin (0-2)

Referee : James Clarke (Cavan)

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U21 Hurling Championship Final

Dunloy 2-21 Ballycastle 1-12

Brendan McTaggart reports from Fr Healy Park, Loughgiel

A man of the match performance from Keelan Molloy and a ruthless, clinical opening 30 minutes was enough for Dunloy to retain the U21 championship on Monday evening. Just like the 2017 final when the Cuchullains defeated Loughgiel, it was the first half when the match was won and lost. They had 11 points to spare over the Shamrocks in May of last year before recording a 14 point victory and on Monday evening at Fr Healy Park they had 14 points of an advantage over Ballycastle before seeing out the second half and sealing a 12 point margin of victory.

First half goals from Keelan Molloy and Deáglán Smyth gave Dunloy the perfect platform. Molloy would tag on another four points in a scintillating opening 30 minutes by the Dunloy man while Smyth’s major in the 14^th minute left Ballycastle with a mountain to climb even at that early stage, opening a 10 point lead. In a first half where they conceded just seven points, the Dunloy defence were watertight. Eamon Smyth dropped deeper and put in an accomplished performance reading the flight of the sliotar to deny countless attacks from Ballycastle. The Dunloy captain swept all before after the opening quarter with the Dunloy full back line in imperious form also.

Ballycastle faired much better in the second half with Dairmuid McShane top scoring for the ‘Town over the hour with 0-6 while the commitment and effort of Tiernan Butler could never be faulted. The double save by ‘keeper Brendan Connor midway through the second half was as good as anything you will see on a hurling pitch. His first effort displayed lightning reflexes to deny Conal Cunning while the bravery shown to thwart Eoin O’Neill a certain major seconds later can’t be taught. Some say you have to be mad to be a goal keeper, I don’t think it’s the defining characteristic to play between the sticks but it certainly helps. Connor’s bravery bordered heroic and deserved to be for a winning cause. Ballycastle scored their goal in the first minute of injury time at the end of the game, Colm Butler with the finish and while they outscored Dunloy in the second half, it did little to take away from a resounding victory for the Cuchullains.

Deaglan Smith celebrates after scoring Dunloy’s second goal. Pic by Dylan McIlwaine

Both sides looked lively from the first whistle with Conal Cunning notching the games opening point after just 15 seconds. The Ballycastle response was swift and could have been perfect but for Ryan Elliott to deny Ben McQuillan while through on goal. Referee Kevin Parke spotted an infringement in the build up though, allowing McShane to open his account and get the Town firing. A Conor McBride point followed moments later and Ballycastle had an early lead after two minutes.

Cunning doubled his tally to restore parity to the score line moments later but the first decisive score of the final came in the sixth minute. Receiving an inch perfect hand pass from Deáglán Smyth, Keelan Molloy found himself through on the Ballycastle goal. His initial shot was hooked and with the sliotar skewing high, Ballycastle ‘keeper Brendan Connor couldn’t clear the danger. Molloy following up his shot and finding the back of the net with the rebound with a smart finish.

Eamon Elliott and Tiernan Butler landed points for Ballycastle either side of Molloy’s first white flag of the final ensured Ballycastle made a positive response to the Dunloy goal but the Cuchullains began to take control. A trio of points from Eoin O’Neill, Seaan Elliott and Molloy before Cunning landed a ’65 in the 12^th minute to open a seven point advantage for Dunloy before they scored the second major of the final. Deáglán Smyth collecting a long ball from Anton McGrath before showing his marker a clean pair of heals and applying the emphatic finish.

1-4 without reply for the Cuchullains in the space of six minutes left Ballycastle reeling but a brace of points from McShane (one free) temporarily stopped the rot before Cunning added his second free of the match, taking his tally to four points for the half by the 17^th minute.

Dunloy continued to apply pressure with Seaan Elliott and O’Neill firing over two points in as many minutes and while Conal Colgan split the posts for Ballycastle in the 20^th minute, it was their last score of the half. The Cuchullains were too hot for Ballycastle to handle in the last ten minutes as they tagged on a further five points – Cunning (free), Molloy (two), O’Neill and Seaan Elliott giving Dunloy a 2-15 to 0-7 lead at the short whistle.

Ballycastle’s TT Butler in action against Dunloy’s Ryan McGarry. Pic by Dylan McIlwaine

It was an incredibly fluent performance from Dunloy, especially after the opening quarter. The Scoring burst of 1-4 in just six minutes put them in control after what was a close opening that they edged. Ballycastle were going to have to do something different in the second half to get back into the game. The Dunloy half back line were dominating the Ballycastle puck outs while Ciaran Elliott and Anton McGrath were instrumental for the Cuchullains. Tiernan Butler and Eamon Elliott started the second half in midfield and while McShane landed his third free of the match, fourth point in total to open the scoring after just 40 seconds, a brace of points from Ciaran Elliott and Deáglán Smyth extended the Dunloy lead.

Smyth’s point in the 33^rd minute however would be Dunloy’s last score for 20 minutes. They didn’t have the same fluency they showed in abundance in the opening 30 minutes and while their intensity levels dropped, they did enough at the other end to keep Ballycastle at bay. In that 20 minute barren spell, the Town only managed two points of their own, Oisin McAuley and McShane (free) while the double save of Brendan Connor kept frustrating the Cuchullains.

Cunning landed a brace of points in the 53^rd and 55^th minutes to quell any notions of a Ballycastle revival in the closing stages. McShane’s sixth point of the match was answered by Cunning (free) and Molloy’s fifth white flag of the hour before Ballycastle scored their goal. With the clock just entering the 61^st minute of the final, Colm Butler gather the sliotar 20 yards from goal and found the bottom right hand corner of Ryan Elliott’s net. Conor Boyd landed a long range point in the time that remained but it did little to take any gloss off an emphatic victory for the Cuchullains.

Dylan McIlwaine presents the Saffron Gael Man of the Match award to Keelan Molloy.

TEAMS

Dunloy: Ryan Elliott; Aaron Crawford, Ryan McGarry, Conor Kinsellan; Ronan Molloy, Eamon Smyth, Callum Scullion; Ciaran Elliott, Anton McGrath; Chrissy McMahon, Keelan Molloy, Eoin O’Neill; Seaan Elliott, Deáglán Smyth, Conal Cunning.

Ballycastle: Brendan Connor; Eoin Hill, Ciaran McKeague, Oran Kearney; Oisin McAuley, Conor Boyd, Conal Colgan; Lorcan Donnelly, Ryan Hill; Eamon Elliott, Colm Butler, Ben McQuillan; Darimuid McShane, Tiernan Butler, Conor McBride.

Scorers for Dunloy: Keelan Molloy 1-5; Conal Cunning 0-8 (5 f’s, 1 ’65); Deáglán Smyth 1-1; Eoin O’Neill 0-3; Seaan Elliott 0-3; Ciaran Elliott 0-1

Scorers for Ballycastle: Dairmuid McShane 0-6 (5 f’s); Colm Butler 1-00; Oisin McAuley 0-1; Conor Boyd 0-1; Eamon Elliott 0-1; Conor McBride 0-1; Tiernan Butler 0-1

Referee: Kevin Parke (Naomg Éanna)

Pics by Dylan and John McIlwaine

The Dunloy team who beat Loughgiel in last week’s semi-final.

Under 21 Hurling Championship

Holders Dunloy will take on Ballycastle this evening at 7-30 in Loughgiel in the final of the Under 21 Hurling Championship. The young Cuchullains qualified for the final with a comprehensive 3-14 to 2-4 win over Cushendall in the quarter final and a hard fought 1-19 to 1-15 win over Loughgiel in last week’s semi-final in Armoy.

Ballycastle started their journey with a tough encounter at Rossa Park where they got the better of the home side by a single point on a scoreline of 1-14 to 0-16. Last week’s semi-final win over St John’s in Ballymena was tough and tight in the opening half but the young McQuillans got on top in the second period and pulled away to win by 2-15 to 0-12.

Dunloy will start as favourites to make it back to back titles, and with the return of their talisman Keelan Molloy (who missed the semi-final win over Loughgiel) their hand is strengthened even more. Eoin O’Neill will miss out because of suspension, but Molloy’s return means that they will line out with more or less the same team who lifted the title last year. However Ballycastle will be determined to upset the odds and their two wins to date will give them confidence as they bid to win the club’s first title in this grade since 2012.

The Ballycastle team who beat St John’s in last week;s semi-final in Ballymena.

Antrim U21 Hurling Championship Semi-Final

Dunloy 1-19 Loughgiel 1-14

Brendan McTaggart reports from Armoy

It’s a rivalry that’s as old as the game itself and on Monday night Dunloy and Loughgiel served up a cracker in the semi-final of the U21 hurling championship.  In a repeat of last years final at the same venue, the Cuchullains marched on with five points to spare after the hour was over but the Shamrocks made the holders work for their victory.

Three points separated the sides at the half way point, Ronan Molloy’s sixth minute major proving to be the games decisive score.  The Cuchullains were lively all over the pitch in the first half but their fluency was disrupted when Eoin O’Neill saw red in the 20^th minute, a blow for the Dunloy men at the time and Loughgiel were given a huge boost.

The Cuchullains management rejigged their side at half time with Anton McGrath dropping into a deeper role they nullified the threat of Johnny McErlain in the Loughgiel half forward. The Cuchullains began to dominate at the rucks and breakdown with Ryan McGarry and Callum Scullion also excelling but Loughgiel and James McNaughton in particular continued to probe and drag the Shamrocks back into the semi-final.  McNaughton landed 1-10 in a man of the match performance for Loughgiel as he led the fight to Dunloy almost singlehandedly with his major reigniting the Shamrocks challenge late in the game.

Dunloy had excellent performances all over the pitch with their half back line especially stepping up to the challenge in the second half.  Anton McGrath moving to a sweeper role proved to be a touch of genius as McGrath won the lion’s share of second phase ball in the second half.  Ronan Molloy top scored with 1-3 all from play while Deáglán Smyth’s three second half points proved to be pivotal.  Moving McErlain to full forward seemed like the obvious move to make for the Shamrocks when they needed majors to get into the game but they couldn’t land any quality ball into their target man to make the move effective enough.  McNaughton and Rian McKee were lively in midfield with ‘Betty’ making numerous trademark runs through the middle of the Cuchullain defence but as the game drew on the Shamrocks were in need of majors.  Apart from McNaughton’s effort, it wasn’t until the last attack of the game that they cut through the Dunloy defence again with McNaughton laying off a pass to Caolan McIlhatton with the Loughgiel forward hitting the sliotar first time but Ryan Elliott produced an outstanding save to deflect the sliotar over the bar.  Time wasn’t the Shamrocks friend though as Dunloy held strong in the time that remained to book their place in the final at the end of a quality game of hurling.

Loughgiel opened the scoring in the second minute with full forward Caolan McIlhatton firing over his first of three points over the hour.  Callum Scullion landed a point from distance in response for the Cuchullains before Eoin O’Neill combined well with Ronan Molloy to edge Dunloy in front by the fourth minute.  It was a lead they would hold onto for the remainder of the game with Molloy’s major putting some early daylight between the sides.  Molloy firing to the back of the net in the sixth minute with the assist coming from Conal Cunning.

Loughgiel responded well with points from Callum McKendry and McNaughton (free) closing the gap before Cunning landed his first of the match after catching the sliotar from a crowd of players in the 17^th minute.  McErlain pointed using his strength to shrug off two Dunloy challenges before firing between the uprights but the Dunloy attack looked more capable in the opening exchanges.  They were prospering around the Loughgiel half back line with O’Neill and Seaan Elliott causing the problems for the Shamrocks.  O’Neill influence on the game was growing just when his game was cut short.  The linesman brought an incident to the attention of the St Teresa’s referee with Hamill giving O’Neill a red card.  The Loughgiel response came via two point from McNaughton to take his tally for the half to three but a trio of points from Scullion, Ryan McGarry and Molloy restored the Cuchullains three point lead with time running out in the first half. Caolan McIlhatton and Eamon Smyth (free) traded points in the time that remained as Dunloy held a 1-7 to 0-7 lead at the short whistle.

Dunloy’s Calum Scullion in action against Loughgiel’s Callum Scullion. Pic by John McIlwaine

Loughgiel were keeping Declan McCloskey spare in defence while the Cuchullains reshuffled their pack for the start of the second half.  Deáglán Smyth moved into the forwards with McGrath dropping deeper while Molloy and Cunning occupied the strong Shamrock full back line for the second period.

A free from McNaughton opened the scoring after the restart and while frees from Cunning and Eamon Smyth opened a four point lead by the 37^th minute, another McNaughton free soon after left the match ‘as you were’ at the interval.

McNaughton landed a huge free from his own ’65 to revitalise the Shamrocks once again but Dunloy began to cut loose.  Their speed and agility with varying attacking options began to tell with Scullion landing his third huge point of the match before Molloy and Seaan Elliott opened a five point lead midway through the second half.

McNaughton (free) and Deáglán Smyth traded scores twice to leave the Cuchullains ahead 1-14 to 0-13 with eight minutes of the hour remaining and while McNaughton landed another free to leave just Molloy’s goal separating the sides.  That however was the last score for five minutes at a crucial time of the match for the Shamrocks.  When they needed to push on and try to eat into the Dunloy lead, the Cuchullains found another gear, landing four points in that same period – two frees from Cunning and one point each from Molloy and Seaan Elliott.

With time running out Loughgiel looked for goals and they got their reward in the last minute of normal time.  McKee finding Aodhan McIlhatton who passed to McNaughton with the Loughgiel man firing low to the bottom corner of Ryan Elliott’s net despite the presence of three Dunloy defenders.  A quality move that raised the hopes of the Shamrock support but time was running out for the men in red.  Deáglán Smyth landed his third point of the match in the fourth minute of injury time before Loughgiel carved out one more goal chance, more through McNaughton’s will and desire to never give up.  Chasing a lost ball before releasing the sliotar towards McIlhatton.  The Loughgiel full forward looked a certainty to bulge the back of the net but Ryan Elliott produced a wonder save to deflect McIlhatton’s effort over the bar in the last action of the match.

Dunloy march on to the final where they will play Ballycastle for the right to be crowned U21 champions in 2018.

TEAMS

Dunloy: Ryan Elliott; Arron Crawford, Conor Kinsella, Adam Mullan; Ryan McGarry, Eamon Smyth, Callum Scullion; Ciaran Elliott, Deáglán Smyth; Seaan Elliott, Eoin O’Neill, Ronan Molloy; Anton McGrath, Conal Cunning, Chrissy McMahon

Loughgiel: Caolan McGivern; Corey Blair, Caolan Blair, Declan McCloskey; Odhran McMullan, Cathal McMullan, Conall Kerr; James McNaughton, Rian McKee; Aodhan McFadden, Johnny McErlain, Callum McKendry; Paul Boyle, Caolan McIlhatton, Paddy Laverty

Scorers for Dunloy: Ronan Molloy 1-3; Conal Cunning 0-4 (3 f’s); Deáglán Smyth 0-3; Callum Scullion 0-3; Eamon Smyth 0-2 (2 f’s); Seaan Elliott 0-2; Eoin O’Neill 0-1; Ryan McGarry 0-1

Scorers for Loughgiel:  James McNaughton 1-10 (8 f’s); Caolan McIlhatton 0-3; Callum McKendry 0-1; Johnny McErlain 0-1

Referee:  Eamon Hammill (St Teresa’s)

Pics by John McIlwaine