Antrim v Derry Round 1 of the All Ireland Minor A Shield 9th March 2025
Antrim 5-12 Derry 2-08
Match report and photos from Antrim Camogie PRO, Michael Corcoran in Ballycastle
It was almost a blistering summer-like day in Páirc Mhic Uilín, Ballycastle but if the day came up a tad short on that front, the game didn’t. Played at a blistering pace from start to finish, spectators were entertained with sixty solid minutes of quality camogie as goals flowed each end amidst tough rucks and skillful solo runs, catching, hooking and blocking.
Derry opened their account straightaway, having referee Simon Redmond from Dublin, reaching for his notebook within the first thirty seconds to record their point. Antrim’s reply was two points in quick succession from Eva McNeill and Mary McArthur.
However, with 4 minutes gone on the clock, Derry’s Grace McCartney found Connie McBride and a lobbed sliotar bounced out of the hand of Antrim’s goalkeeper, Orlaith Johnston and Derry suddenly looked like the contender.
Eva McNeill would close that to a point of a difference as she floated her free over the bar from a push in the back foul. Derry though stroked another three points over the bar, two coming from McCartney and one from Emma Quinn before Antrim’s Eobha McAllister won a ground ball and placed it right between the uprights.
With fifteen minutes gone, Derry’s Connie McBride would strike at Antrim’s net as she pushed through to the edge of the box and struck a low diagonal shot, making that two goals from the full forward.
Antrim’s reply was equally as good as Cara Delaney offered up the sliotar to Eobha McAllister and sending in a high ball that dropped over the head of the goalkeeper to have the umpire reaching for the green flag and Antrim were now on their way to closing the three point gap.
Derry were still intent on pushing up sliotars to find the full forward line and when Ellie McCartney fed a ball into Aoibh Mullholland, it looked ominous but Antrim’s defence were now swarming and Mulholland opted to take her point score on the twentieth minute.
That would mark a turning point for Antrim’s fortunes as they now started to test Derry’s defence with a series of attacks around the box that ended in Derry offering up a wide that McNeill cruised over before Kady McNeill helped Antrim’s scoring campaign with a fine point on the twentieth minute.
With confidence building, Antrim pushed up deep into Derry’s defence and it would fall to Eimear McCaughan to raise the green flag from an impossibly tight angle on the left of the goal, and Antrim took the lead for the first time in twenty three minutes. Scores stood Antrim 2-06 Derry 2-05.
Antrim would close out the first half with another two points from Eva McNeill as Derry’s Emma Quinn pointed from a free awarded due to an Antrim charge and that brought the first half to a finish, Antrim 2-08 Derry 2-06.
Derry opted to play away from the clubhouse on winning the toss, into a noticeable breeze that had by now dropped for the second half. Antrim would take that as an omen and within the first five minutes, Eimear McCaughan would have her second goal from a fine pass from Cara Delaney.
This was going to be Antrim’s half as they doubled down on the rucks, played clever sliotars off the hand and closed Derry down when they advanced into the scoring area. Eobha McAllister would start Antrim’s fourth goal, winning the ball and dropping it deep to the left hand side of the pitch, where Aimee Ferris took possession and offloaded towards Aoife McAteers net. Despite the sliotar being saved, an advancing Mary McArthur pulled and in the twelfth minute in the second half, Antrim were four goals and nine points to Derry’s two goals and seven points.
Although Derry would make regular advances up as far as Antrim’s twenty metre line, scores alluded them and when Antrim’s Kady McNeill sent in a high dropping ball, the angle was perfect to slip between McAteers stick and the bar for Antrim’s fifth and final goal of the game. Derry would reply from a free from Connie McBride before Kady McNeill stroked the last point of the game in the thirty first minute.
Scoring differences in the second half narrate the game unfairly, as Antrim scored 3-03 to Derry’s 0-02. Never at any point did Derry ease up and had Antrim not been on form, this was a game that would have gone the other way as Derry illustrated physicality, skill and determination matched only by Antrim’s and bettered on the day.
Antrim starting panel and scorers
Orlaith Johnston, Rhianna Black, Eva Lee, Leona Gillan, Maeve Devlin, Casey Crawford, Laura Black, Eobha McAllister 1-01, Kady McNeill 1-03, Cara Delaney, Eva McNeill 0-07 (3f 1×45), Órlaith Gould, Aimee Ferris, Mary McArthur 1-01, Eimear McCaughan 2-00
Derry starting panel and scorers
Aoife McAteer, Orlaith Devlin, Grace Draine, Eimhear Conway, Ellie McCartney, Hannah Drinan, Cait Conway, Aoife McWilliams, Mary Therese McCullagh, Emma Quinn 0-03 (3f), Grace McCartney 0-02, Leah Cassidy 0-01, Connie McBride 2-01 (1f), Aoibh Mulholland 0-01
Photos from Sunday’s game can be found in the album here:
https://myalbum.com/album/BHkAGuKmLmUbss/?invite=74e15483-dcc1-4edd-b4af-b203473dcfdc
