Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship semi-final: Ballycran 4-15 (Down) Slaughtneil (Derry) 1-14
ONE more trip to the well proved to be beyond Slaughtneil as underdogs Ballycran deservedly dethroned the back-to-back Ulster champions at Corrigan Park on Sunday.
From the first whistle, the Down champions – 9/1 outsiders with some bookmakers – were a split second sharper and, after holding a two-point lead at the interval, they powered home down the stretch to win by 10 points and book their place in the final against Antrim champions Cushendall.
Without taking anything away from Ballycran, Slaughtneil did look jaded. With no football to occupy them, it appeared the scene was set for the Emmet’s to make a breakthrough at national level but, as manager Michael McShane admitted, four years of slogging their guts out finally caught up with them.
The Down champions led from the first minute and manager Gary Savage (an Ulster Championship winner when Ballycran beat Cushendall 25-years-ago) said his players were determined to “step up” after being written off.
Savage’s men gave an early indication of their goal threat when James Coyle ran onto an accurate pass from Scott Nicholson and smashed in a shot. Gareth O’Kane saved, but referee James Clarke brought play back for a foul and Colm McManus opened the scoring with the first of his five frees.
Slaughtneil trailed from there on in and every ball was a battle as the determined underdogs from the Ards peninsula threw themselves into the fray. Scott Nicholson added a free from the halfway line and his dugout roared their approval when the puck out was captured as Ballycran took control in midfield. Gerald Bradley’s point got Slaughtneil up and going, but O’Kane dallied and James Coyle nipped in to whip the sliotar into the net and send Ballycran 1-2 to 0-1 ahead.
Despite the underdogs’ plucky first-half display, there was a feeling around Corrigan Park that Slaughtneil’s quality would see them through. Ballycran were lined out on the field by the time the Emmet’s – with their ears undoubtedly ringing from McShane’s words of encouragement – trotted out for the second-half.
The expected Slaughtneil revival never came because Ballycran didn’t allow it. Things went from bad to worse for the unravelling Derry champions when Cormac McKenna was sent-off for striking Woods and, when McManus slotted over the free, Ballycran had a foot in the final.
MATCH STATS
Ballycran: S Keith; M Hughes, P Hughes, S Ennis; M Taylor, P Flynn, B Nicholson; S Nicholson (0-7, 0-4 frees), P Savage; C McAllister, C Woods (0-1), L Savage (0-1); N Breen (1-0), C McManus (0-5 frees), J Coyle (2-0); Subs: C Egan (1-0) for Breen (43), G Hughes for McAllister (49); Yellow cards: P Hughes (29), P Flynn (33)
Slaughtneil: G O’Kane; R McCartney, S Cassidy, P McNeill; C McKenna, C McKaigue (0-1), K McKaigue; Shane McGuigan, C O’Doherty (0-6 frees); M McGuigan (0-1), B Rodgers (0-2), G Bradley (0-1); M McGrath (1-0), Sé McGuigan (0-1), B Cassidy (0-1); Subs: C McAllister for McGrath (46), S O Caiside for M McGuigan (48); Yellow cards: Se McGuigan (27), M McGrath (41), P McNeill (57); Red card: C McKenna (51)
Referee: J Clarke (Cavan)
Antrim Senior Hurling Championship: Ruairí Óg, Cushendall 2-12 Loughgiel Shamrocks 0-15
GOALS either side of half-time from Paddy Burke and Conor Carson were like daggers through Loughgiel’s heart in Sunday’s Antrim SHC final in Ballycastle.
In the 23rd minute, Cushendall’s Burke stole forward from his full-back position to finish off a flowing move that involved Carson catching and off-loading Neil McManus’s long pass. Burke’s composed finish put Cushendall 1-5 to 0-7 ahead and, more importantly, settled the Ruairí Óg’s after a difficult start.
And just when Loughgiel threatened to turn the screw on their rivals in the final 10 minutes, Conor Carson hammered the ball past DD Quinn in the 51st minute to put Cushendall 2-10 to 0-12 in front. Quinn got his hurl to Carson’s pile driver, but looked on with anguish as the sliotar spun into the Loughgiel net.
The Shamrocks didn’t recover from either major and never really penetrated the Cushendall defence. Too much rested on James McNaughton’s shoulders, who hurled the shirt off his back for Loughgiel. The county star hit 0-9 (0-6 frees), but the scoring burden wasn’t shared around sufficiently.
McNaughton, though, left everything on the field and his incredible driving run and score in the 58th minute was the best of the afternoon. But with Cushendall dominating midfield, McNaughton was kept to the fringes of yesterday’s final, at times.
Cushendall should have been further ahead than 1-8 to 0-9 at the break and always kept Loughgiel alive in the closing stages when they failed to covert several easy chances. But had Loughgiel grabbed a draw, it would have been rough justice on the eventual champions.
MATCH STATS
Loughgiel Shamrocks: DD Quinn; P Gillan, N McGarry, R McCloskey; T McCloskey, D McMullan, O McFadden; M McFadden, T Coyle (0-2); J Scullion (0-1), J McNaughton (0-9, 0-6 frees), D McKinley; D McCloskey (0-3), E McCloskey, S Casey; Subs: L Watson for S Casey (h/t), M Connolly for O McFadden (49), S McGrath for P Gillan (53), N McCormick for R McCambridge (58), S McAfee for C Carson (61)
Ruairí Óg, Cushendall: E Gillan; A Graffin, P Burke (1-0), M Burke; S Delargy, D Kearney, F McCurry; E Campbell (0-1), A Delargy; C Carson (1-1), P McGill (0-2, 0-1 free), R McCambridge (0-1); F McCambridge, N McManus (0-4, 0-3 frees), D McNaughton (0-3); Subs: E McKillop for F McCambridge (49), S Walsh for F McCurry (53); Yellow cards: D McNaughton (19)
Referee: C Cunning (Dunloy)
