Ulster SHC semi-final: Ruairí Óg Cushendall (Antrim) 4-28 Portaferry (Down) 3-19 (aet)
Cushendall dug deep into their reservoir of spirit and commitment to overcome Portaferry in this thrilling Ulster club hurling championship semi-final at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh.
For pace, skill, passion and tension this game has already been bracketed in a class of its own with fans already speculating as to just what the final between Slaughtneil and Cushendall might hold in store.
For now, though, Cushendall are taking stock of a vibrant, courageous performance that will not have gone unnoticed in other hurling strongholds in the country.
And to think that it all started in a sedate, rather leisurely manner as Cushendall responded to their opponents’ lively opening with a Niall Milligan goal that was to set the tone for the contest.
If Milligan’s goal infused Portaferry with optimism, then reality intervened when Cushendall’s Neil McManus heralded the start of what was to be a superb 1-14 haul by chalking up six points by the halfway stage.
With the sides deadlocked at 1-6 to 0-9 at half-time, the scales remained slightly tilted in Portaferry’s favour when Milligan pounced for his second goal, and Daithí Sands fired in a third to leave the side in an increasingly comfortable position at 3-10 to 0-15.
And as the match ebbed towards full-time it looked as if it was to be the Down champions’ day. That was until McManus blasted a free into the net in the dying moments of normal tile to leave the sides level at 3-14 to 1-20 after Neil McManus had blasted a last-minute free to the Portaferry net.
If regulation time delivered a not-an-inch battle, it was rather different in extra-time when Joseph McLaughlin exploded into action by recording a whopping 2-5, while McManus just kept adding to his tally.
And when Alex Delargy whipped in goal number four for the Glensmen, suddenly there was more than a shaft of daylight between the sides at 3-26 to 3-18. And when McLaughlin put the finishing touch to the proceedings with a humdinger of a fourth goal Cushendall were home and dry at 4-28 to 3-19.
Cushendall manager Alex Delargy was both relieved and optimistic at the end of a match which he admitted had kept him on tenterhooks.
“We certainly did not have things all our own way. We knew Portaferry would be very tough opponents and so it proved. We maybe were not in a great degree of control in the earlier part of the game but we turned things round as the match progressed which was satisfying,” said Delargy.
“At this stage of the Ulster club series you know you are always going to come up against quality and this proved to be the case on this occasion. Now we must prepare ourselves for the Ulster final against Slaughtneil.”
And man of the match Neil McManus certainly had plenty to smile about at the end.
“We maybe made things a little tough for ourselves but we finished strongly. We turned up the heat and we were very fortunate to get a chance to equalise near the end. I was quaking when I went to take the free that went into the net at the end of normal time,” said McManus
CUSHENDALL: C McAlister; P Burke (0-1), L Gillan, M Burke; S Walsh, E Campbell (0-1), A McNaughton; F McCurry (0-1), R McCambridge (0-1); R McAteer (0-1), N McManus (1-14), F McCambridge (0-2); A Delargy (1-0), S McAfee, J McLaughlin (2-5).
Subs: E McQuillan (0-1) for R McAteer (45 mins); C Mc Naughton for S McAfee, R McCollum for A McNaughton (both 53); P McGill for F McCurry (58); C O’Neill for E Sands, S Walsh (0-1) for Campbell (both e/t).
Portaferry scorers: N Milligan 2-0, E Sands 1-2, T McGrattan 0-5 (4f), P Doran 0-4 (3f), D Sands 0-4, C Taggart, F Turpin, M Conlan, N Fitzsimmons 0-1 each.
PORTAFERRY: P Smyth; D Mallon, T Murray, R Smyth; B Trainor, C Taggart (0-1), C Savage; M Conlan (0-1), S Conlan; P Doran (0-4, three frees), F Turpin (0-1), E Sands (1-2); T McGrattan (0-5, four frees), N Milligan (2-0), D Sands (0-4).
Subs: N Fitzsimmons (0-1) for Doran (47 mins); C Fay for S Conlan (57); C O’Prey for E Sands (58); E Sands for M Conlan, D Mallon for C Savage (both e/t).
