30 August 2009
Dunloy booked their place in the Antrim Senior Hurling Final when they withstood a great second-half comeback by Glenariff in Saturday evening’s semi-final at Fr Healey Park Loughgiel.
Dunloy appeared to be cruising to victory when they lead by nine points just before half-time but the Ossins produced a strong finish to the half with four unanswered points to cut their arrears to five by the short whistle. (1-10 to 0-8)
A brilliantly taken goal by Glenariff’s Seamus McDonnell two minutes after the restart really brought the game to life and set the scene for a thrilling second-half. Points from McDonnell and Johnny McIntosh followed, before McDonnell struck for his second goal in the fortieth minute to give his team the lead for the first time.
Raymond McDonnell struck a beauty from distance to pull the Oisins two clear, and suddenly a real upset looked on the cards, but Paddy Docherty steadied the ship with two pointed frees to bring Dunloy back on level terms.
Doherty had taken over the free taking duties after regular free taker Sean Dowds had been called ashore to make way for the veteran Alastair Elliott and it is fair to say that there a few raised eyebrow in the crowd as Dowds had played really well in the opening half.
However the management’s decision was justified when Elliott showed a flash of his old brilliance to fire in a rocket of a goal in the fifty-first minute, and when Paddy Doherty added another from a free the Glenariff rebellion appeared to have been crushed.
The Oisins had a spark left in them yet and when they won a twenty-metre free in the fifty sixth minute ‘Tosh’ stepped up and rifled a brilliant shot through the packed goalmouth high into the Dunloy net to bring his team level once again. However ‘Tosh’ turned from hero to villain less than a minute later when he foolishly got himself sent off for a second yellow card offence and the momentum swung again in the Cuchullains favour when Paddy Doherty pointed a free after Glenariff goalkeeper Seanan McToal lifted the ball off the ground in the small ‘square’.
The Oisins defence conceded another needless free a minute later which Doherty dispatched to put two between the sides. Seamus McDonnell’s cut the gap to the minimum again when he brilliantly pointed a sideline ‘cut’, but it was to be the last puck of the game and Dunloy survived to book a final spot against the winners of the other semi-final between Cushendall and Loughgiel.
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