Antrim Hurling

[MalluskMan]

Draw tonight to kick start the senior hurling, big call from jonnyd! Upset on the cards this weekend?? Look no further than tomorrow at high town. Cushendall seriously depleted, talk of up to 6 starting players missing, any team would struggle with those numbers and even though st Enda's are missing their star man o Connor, still think there's an upset available on a tight pitch. Can't see it being Glenariffe, too young, too naive and still hurl like a division two team with some moments of decent play. Ballycastle are going to struggle in group, a lot of injuries, peaked for the league when all around them were missing county men, poor after the split, despite a couple of wins. Loughgiel the team to fear this year.

[Torcrua]

Draw tonight to kick start the senior hurling, big call from jonnyd! Upset on the cards this weekend?? Look no further than tomorrow at high town. Cushendall seriously depleted, talk of up to 6 starting players missing, any team would struggle with those numbers and even though st Enda's are missing their star man o Connor, still think there's an upset available on a tight pitch. Can't see it being Glenariffe, too young, too naive and still hurl like a division two team with some moments of decent play. Ballycastle are going to struggle in group, a lot of injuries, peaked for the league when all around them were missing county men, poor after the split, despite a couple of wins. Loughgiel the team to fear this year.

Strange encounter that lacked any real championship edge, with the quality of shooting leaving plenty to be desired from both camps. Particularly disappointing when you consider the age-old rivalry and the battles these two have had down through the years.

It's probably a symptom of championships across the board since the introduction of the group stages. There just doesn't seem to be the same intensity or urgency in some of these early games.

As for the rest of the group, it won't matter how many Cushendall are missing, they'll win by 10+. They could probably line out their U21 team and still get over the line.

Dunloy should push Glenariffe aside without too much fuss.

Loughgiel are now clear favourites for their group based on last night's performance from both sides.

[old timers]

Draw tonight to kick start the senior hurling, big call from jonnyd! Upset on the cards this weekend?? Look no further than tomorrow at high town. Cushendall seriously depleted, talk of up to 6 starting players missing, any team would struggle with those numbers and even though st Enda's are missing their star man o Connor, still think there's an upset available on a tight pitch. Can't see it being Glenariffe, too young, too naive and still hurl like a division two team with some moments of decent play. Ballycastle are going to struggle in group, a lot of injuries, peaked for the league when all around them were missing county men, poor after the split, despite a couple of wins. Loughgiel the team to fear this year.

Strange encounter that lacked any real championship edge, with the quality of shooting leaving plenty to be desired from both camps. Particularly disappointing when you consider the age-old rivalry and the battles these two have had down through the years.

It's probably a symptom of championships across the board since the introduction of the group stages. There just doesn't seem to be the same intensity or urgency in some of these early games.

As for the rest of the group, it won't matter how many Cushendall are missing, they'll win by 10+. They could probably line out their U21 team and still get over the line.

Dunloy should push Glenariffe aside without too much fuss.

Loughgiel are now clear favourites for their group based on last night's performance from both sides.

Wd agree - strange in many ways - unfortunately Mark definitely didn't have his best outing in the middle

[Deerstalker]

Draw tonight to kick start the senior hurling, big call from jonnyd! Upset on the cards this weekend?? Look no further than tomorrow at high town. Cushendall seriously depleted, talk of up to 6 starting players missing, any team would struggle with those numbers and even though st Enda's are missing their star man o Connor, still think there's an upset available on a tight pitch. Can't see it being Glenariffe, too young, too naive and still hurl like a division two team with some moments of decent play. Ballycastle are going to struggle in group, a lot of injuries, peaked for the league when all around them were missing county men, poor after the split, despite a couple of wins. Loughgiel the team to fear this year.

Strange encounter that lacked any real championship edge, with the quality of shooting leaving plenty to be desired from both camps. Particularly disappointing when you consider the age-old rivalry and the battles these two have had down through the years.

It's probably a symptom of championships across the board since the introduction of the group stages. There just doesn't seem to be the same intensity or urgency in some of these early games.

As for the rest of the group, it won't matter how many Cushendall are missing, they'll win by 10+. They could probably line out their U21 team and still get over the line.

Dunloy should push Glenariffe aside without too much fuss.

Loughgiel are now clear favourites for their group based on last night's performance from both sides.

Wd agree - strange in many ways - unfortunately Mark definitely didn't have his best outing in the middle

Yeah, I like Mark as a ref but thought he was very poor last night. Rossa could feel aggrieved with a lot of the decisions.

[Torcrua]

Draw tonight to kick start the senior hurling, big call from jonnyd! Upset on the cards this weekend?? Look no further than tomorrow at high town. Cushendall seriously depleted, talk of up to 6 starting players missing, any team would struggle with those numbers and even though st Enda's are missing their star man o Connor, still think there's an upset available on a tight pitch. Can't see it being Glenariffe, too young, too naive and still hurl like a division two team with some moments of decent play. Ballycastle are going to struggle in group, a lot of injuries, peaked for the league when all around them were missing county men, poor after the split, despite a couple of wins. Loughgiel the team to fear this year.

Strange encounter that lacked any real championship edge, with the quality of shooting leaving plenty to be desired from both camps. Particularly disappointing when you consider the age-old rivalry and the battles these two have had down through the years.

It's probably a symptom of championships across the board since the introduction of the group stages. There just doesn't seem to be the same intensity or urgency in some of these early games.

As for the rest of the group, it won't matter how many Cushendall are missing, they'll win by 10+. They could probably line out their U21 team and still get over the line.

Dunloy should push Glenariffe aside without too much fuss.

Loughgiel are now clear favourites for their group based on last night's performance from both sides.

Wd agree - strange in many ways - unfortunately Mark definitely didn't have his best outing in the middle

Yeah, I like Mark as a ref but thought he was very poor last night. Rossa could feel aggrieved with a lot of the decisions.

Facile win for the Dall as predicted. In all honesty, we should probably forgo the formalities at this stage and just have our semi-finalsCushendall v Dunloy and Loughgiel v Rossa or St John's. 😂

I'm loathe to criticise referees on a forum, but last night was definitely one of Mark's lesser performances. Take that as constructive criticism it happens.

The Intermediate Championship is moving on without too much fuss either. Cushendun look the early front runners, with Glenarm and Creggan probably the next two in line.

St Galls have a tough task tomorrow in the Glens, but I'll back them to come through a tight encounter. Great to see some of their great journey men involved again that experience could prove invaluable when it gets tight.

[NorthAntrimSaff]

Poor weekend of competitive championship hurling bar friday nights games. Some huge gaps in scorelines. Few more weeks before championship really starts

[NAG1]

What way does the home/away arrangement work in the Antrim SHC?

Looks like the first round one team has home advantage, the second round at neutral venues and then the final round a team has home advantage.

Is that right?

Will Ballycastle not fancy at cut at either or both the 2 Belfast clubs or are they a still a bit below that level wise?
losing to Loughgiel by 7 points isn't the worst of a defeat in hurling.

Really poor fair from LG and Ballycastle, I would think Rossa and St Johns would fancy themselves against either of them.

[NorthAntrimSaff]

What way does the home/away arrangement work in the Antrim SHC?

Looks like the first round one team has home advantage, the second round at neutral venues and then the final round a team has home advantage.

Is that right?

Will Ballycastle not fancy at cut at either or both the 2 Belfast clubs or are they a still a bit below that level wise?
losing to Loughgiel by 7 points isn't the worst of a defeat in hurling.

Ballycastle will not see themselves as below either St Johns or Rossa

[NAG1]

What way does the home/away arrangement work in the Antrim SHC?

Looks like the first round one team has home advantage, the second round at neutral venues and then the final round a team has home advantage.

Is that right?

Will Ballycastle not fancy at cut at either or both the 2 Belfast clubs or are they a still a bit below that level wise?
losing to Loughgiel by 7 points isn't the worst of a defeat in hurling.

Ballycastle will not see themselves as below either St Johns or Rossa

Based on league form they looked impressive enough, certainly more than Rossa who we should have beaten at home.

BUT

You need to kick on come championship.

Manys a team bust themselves in preseason to get early points on the door during the league campaign where other teams are aiming to peak later in the year and someone already seems to think this is where Ballycastle may come unstuck.

I'm hearing a senior Portaferry hurler is living in the Waterfoot area and training with Glenariffe currently with the fear he'll transfer to them next year.
Anyone from that part of the world know anything about that?

I think they will need a couple of additions like this to bridge the gap to senior, underage success not always a precursor to senior level success.

[NorthAntrimSaff]

Id imagine they have lost more than they have gained over the years though travel and lack of work in the area

[TheGeneral]

If your referring to Ballycastle loosing more players than other clubs through travel and 'lack of work' in the town, would all of the clubs in North Antrim & City Teams not be in a similar boat?

Given they have about 5000 residents living in the area they would have a larger catchment area, similar distance to Derry and Belfast. So should in theory have a better chance of retaining people than the other clubs in the area.

You cant be blaming it on the immigration problem as everyone is dealing with the same issues with the younger players.

The best known or bigger teams in the city are loosing younger players from other parishes as more clubs have popped up or developed their underage systems and retained their talent rather than players moving to play for the larger clubs in Belfast which is what traditionally happened. Circa 10 Teams that I can think of that are based in west Belfast off the Falls and Andytown so they are all fighting for the same talent coming out of schools and nearby areas.

You would have to assume that the clubs competing year in and year out are doing something a bit different, or making the most of what they have?

[MalluskMan]

Fair play and good luck to Glenariffe. Stayed up on merit, a difficult task for any promoted team. Any addition would be welcomed to any club, especially if a player improves the set up, every team needs the help, regardless of current status. The county needs the likes of Glenariffe to continue to strive to improve if the fortunes of the county are to improve. The transition is difficult from youth to adult, but the more they hang in, the better they will become.

Championship looming again this weekend, both groups still hold interest. Cushendall should dispose easily of Glenariffe, regardless of local rivalry, might get tasty! Dunloy the same to st Endas, leaving an almighty showdown between Glenariffe and st Endas on the final day.

I fear for Ballycastle. There's another defeat looming, putting them out of championship and indeed, marks 40 years since they last won it. The Cuala man can lament all he wants about injuries, it happens all clubs regardless of stage of season, Ballycastle would be better looking inward rather than outward at the injuries, over a dozen major injuries over 4 years? Something not right in the whole club. Big big numbers, poor retention of players, coaching, committee would all need looked at, imo.

What way does the home/away arrangement work in the Antrim SHC?

Looks like the first round one team has home advantage, the second round at neutral venues and then the final round a team has home advantage.

Is that right?

Will Ballycastle not fancy at cut at either or both the 2 Belfast clubs or are they a still a bit below that level wise?
losing to Loughgiel by 7 points isn't the worst of a defeat in hurling.

Ballycastle will not see themselves as below either St Johns or Rossa

Based on league form they looked impressive enough, certainly more than Rossa who we should have beaten at home.

BUT

You need to kick on come championship.

Manys a team bust themselves in preseason to get early points on the door during the league campaign where other teams are aiming to peak later in the year and someone already seems to think this is where Ballycastle may come unstuck.

I'm hearing a senior Portaferry hurler is living in the Waterfoot area and training with Glenariffe currently with the fear he'll transfer to them next year.
Anyone from that part of the world know anything about that?

I think they will need a couple of additions like this to bridge the gap to senior, underage success not always a precursor to senior level success.

[Torcrua]

Another weekend of formality in Antrim hurling.

As an outsider who spent plenty of days attending games in the 80s and 90s, I look in now at a hurling landscape in Antrim that is almost unrecognisable from what it once was.

I was at the game in Ballycastle this evening thank God Morton's was worth the drive! 😂 Cushendall turned it on for about two minutes at the start of the second half and the game was effectively over. Glenariffe were really poor, although ironically their best hurler was a Cushendall man.

It got me thinking has the current championship format taken the edge off it? When there are so many routes through the groups, does losing actually hurt enough?

Gone seem to be the days of those white hot battles where every ball was contested as if it was the last, and there was no quarter asked or given.

Is it the format, the standard of hurling, or a combination of both? Because looking in from the outside, the Antrim Championship just doesn't seem to have the same bite it had 30–40 years ago.

[MalluskMan]

Interesting take, torcrua.

Firstly, Glenariffe are just up from intermediate and to take on the might of Cushendall and match them for the first 30 is commendable. Fell asleep at start of second half allowing Cushendall to drop deep/sweeper and close game out. Glenariffe will take plenty from defeat. Not sure Cushendall management would say that, bar the last 10 Minutes, that it was easy.

But have to agree on the standards. Hurling has dropped in standard. The round robin format doesn't help. Win one game to get to a knockout and take your chances from there. Certain teams are building, others on the way out and others have an embarrassment of riches. Plenty of other factors in its decline, injury, emigration, more to life, its no longer the end all and be all. I'm also old enough to remember games between the 80s and 90s. There was a lot of dross then too. Plenty of battles, do or die stuff. Also, a lot less sanitised then that it is now.

And you can stick your Morton's, golden chip is the spot!

[paddyjohn]

Cushendall never out of second gear even with the 5/6 players they were missing. Oisins just didn't have enough up front.

Poor conditions didn't help.

Also, Brannigans is the place to go.