Antrim Hurling

[anailís]

Aye Max, you're right, hopefully the divisional teams will be able to build on this in the incoming years. The South Antrim select definitely have potential but were let down by a lack of technical skill, ie clean striking the ball. They certainly had as much of the ball as Cushendall at times, but were unable to press their advantage at times with many dropped short shots on goal and wides. Cushendall were rarely troubled but might have been if they hadn't found the net at crucial times after some poor defending. Big Gangles McKenna in nets' poc outs were drastically short and erratic, this caused the select boys a lot of problems from the off, although their half back line did fairly well. Kieran McGourty was my pick of the South Antrim men, with a great performance only slightly marred by his lack of length/clean striking on his clearances. One other very noticeable thing was the lack of intensity in the challenge from most of the county boys involved on the select team. I can think of one occasion in the second half where neal mcmanus was kind of going off the station over a sideline ball, tramping and pushing killer or one of the half backs. If it had been against a north antrim club team, mcmanus would have got a slap for what he was doing, whereas Kieran McGourty went over and told Neal to calm down. You wouldnt get that in every game, so i guess it shows how well these boys get on when away with the county, a lot of mutual respect there.

Barry McFall got a straight red Max, for hitting Odhran McFadden with the heel of the stick near the end of the 2nd half. It was an identical challenge to Winker's, straight in front of the referee, retaliating for something minor, a push/or something said. The Johnnies keeper (not sure of his name) got the line for two yellows, both appeared to be for dissent, as Garret Duffy consulted the umpires on both occasions, nothing had occurred that i could see, and the play wasnt even in that area for the second one. He must have been mouthing off.
Winker had started well, caught a lovely ball and stuck it over the bar. He had started in corner forward but hadnt seen any ball, so was moved out to right half and immediately had an impact on the game. He caught a second ball and was fouled. Then he caught a third ball, soloed through the Johnnies defence where Paddy Nugent met him with a good shoulder, upending him. Johnnies No. 5 was chasing him and he fell on top of Winker. Winker got up and Johnnies No. 9 came running in full pelt to try to do him, and Winker sidestepped him, Garret Duffy then did him for holding on to the ball too long. Paddy Nugent then came up behind him and sort of pushed him, and/or maybe said something to him, Winker turned around and drove him with the heel of the stick in front of the ref. Ref no option, straight red. Made it very hard for the Loughgiel team after that to settle.

On another note, anyone hear a prominent North Antrim referee might be looking at a 48 week suspension for perjuring himself in a recent Hearing at Casement. I wonder did headquarters know what sort of boy they had representing them during the minor match in Croke yesterday....

[north aontroim gael]

Aye Max, you're right, hopefully the divisional teams will be able to build on this in the incoming years. The South Antrim select definitely have potential but were let down by a lack of technical skill, ie clean striking the ball. They certainly had as much of the ball as Cushendall at times, but were unable to press their advantage at times with many dropped short shots on goal and wides. Cushendall were rarely troubled but might have been if they hadn't found the net at crucial times after some poor defending. Big Gangles McKenna in nets' poc outs were drastically short and erratic, this caused the select boys a lot of problems from the off, although their half back line did fairly well. Kieran McGourty was my pick of the South Antrim men, with a great performance only slightly marred by his lack of length/clean striking on his clearances. One other very noticeable thing was the lack of intensity in the challenge from most of the county boys involved on the select team. I can think of one occasion in the second half where neal mcmanus was kind of going off the station over a sideline ball, tramping and pushing killer or one of the half backs. If it had been against a north antrim club team, mcmanus would have got a slap for what he was doing, whereas Kieran McGourty went over and told Neal to calm down. You wouldnt get that in every game, so i guess it shows how well these boys get on when away with the county, a lot of mutual respect there.

Barry McFall got a straight red Max, for hitting Odhran McFadden with the heel of the stick near the end of the 2nd half. It was an identical challenge to Winker's, straight in front of the referee, retaliating for something minor, a push/or something said. The Johnnies keeper (not sure of his name) got the line for two yellows, both appeared to be for dissent, as Garret Duffy consulted the umpires on both occasions, nothing had occurred that i could see, and the play wasnt even in that area for the second one. He must have been mouthing off.
Winker had started well, caught a lovely ball and stuck it over the bar. He had started in corner forward but hadnt seen any ball, so was moved out to right half and immediately had an impact on the game. He caught a second ball and was fouled. Then he caught a third ball, soloed through the Johnnies defence where Paddy Nugent met him with a good shoulder, upending him. Johnnies No. 5 was chasing him and he fell on top of Winker. Winker got up and Johnnies No. 9 came running in full pelt to try to do him, and Winker sidestepped him, Garret Duffy then did him for holding on to the ball too long. Paddy Nugent then came up behind him and sort of pushed him, and/or maybe said something to him, Winker turned around and drove him with the heel of the stick in front of the ref. Ref no option, straight red. Made it very hard for the Loughgiel team after that to settle.

On another note, anyone hear a prominent North Antrim referee might be looking at a 48 week suspension for perjuring himself in a recent Hearing at Casement. I wonder did headquarters know what sort of boy they had representing them during the minor match in Croke yesterday....

Very accurate account of both games and major incidents.  Loughgiel looked rusty and will get a tough game against Rossa who won't fear anything they seen yesterday.  South Antrim definately look like a team with potential.  The Cushendall game seemed to lack any atmosphere at all for a championship game.

Anyone know when / where the next games are?

With regards the refereeing incident?  Not heard of this care to shed more light?

[anailís]

I'd agree with you about Rossa not being too worried about Loughgiel, was talking to Rossa corner back at the game and he told me they are going well, good numbers at training, got Paul Close back and hope to have Jim Connolly there or there abouts (achilles), either in full forward, or wing half. I think the games are on this weekend, someone thought possibly Casement and a North Antrim venue, although not too sure.

With regards to the referee incident, i had heard from different people from two different clubs yesterday that North Antrim's test case which they brought against Loughgiel's Paul Gillan following the Feis Final was thrown out after a Hearing meeting in Casement on Friday night. There were various reasons why the case was dropped, the main reason i hear was that a prominent referee and member of N Antrim CCC who brought the case, told the Hearing committee that he had contacted the referee for clarification, based on the use of video evidence. The referee was subsequently phoned during the Hearing to check the veracity of this statement, and it turned out to be false, the referee had never been contacted ( which was supposed to have happened as per the official guide). The case got thrown out and then the very next day, the match referee was then contacted by the N Antrim CCC representative (high profile referee) and asked if he would change his story! The Feis referee refused, saying he wouldnt be changing his story for anybody as it was the truth. It would appear that according to the official guide, if someone deliberatley misleads (lies to) a Hearings Committe, it is an automatic 48 week ban with no right to appeal....
That's how the Derry footballer was suspended recently for the jawbreaking incident, not for breaking the jaw, but for getting caught out on a lie. How embarrassing will it be for North Antrim Board, and for refereeing in general if one of their "up and coming" leading lights is about to be banned for a year, after being economical with the truth to put it mildly and then trying to pressurise another referee into changing his story so he himself can avoid justifiable punishment....

[north aontroim gael]

I'd agree with you about Rossa not being too worried about Loughgiel, was talking to Rossa corner back at the game and he told me they are going well, good numbers at training, got Paul Close back and hope to have Jim Connolly there or there abouts (achilles), either in full forward, or wing half. I think the games are on this weekend, someone thought possibly Casement and a North Antrim venue, although not too sure.

With regards to the referee incident, i had heard from different people from two different clubs yesterday that North Antrim's test case which they brought against Loughgiel's Paul Gillan following the Feis Final was thrown out after a Hearing meeting in Casement on Friday night. There were various reasons why the case was dropped, the main reason i hear was that a prominent referee and member of N Antrim CCC who brought the case, told the Hearing committee that he had contacted the referee for clarification, based on the use of video evidence. The referee was subsequently phoned during the Hearing to check the veracity of this statement, and it turned out to be false, the referee had never been contacted ( which was supposed to have happened as per the official guide). The case got thrown out and then the very next day, the match referee was then contacted by the N Antrim CCC representative (high profile referee) and asked if he would change his story! The Feis referee refused, saying he wouldnt be changing his story for anybody as it was the truth. It would appear that according to the official guide, if someone deliberatley misleads (lies to) a Hearings Committe, it is an automatic 48 week ban with no right to appeal....
That's how the Derry footballer was suspended recently for the jawbreaking incident, not for breaking the jaw, but for getting caught out on a lie. How embarrassing will it be for North Antrim Board, and for refereeing in general if one of their "up and coming" leading lights is about to be banned for a year, after being economical with the truth to put it mildly and then trying to pressurise another referee into changing his story so he himself can avoid justifiable punishment....

Hard to assess Loughgiels performance as they played majority of the game with 14 men.  I know St Johns later had 2 men sent off but I think the game was put to bed by the time they were dismissed.  Had St Johns a little more discipline in the tackle they could of really pushed Loughgiel.  They gave away 4/5 easy frees when the game was in the balance as well as missing a lot of chances. Colm Mc Fall took some great scores for them though.

I feel Ballycastle could give Dunloy real problems and should not be written of, they have a strong county contingent and have heard they are putting in a lot of effort.

Hadn't heard about this, makes for interesting reading. So Paul Gillan was suspended using video evidence which had apparently been given the OK by the referee on the day when in fact he had given no such authority....is that right?  Looks like someone has been caught out badly telling porkies!

[anailís]

yes gael, more or less right. They didn't consult with the referee, just decided to have a video investigation into the match without talking to him. Dangerous precedent to start, after all what's to stop any club official from wanting an investigation launched when it suits them. The other thing was, i was at the feis final and have to say the incident concerned was no more vicious or dangerous than any two minutes before the throw-in in any munster or leinster championship match. Pushing/shoving use of the heel of the stick, not excusing it, but i didnt see or hear of anyone hurt as a result of any of the challenges in that game. Seem to remember a few players on the ground after that, but they were back up and played out the rest of the game. I think some person or persons in North Antrim might have gotten a bit over-zealous in their decision and it has now back-fired. Also could it be possible that a shadowy figure prepared the snowballs so that our referee friend could fire them? If so, the referee in question is now up the creek so to speak, while the brains of the operation sits back watching one of his lieutenants take the fall.

[north aontroim gael]

Well if that was the case then it would of opened a serious can of worms as most teams now use video analysis and if this case had of stuck then we could of been looking at incidents every week.

Be interesting to see what comes out of it if the rumours are true.  This is the first I had heard of it although I was aware Paul Gillans suspension was lifted.  I was at the game myself and the scuffle which took place seemed to be handbags for Lavertys sending but i'm not sure which particular incident Gillan was suspended for.  Wasn't really a dirty game.

If it was the case that he was acting on someone else's behalf then im sure theres a few boys sweating to see if he takes it on the chin or takes a few with him!  Im sure Loughgiel officials aren't very impressed and rightly so

[theskull1]

Well if that was the case then it would of opened a serious can of worms as most teams now use video analysis and if this case had of stuck then we could of been looking at incidents every week.

Be interesting to see what comes out of it if the rumours are true.  This is the first I had heard of it although I was aware Paul Gillans suspension was lifted.  I was at the game myself and the scuffle which took place seemed to be handbags for Lavertys sending but i'm not sure which particular incident Gillan was suspended for.  Wasn't really a dirty game.

If it was the case that he was acting on someone else's behalf then im sure theres a few boys sweating to see if he takes it on the chin or takes a few with him!  Im sure Loughgiel officials aren't very impressed and rightly so

Theres a vast difference in two players niggling at each other shoulder to shoulder with minimal movement of the stick (if you get what I mean ) and  I have no real problem with that but one player running towards another player and driving the stick into his mindrift with full intent and force . Skinners sending off was warranted and was in full glare of the referee who was 10 yards away looking straight at him.

[Nemo]

Theres a vast difference in two players niggling at each other shoulder to shoulder with minimal movement of the stick (if you get what I mean ) and  I have no real problem with that but one player running towards another player and driving the stick into his mindrift with full intent and force . Skinners sending off was warranted and was in full glare of the referee who was 10 yards away looking straight at him.

i have to agree with you skull, it can be clearly seen on the video. i wasnt at the match but only saw it recently via the Good auld world wide web, and imo both players should have been sent off / suspended. 

are you saying gael, if he had of broken the other players ribs, only then he should have been sent off.

[anailís]

I agree with you to an extent skull, which is why he was sent off, and why he served 4 weeks. But i can think of James McKeague hitting Ding with the heel of the stick in the midriff off the ball in the leadup to that incident, and then hitting skinner in the back with the heel of the stick, directly after that incident, and i can also think of cathair cunning hitting ding with the heel of the stick in the back also in that incident, and also since we're at it, Rab being the third man in, and pulling Skinner by the helmet, swinging him around by the faceguard so violently he actually pulled the plastic lug off the helmet! If we're going to look at an incident, let's look at it all, and not be too selective.
I think Skinner deserved to go, but i can't see how they could pick only one Loughgiel man out of that incident and not see any other infringements. It obviously went to the County Hearings Committe, they watched it and came to the same conclusion as most who were at that match, ie that it wasn't that serious an incident, and didn't bear further investigation.

[Nemo]

I agree with you to an extent skull, which is why he was sent off, and why he served 4 weeks. But i can think of James McKeague hitting Ding with the heel of the stick in the midriff off the ball in the leadup to that incident, and then hitting skinner in the back with the heel of the stick, directly after that incident, and i can also think of cathair cunning hitting ding with the heel of the stick in the back also in that incident, and also since we're at it, Rab being the third man in, and pulling Skinner by the helmet, swinging him around by the faceguard so violently he actually pulled the plastic lug off the helmet! If we're going to look at an incident, let's look at it all, and not be too selective.
I think Skinner deserved to go, but i can't see how they could pick only one Loughgiel man out of that incident and not see any other infringements. It obviously went to the County Hearings Committe, they watched it and came to the same conclusion as most who were at that match, ie that it wasn't that serious an incident, and didn't bear further investigation.

      - i must have watched a different video.    

[anailís]

Yes Nemo, sounds like You were watching the video North Antrim tried to suspend Ding with too. Let me suggest you keep an eye out for the video taken from the same side of the pitch as the incident, taken by Glenarm club. Much more accurate, rather than Jamie Quinn's from the far side of the field, which i believe is the one which North Antrim used as evidence.

[north aontroim gael]

Well if that was the case then it would of opened a serious can of worms as most teams now use video analysis and if this case had of stuck then we could of been looking at incidents every week.

Be interesting to see what comes out of it if the rumours are true.  This is the first I had heard of it although I was aware Paul Gillans suspension was lifted.  I was at the game myself and the scuffle which took place seemed to be handbags for Lavertys sending but i'm not sure which particular incident Gillan was suspended for.  Wasn't really a dirty game.

If it was the case that he was acting on someone else's behalf then im sure theres a few boys sweating to see if he takes it on the chin or takes a few with him!  Im sure Loughgiel officials aren't very impressed and rightly so

Theres a vast difference in two players niggling at each other shoulder to shoulder with minimal movement of the stick (if you get what I mean ) and  I have no real problem with that but one player running towards another player and driving the stick into his mindrift with full intent and force . Skinners sending off was warranted and was in full glare of the referee who was 10 yards away looking straight at him.

My post maybe wasn't the clearest there. Agree Laverty should of been sent of but think if you send Gillan of for what he done then there would of been a further 3 Dunloy and couple more Loughgiel dismissals if video to be used from now on.  Wouldnt even of been mentioned had it happened in Munster.

[Nemo]

Yes Nemo, sounds like You were watching the video North Antrim tried to suspend Ding with too. Let me suggest you keep an eye out for the video taken from the same side of the pitch as the incident, taken by Glenarm club. Much more accurate, rather than Jamie Quinn's from the far side of the field, which i believe is the one which North Antrim used as evidence.

nope, i think its the glenarm one i watched, havent seen the north antrim one, whichever one is on the web and it doesnt sound much like you described

[Nemo]

Well if that was the case then it would of opened a serious can of worms as most teams now use video analysis and if this case had of stuck then we could of been looking at incidents every week.

Be interesting to see what comes out of it if the rumours are true.  This is the first I had heard of it although I was aware Paul Gillans suspension was lifted.  I was at the game myself and the scuffle which took place seemed to be handbags for Lavertys sending but i'm not sure which particular incident Gillan was suspended for.  Wasn't really a dirty game.

If it was the case that he was acting on someone else's behalf then im sure theres a few boys sweating to see if he takes it on the chin or takes a few with him!  Im sure Loughgiel officials aren't very impressed and rightly so

Theres a vast difference in two players niggling at each other shoulder to shoulder with minimal movement of the stick (if you get what I mean ) and  I have no real problem with that but one player running towards another player and driving the stick into his mindrift with full intent and force . Skinners sending off was warranted and was in full glare of the referee who was 10 yards away looking straight at him.

My post maybe wasn't the clearest there. Agree Laverty should of been sent of but think if you send Gillan of for what he done then there would of been a further 3 Dunloy and couple more Loughgiel dismissals if video to be used from now on.  Wouldnt even of been mentioned had it happened in Munster.

didnt they do the same thing   

anyway, i will stay out of it as i can see the rose tinted glasses are on both of yous. also it has little to do with me or less do i care to be honest.

[north aontroim gael]

Where is this web video? Do you have a link?

I'm still trying to go by memory which may have been hampered by the shandies I had after the game!!