‘We have the forwards now that can take the scores’: Cushendall edge out Loughgiel to reach Antrim hurling final

Share current article via FacebookShare current article via PinterestShare current article via TwitterShare current article via LinkedInlead-art-block.fullscreen-enterExpandCushendall’s Ed McQuillan (right) tries to get past Loughgiel midfielder Ryan McKee in the Bathshack Antrim SHC semi-final Ballycastle. Picture: Seamus Loughran By Kenny ArcherOctober 11, 2026 at 4:30pm BSTCHANGED times, with a sunny, almost windless mid-October day in Ballycastle – but otherwise Antrim club hurling has returned to familiar ways.

The Volunteer Cup went to Belfast for the first time in 21 years last season, when St John’s stunned the Shamrocks, but it’s heading back to north Antrim.

A win for Loughgiel wouldn’t have shaken up the order again, obviously, but Cushendall and Dunloy have been the big dogs for almost all the past decade, and they’ll meet again in a fifth final in 10 seasons.

Last year was the first decider without both since 2004 and although there was the novelty of Glenariffe getting to the last four by shocking the Johnnies, the Cuchullains ruthlessly crushed the Oisin’s dreams on Saturday evening.

This was always going to be a much tighter tussle, and so it proved – yet the Ruairi Ogs held a slight edge almost throughout.

Loughgiel only led twice, in a tense, scrappy opening 10 minutes, and the match was level on just three occasions overall.

The old adage that ‘goals win matches’ was endorsed once more and those major scores, from Joseph McLaughlin and substitute Fiontan Bradley, marked fairly significant swings.

Loughgiel came close to finding the net in the 12th minute, with James McNaughton and Jack McCloskey having efforts on goals saved by Conor McAlister.

Cushendall swiftly sent the sliotar up the other end and although McLaughlin’s initial shot was blocked, he followed up to beat Cormac McFadden.

A six-point swing, a score which put Cushendall into to lead, never to go behind again, as hard as the Shamrocks tried, and they gave it their all.

However, after they’d dragged themselves level for that third time, with a superb score on the spin by Rian McMullan, Cushendall hit them again with their second goal the very next minute.

Callagh Mooney won possession and supplied substitute Bradley on the right. Only on the pitch, he took the bouncing ball on the run and squeezed a shot past full-back Enda Og McGarry and through the goalkeeper’s attempted save.

Ten different men scored for Loughgiel, McMullan top-scoring with 0-5, all in a stellar second half from him, but it still wasn’t enough.

Cushendall had half as many scorers, but boss Brian Delargy was very happy with their greater return, notably 1-8 from Joseph McLaughlin and 0-5 by the evergreen Neil McManus.

“It’s always nice whenever you come under pressure, and then we have the forwards – we know when the backs are under pressure, or across the field, get the ball into the forwards, and we’ll get a goal to pull us out of the hole.

“Maybe we could have got a few more goals, and some of the wides we need to tidy up for the next day, it might not have been as jittery at the end there – but we have the forwards now that can take the scores.”

The shooting from both sides was sloppy, with a dozen off target from the victors and nine from the losers, although Delargy made the point that the structure holding up the stop-netting made the posts hard to pick out.

Be that as it may, and whether the decider is back in Ballycastle or at Corrigan Park, the Ruairi Ogs will still have to set their sights better in order to see off Dunloy.

They edged past them two years ago, but the Cuchullains had come out on top in the previous six final clashes in this century and will be favoured to regain the trophy.

While Delargy will order extra shooting practice for his players, he was pleased with his side’s defensive display, notably the clean sheet, after shipping four goals in a hard-fought quarter-final victory over Ballycastle:

“You’re setting yourself up not to give away goals, that is one of the major things. To be fair, we leave our full-back line there to do their job, and then we’ve just got to get back and help them. Today we were dropping a line every single time, and it worked out perfect.”

Certainly the efforts of both their midfielders helped in that regard, with Thomas McLaughlin also dropping deeper.

In addition, Scott Walsh stuck closely to Shamrocks dangerman James McNaughton, restricting him to only two points from play in his tally of 0-4.

Loughgiel’s best chance of a goal came to sub Darragh Patterson in the 56th minute but his shot was weak and straight at the goalkeeper.

They never gave up, of course, with defenders Enda Og McGarry and Liam Glackin firing over long range points during five minutes of added time, the latter back on the pitch after treatment for a head wound.

The Shamrocks management threw on substitutes, including two in those closing moments, but Cushendall held on to set up that finale against familiar foes Dunloy.

Delargy couldn’t turn his thought to that, delighted merely to be back in the decider, concluding:

“Here, any semi-final you go into is hard-fought, but then a semi-final against Lochield, you’re going to have to earn it.

“We knew it was going to be a serious battle, but we stood up to it today… We kept at it, we kept plugging away, and I think we deserved the win, to be honest.”

Cushendall: C McAllister; C McCann, M Burke, F McCurry; S Walsh, A Birt, C McAuley; E Campbell, C Mooney; T McLaughlin 0-1, E McQuillan 0-2, R McCambridge; F McCambridge, N McManus (0-5, 0-2f), J McLaughlin 1-8 (0-4f).

Substitutes: F Bradley 1-0 for Campbell (47); S McAfee for R McCambridge (54).

Loughgiel: C McFadden; R McCloskey, E Og McGarry 0-1, L Glackin 0-1; R McCormick 0-1, Declan McCloskey, B McGarry 0-1; R McKee, J McNaughton 0-4 (0-1 ‘65’, 0-1f); R McMullan 0-5, R Fitzgerald, R McGarry 0-3 (0-2f); S McGrath 0-2, P Boyle 0-1, J McCloskey 0-1.

Substitutes: C McGarry for J McCloskey (45); T McGarry for Fitzgerald (49); D Patterson for McGrath (52); P Patterson for McKee (62); E McGarry for R McGarry (62).