Down Intermediate Hurling Championship Final
Liatroim 0-24 Carryduff 2-15
LIATROIM took the win on Saturday night against a determined and battle-ready Carryduff in the 2022 Down GAA Intermediate Hurling Championship final with three points to spare in a very close and tense game.
The match opened how it would remain for the entirely of the game, a tight, tense and closely fought match with both sides throwing themselves into the game with all they could manage.
Carryduff’s Michael Conway got the South Belfast men their first point, closely followed by two points from Liatroim, one from PJ Davidson and another from captain Pearse Óg McCrickard, who would go on to dominate the game, and win man-of-the-match, scoring a total of 17 points throughout the match.
Carryduff next hit back to take the lead, with two frees scored by Michael Conway, and an amazing run up the wing, zooming past the defence and shooting in a brilliant point from Conor McCormick.
Liatroim soon hit back, with a brilliant shot from the halfway line which saw the sliotar fly between the posts from point man Pearse Óg McCrickard.
Points came again, tit-for-tat with both teams going on the offensive, Michael Conway taking a point, only for it to be followed Pearse Óg McCrickard getting Liatroim one from a free. The scoreline at ten minutes was sitting at five points each.
At 11 minutes, Carryduff man Eoin Rooney scored a brilliant goal, followed by a free from Gareth Lynch, which saw Carryduff’s lead jump to four points.
Carryduff's Ronan Beatty gets away from Liatroim's Ruairi McCrickard
On a one-man mission to sow terror into the North Down ranks, Pearse Óg McCrickard struck back, scoring three frees in three minutes, putting Carryduff’s lead down to a single point.
Liatroim picked up their first yellow card of the match at 18 minutes due to unsportsmanlike behaviour, with Jarlath McAleenan fined for repeatedly pushing Carryduff’s Donal Óg Rooney.
The 21st minute saw Carryduff attempt to put some distance between the scorelines, when Gareth Lynch scored a fantastic point, evading Liatroim’s defence, but again Pearse Óg McCrickard was hot on their heels, scoring a point and a free in two minutes to even the scoreline with Liatroim on 0-10 and Carryduff on 1-7.
Carryduff soon hit back to pull ahead, with a great point and a free from Gareth Lynch to put them two points in the clear. It wasn’t to last, however.
Liatroim’s Oisin Duggan scored a point, the run up to which saw Carryduff’s Conor McAllister go down in a tackle. Pearse Óg McCrickard came in again two minutes later, with Conor McCrickard following with another point for Liatroim at 30 minutes in.
Four extra minutes were added to the first half, during which Carryduff’s Michael Conway picked up another point, and Pearse Óg McCrickard got another point from a free.
At the beginning of the second half, Liatroim were leading by a mere point, as both teams went into overdrive to try and get the advantage.
The opening point of the second half went to Pearse Óg McCrickard, but at 37 minutes, Carryduff came in and stole the lead from under them, with Eoin Rooney scoring another goal, just getting the sliotar over the line to earn him his second goal of the day and putting the North Down men into the lead by a single point.
Gareth Lynch helped extend this lead by another point, scoring a free putting the scoreline at 2-11 to 0-15.
Pearse Óg McCrickard soon struck back for Liatroim, getting a free from the halfway line, with Liatroim making their first sub at 44 minutes with Ronan McCrickard coming off for Cormac Lynch. Carryduff made a substitution as well with Sean O’Callaghan coming off and Adrian Downey coming on.
The same minute of the substitutions Liatroim for another point to even the scoreline when Conor McCrickard took a brilliant shot to net a point, putting the scoreline at 2-11 to 0-17.
Heading into the last 15 minutes, Liatroim consolidated their lead, with two points coming from Pearse Óg McCrickard again, and one from PJ Davidson.
Carryduff's Sean OCallaghan drives over a great point
With 10 minutes to go, Liatroim made another substitution with William McCartan coming off for Matthew Leneghan, and Carryduff got closer again when substitute Ciaran O’Callaghan scored a point within a minute of coming on, having replaced Peter Loughran.
Pearse Óg McCrickard got the South Down men another free with six minutes of the half remaining, by Carryduff next launched a counterattack, aggressively using two frees they were awarded to even the scoreline, both being scored by Gareth Lynch.
With four minutes of the half remaining, before the six minutes of added time, things were extremely tense in Páirc Esler, as both sets of fans sat on the edges of their seats.
At this point it seemed like Carryduff were feeling the heat, and gave away several frees, two scored by Pearse Óg McCrickard and one by Ruairi McCrickard. Into the first minute of added time, Pearse Óg McCrickard earned another point from a free, putting the South Down men on 0-23 to Carryduff’s 2-14.
With a handful of minutes left, two more substitutions were made, with Darragh Goodwin coming off for Oran Teague for Carryduff and Jarlath McAleenan coming off for Brendan McKee.
In the final minute, Carryduff hit back, but it wasn’t enough to withstand what they’d lost by handing frees to Pearse Óg McCrickard. Liatroim’s final point was awarded to PJ Davidson, which was followed by a point from Carryduff’s Michael Conway, putting the final scoreline at Liatroim 0-24 to Carryduff 2-15.
Liatroim Fontenoys - 2022 Intermediate Hurling Champions 🏆 pic.twitter.com/0R4l7ky5Rv
— Official Down GAA (@OfficialDownGAA) October 8, 2022
Speaking after the match, Damian McCallin, Manager of Carryduff said: “I’m devastated. I can’t really formulate it. We didn’t plan for this situation, it’s one of those things you don’t plan for. I’m gutted. Performance wise Liatroim were very good, but it’s a sad day for us at the moment.”
Liatroim captain Pearse Óg McCrickard praised Carryduff for the match, and said they were on top form, giving Liatroim a brilliant battle. After thanking fans, organisers and officials, he dedicated the victory to former Down chairman Charlie Keown, who was himself a Liatroim man, saying: “It’s quite fitting that the Charlie Keown Cup should be won by Liatroim today, and although he is no longer with us in person, he was with us in spirit, and Charlie, we’ll be taking this cup to your graveside on the way home.”
LIATROIM: M McCartan, R O’Hare, Ruairi McCrickard (0-1), W McCartan, Ronan McCrickard, O Duggan (0-1), P J McComiskey, P J Davidson (0-4), T Murphy, S Duggan, P Davidson, P O McCrickard (0-17), C McCrickard (0-2), E McCrickard, J McAleenan
Subs: C Lynch for Ronan McCrickard (44 mins), M Leneghan for W McCartan (49 mins) B McKey for J McAleenan (63 mins)
CARRYDUFF: C McLornan, J Woods, C Cassidy, C Goodwin, C O’Neill, C McAllister, C McCormick (0-1), D O Rooney, M Conway (0-6), P Loughran, R Beatty, D Goodwin, G Lynch (0-7), S O’Callaghan, E Rooney (2-0)
Subs: S O’Callaghan for A Downey (44 mins), P Loughran for C O’Callaghan (0-1) (53 mins), D Goodwin for O Teague (62 mins)
REFEREE: Francis Caldwell (Ballycran)
