Antrim Hurling Club Division 1A

ST JOHN’S 2-21

ROSSA 3-19

WEDNESDAY evening saw a battle of Belfast when St John’s welcomed Rossa to Corrigan Park as the top two in Antrim’s top-flight went head-to-head in a potential title decider.

A win for either side would prove pivotal: Rossa hoped to end a run of two back-to-back losses knowing a victory against their opponents would see them leapfrog into first spot.

The Johnnies were also winless in two, with a last-gasp James McNaughton goal breaking hearts of the Corrigan Park faithful a fortnight ago. The home-side looked to extend their lead at the top to two points with four clubs hot on their heels as the final two fixture weeks got underway this week.

The tie had a truly fantastic feel to it, a real championship affair one might say given the jeopardy involved.

Rossa started the better in the opening period. Scores from Dáire Murphy and Michael Dudley opened the away side's account before Conor Johnston replied for St John’s from 30-yards.

Danann McKeogh and Donal Carson added efforts to their side's tally, gifting Rossa a three score lead over the hosts.

It didn’t take long before the clubs mutual respect was abandoned after Ryan McNulty was fouled after a collision in the midfield, stalling the frantic opening.

Óisin McManus would prove pivotal in regaining the momentum for the home side as the forward knocked three scores, two of which came from set-pieces.

McManus scored a terrific point not long after when the forward was cute with a short free and a one-two with McKeogh duped the Rossa back-line into allowing him space to point from far-out wide.

Rossa did stall the deficit courtesy of Deaglan Murphy, but McManus was sharpshooting as he pleased when granted frees from range.

On the 14th minute, St John’s half-forward, Aaron Bradley launched an effort which looked certain to drop short of the posts. The Rossa net-minder, Donal Armstrong, lost focus of the ball for a split-second and before he knew it the sliotar had trickled into the back of his net giving the home-side the advantage.

The Johnnies increased their lead to three thanks to Donal Carson and McManus once again saw white flags raised.

With five minutes remaining in the first half Rossa found themselves right back in the contest as they refused to be separated from their opposition.

A long free was looped into the box causing confusion for the St John’s defence. Deaglan Murphy was on hand for Rossa as he struck a loose ball on the deck finding the net amongst the bodies.

Both sides exchanged scores as the half ended, with a brace of points from Danann McKeogh giving the home-side the edge at the break.

The score-line read St John’s 1-11 Rossa 1-09 at the half after a great opening period from both sides.

The second half was almost a carbon copy of the first with both sides going hell for leather.

A brace from the McEnhill brothers, Liam and Dominic, reduced the score-line for the away side, but McManus was on hand again for the Johnnies as his free taking ability proved flawless in the game.

An early clash in the second half saw Michael Dudley and Declan McCartney coming together close to the byline. With both men lucky to escape without a cautioning from referee Mark O’Neill.

CLASH: Battle of Belfast between Antrim's top two
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CLASH: Battle of Belfast between Antrim's top two

The scores were levelled once again after Dáire Murphy pointed for Rossa with the scores at 15-apiece early in the second period.

Aaron Bradley struck a fantastic effort after a brilliant swivel move to beat the away side’s midfield and his point restored the Johnnies lead.

Tempers flared on the 41st minute when Deaglan Murphy appeared to stand on Michael Dudley with the already heated affair being set alight with another flash point.

Shea Shannon took over set-piece duties for the Johnnies scoring from the resulting free, but Deaglan Murphy replied with the same scoring attempt for Rossa,

The sides went tit-for-tat thanks to scores from Conor Johnston and Ryan McNulty for the home-side, with Tiarnan and Deaghlan Murphy both replying for the Shaws Road outfit.

Heading into the final moments of the fierce contest, Rossa took the upper hand thanks to Eoin Trainor’s goal with eight minutes remaining on the clock.

The Rossa forward managed to find space inside the 13-yard line with his initial effort hampered by a hook from Jack Bohill, but the sliotar bounced on the turf allowing Trainor a second bite at the cherry, making no mistake this time as he rattled the net sending the away fans into pandemonium as Rossa took the lead.

Conor O’Neill kept the momentum for Rossa extending their lead, as the substitute fired an effort over, resulting in white flags being raised by the umpire.

Shea Shannon did manage to reduce the scoreline to the minimum, but Rossa looked to seal their victory on the final minute of normal time when they buried a third goal courtesy of Tiarnan Murphy.

The away side caught the Johnnies hot on their heels, and after winning the possession back in the middle of the park Dominic McEnhill’s rampaging run saw the out-of-sorts St John’s backline short on numbers. Murphy found space and McEnhill’s short pass to his team-mate allowed him to thump his effort beyond Domhnaill Nugent in the St John’s goal, extending the deficit to five with little time remaining.

Rossa looked home and dry when Deaghlan Murphy struck a point from the dead-ball moments later, but the Johnnies were determined to keep going right to the death.

Michael Bradley pointed to reduce the score to four points, before a long free was dropped short by Shannon and after a frantic scramble to clear their lines Ruairi Galbraith found space and Dudley’s pass to the forward saw him through one on one where he hammered in his goal.

Much to the disgruntlement and boos of the Corrigan Park faithful, the referee called it a day blowing his whistle. Rossa survived a late wobble, holding on to clinch the slim victory thanks to a superb second-half performance sending them top of the table with two games remaining this season.

ST JOHN'S: D Nugent, R Donelly, J Bohill, D McGuinness, C Morgan, R McNulty 0-1, E McGurk, M Dudley, C Hanna, C Johnston 0-2, A Bradley 1-1, D Carson, S Wilson, D McKeogh 0-4, S Shannon 0-5 (0-4F) , O McManus 0-7 (0-7F)

SUBS: M Bradley 0-1, R Galbraith 1-0

ROSSA: D Armstrong, O McVicker, J Mulholland, N Crossan, D McCartney, A O'Brien, S Shannon, C Walsh 0-1, D Murphy 1-7 (0-6F), D Murphy 0-3, D McEnhill 0-1, L McEnhill 0-1, E Trainor 1-2, J Connolly 0-1, T Murphy 1-2

SUBS: D Rocks, D Moriarty, C O’Neill 0-1