AMONGST the huge weekend for the county panel the Antrim County Hurling Leagues returned to action in all four divisions with the third fixture weekend taking place across all stretches of the county.
Some huge results took place in the top flight with Rossa returning to winning ways following their narrow defeat to Loughgiel in North Antrim the previous weekend. The Johnnies finally got their campaign underway with a victory following two defeats in a row leaving them at the foot of the table, but a much-needed away victory over St Enda's could be the point where they kick start their season.
Elsewhere across the lower tiers St Galls continued their promotion march as they fired seven goals at Milltown in an impressive victory over Bredagh, meanwhile Lámh Dhearg and Gort na Móna enjoyed key victories in Division Three last weekend.
ACHL DIVISION ONE ROUND-UP
Loughgiel Shamrocks 0-20
Ballycastle 1-19
The North Antrim hurling stronghold played host to a cracking derby on Sunday afternoon as the away side made it three wins from three and sit second in the early stages of the Division One campaign.
The return of Niall McKenna helped Ballycastle continue their form and the late heroics helped the men snatch the victory late on over their nearest and dearest.
While the Shamrocks found their range early with points from play from Ronan Fitzgerald, Rian McMullan, and Declan McCloskey, they were guilty of squandering numerous easy opportunities from both frees and open play, which allowed their opposite numbers to find solace and respond in the second half.
McKenna returned after a long spell on the sidelines and made an instant impact, driving a terrific point between the sticks to edge Ballycastle back in front late in the game and Seamus McAuley struck a second white flag in added time to clinch the victory.
Ballygalget 1-14
Dunloy 3-17
The long trip to County Down was very much worthwhile for Cuchullain's, as they managed to overcome Ballygalget with change to spare on Sunday evening, as they continue their pursuit to regain the silverware in Antrim hurling this season.
Antrim U20's star, Oisin McCallin, played a pivotal role for Dunloy as the forward returned to club action and found his shooting range early on, and accompanied by Ciaran Elliot the pair shared three goals between them in the Mourne County with Elliot's first goal giving Dunloy some daylight in the first half.
The home side opened the scoring in the second half but a trio of points from Tom McFerran, Nigel Elliott and McCallin helped stretch Dunloy’s lead further. Mark Fisher gave his side hope of a comeback but they were soon squashed by points from Eoin and Tom McFerran.
Dunloy managed to avoid a late comeback from Ballygalget, despite the reappearance of Shea Pucci fresh from Down's victory over Antrim the day prior, and the North Antrim men continued onto victory – stretching their lead at the top of the table.
Portaferry 2-12
Cushendall 3-16
The Glensmen made the trek to Down county champions, Portaferry, on Sunday afternoon where they ran out seven point victors to maintain their winning streak, which extends to two after Sunday's result.
The dynamic duo of Thomas McLaughlin and Neil McManus played a huge role for the maroon men who found the net on three occasions with Bradley finding his shooting touch from the dead ball spot – seeing white flags raised on almost every attempt.
Portaferry showed spirit in this battle, pegging Cushendall back to within a few scores as the final whistle approached, although late scores from the away side and a third goal for the Dall, courtesy of McLaughlin, made sure to keep the hosts at arms length as they clinched the win.
Ballycastle claimed the spoils in the North Antrim derby
St Enda's 1-13
St John's 1-23
A rematch of last season's Championship opener, this time the result went in favour of the Championship holders, St John's, as they cruised to a ten-point victory in Glengormley on Sunday afternoon.
St John's were aided by the return of Shea Shannon and Oisin MacManus with both forwards having their say at Hightown with scores from play becoming a huge part in their game on Sunday.
The Johnnies were winless after a single-point defeat to Ballycastle followed their opening day crushing loss at the home of Glenariff, but Sunday's win could prove pivotal if they are to re-discover the form which brought the Volunteer Cup back to Corrigan Park last summer.
St Enda's will take some positives from their performance, and will find relief knowing they can bolster their squad when Niall O'Connor and Ruairi Donaghy return to the fold in the post-inter county season.
Rossa 0-19
Glenariff Oisin's 0-16
Rossa found their form once more on Sunday afternoon when they overcame a strong performance from new boys Glenariff who hoped to take a second skelp from West Belfast following their resounding victory in their opener against St John's.
Fortunately, the hosts made sure they would not succumb to the same fate as their local rivals and managed a strong first-half performance and accompanied that with a controlled second-half.
Rossa opened the scoring through Eoghan McMenamin, but Glenariff quickly demonstrated they were more than up for the challenge with Alex O’Boyle who was in scintillating form early on, levelling the game from play before showcasing his dead-ball prowess with a free and a beautifully struck sideline cut.
The strong defensive display from the Jeremiah's did not deter them and their resilience paid off with Deaglan Murphy prominently scoring several scores. Liam McEnhill stepped up in the latter stages and thumped a great score to re-establish a three point advantage and see out the victory and earn their second win of the season.
ACHL DIVISION TWO
Glenarm 1-14 v 0-19 Ballycran
St Paul's 4-20 v 0-18 Loughgiel Shamrocks
Tir na nOg 0-21 v 3-18 Carey Faughs
Creggan Kickhams 0-17 v 0-13 Ballycastle II
Carryduff 3-26 v 2-12 Clooney Gaels
Cloughmills 2-10 v 1-20 Cushendun
St Galls 7-17 v 2-27 Bredagh
ACHL Division Three Results
Glen Rovers 1-15 v 2-16 Gort na Mona
Sarsfields 1-21 v 2-15 Dunloy II
Rasharkin 2-17 v 0-19 Glenravel
Davitt's 1-5 v Lamh Dhearg 9-19
St Brigid's 2-17 v 3-20 Cushendall II
ACHL Division Four Results
Belfast Saints 3-21 v 2-26 Loch Mor Gaels
Latharna Og 2-17 v 1-15 Rossa II
Ardoyne Kickhams 5-17 v 0-11 Glenarm II
Ballymena 0-14 v 1-7 St Galls II
