THE weekend saw the return of the topflight in Antrim’s club football scene and it did not disappoint after an opening round filled to the brim with jam-packed action and drama amongst the return of some famous rivalries to the division.
Belfast clubs enjoyed their share of the spoils as St Gall’s, Lámh Dhearg, Rossa, St Paul’s and St Brigid’s all enjoyed major victories in their opening fixtures.
Meanwhile St John’s got the season underway as they travelled to Portglenone on Wednesday evening.
A minute’s silence was held prior to the games on Sunday afternoon in memory of Gort na Móna’s Danny O’Neill, whose passing has been deeply felt across the GAA community.
Lamh Dhearg edged out Glenravel in their opening fixture
ACFL DIVISION ONE – ROUND ONE RESULTS
Portglenone 2-17
Naomh Eoin (St John’s) 1-8
The Johnnies returned to club action with an unfortunate thumping on the road to Portglenone with Casement’s storming to a convincing victory back on home soil on Wednesday evening.
Despite some positive signs for a St John’s side who still remained without some of their county stars and dual players, the hosts proved far too strong in the end and ran out an impressive opening day victory in South Antrim.
Lámh Dhearg 1-12
Con Magees (Glenravel) 0-14
The Hannahstown men were made to work hard for the victory in their clash with Glenravel on Sunday afternoon as they edged out the visitors by a single score at full-time.
Despite the victory it took a strong second-half comeback from the hosts to overcome their opponents after Aidan O’Donnell starred for the away side in the opening half with a couple of two-pointers helping separate the sides with a five-score lead at the interval in favour of Glenravel.
The Lámh’s feared the worst when Declan McQuillan extended the lead for Con Magees inside a minute of the restart, but when Conor Murray’s brilliant solo run allowed him to find space and then burst the net the tie began to twist in favour of the West Belfast side.
Mark Finnegan’s late score saw the hosts in front by a goal margin, but despite late tallies from Aidan O’Donnell to reduce the score to within one, Lámh Dhearg prevailed with the game.
Dunloy 1-10
St Brigid’s 4-9
A repeat of last season’s Championship semi-final clash saw St Brigid’s run out victors over the Antrim champions as their eye for goal proved to be the major difference on Sunday afternoon.
Despite Dunloy opening their goal account inside the early stages from the spot, the Biddies managed to kick on as Dara Quinn and Paul Bradley starred for the South Belfast club.
Both sides managed to edge each other out from the point-scoring perspective, but when St Brigid’s found their goal touch through Sean Bradley there was only going to be one winner in the end.
A fine performance from Donnach Laverty was overshadowed for the away side when Dara Quinn netted twice before JJ Higgins struck a fourth goal of the afternoon to bring the points back to Musgrave.
Tír na nÓg (Randalstown) 2-3
St Mary’s (Aghagallon) 1-12
Aghagallon delivered a terrific performance on Sunday to clinch the two-points in a comfortable six-point victory at Randalstown.
The travelling side looked the sharper compared to their opponents who struggled to get any real momentum going early on as Johnny Hannon struck some fantastic scores to give his side the edge early in the tie.
Tír na nÓg eventually rallied to combat the one-way traffic and claw the score back to within the minimum after shot-stopper Darragh Fagan split the posts with a terrific two-pointer for the hosts.
However, the away side managed to regain the momentum at Whitehill with scores from Eoin Brankin, Enda McCartan and Jonny Hannon earning them a four-point lead at the break and from then on, the result looked inevitable.
Goals from Oliver McAtamney and Aodhan Tolan were simply not enough to change the result after a strong defensive display from St Mary’s saw them rewarded with the win.
Erin’s Own Cargin 1-8
Kickham’s Creggan 0-15
The big two met in the opening game of this season’s campaign where they made sure to battle and set the tone for the season ahead with some pragmatic football which eventually saw South Antrim side Creggan clinch the victory.
An exhibition in two-pointers was on display on Sunday after Ruairi McCann and Ethan Small both wrapped their efforts between the posts; the consecutive orange flag that followed virtually sealed the victory for Creggan.
The men from Toome did fight back but ultimately their efforts where in vain despite strong performances from Callum Gribbin and Ben McLarnon for the hosts.
St Ergnat’s Moneyglass 0-9
Rossa 2-12
The new boys on the block were given a rude awakening after succumbing to a nine-point defeat to Rossa in Sunday’s homecoming for Moneyglass.
The Intermediate champions were on the end of a lesson from the Shaws Road side who added Michael Byrne back to their ranks following his departure from county duties this season and with superb two-pointers from the shot-stopper helping the Jeremiahs en route to victory.
Goals kept them firmly in the driving seat in the game and stand out performances from Niall Crossan saw the defence firmly on top for Rossa as they clinched a convincing victory.
Sarsfields 3-9
St Paul’s 4-10
A second-half comeback from St Paul’s saw them kill the spirit of a dream return to Division One for the Paddies as they overcame their neighbours by four points with a superb second half showing from the away side.
It was 25-years since their last outing in the Antrim top-flight and when Daniel Smyth’s two-pointer initially gave Sarsfields a five-point lead at the break the Bear Pit faithful began to hope for a successful return.
St Paul’s returned in the second half with a spirited performance in the final 30 minutes accompanied with Ciaron Rogers-Duffy starring for the away side as his ability to strike two-pointers saw them earn an unlikely comeback win which was sealed when Brendan McMorrow found his second goal of the afternoon to break the hearts of the Stewartstown Road men.
All Saint’s Ballymena 0-11
St Gall’s 2-12
The former All-Ireland champions enjoyed a huge opening day victory on the road to Ballymena as they overcame All Saints despite a second-half comeback from the hosts.
Shot-stopper Chris Kerr starred for the Milltown men saving a penalty amongst many other goal-bound efforts from the hosts. A superb first half from the away side saw them firmly in the driving seat with key performances from Daniel Quinn and Manus McCrossan helping St Gall’s get off the mark in the opener. Full report here.
