​Barrage of goals ends the Ulster dream for Clonduff Camogs

It wasn't to be for Clonduff Camogs in front of a bumper crowd on Sunday in Hilltown where they were simply outclassed by 11-in-a-row Antrim Champions Loughgiel who beat them to the Senior Ulster Championship final with a barrage of goals.

The Yellas more than held their own in the first half and led by two after 25 minutes, but Loughgiel scored a second goal before the break and led by a point at the short whistle.

Fifteen minutes of utter dismay greeted the Hilltown side after the restart, as the visitors banged in four more goals and there was no coming back for Clonduff as Loughgeil romped home 6-13 to 1-14 winners.

The home supporters had reason to be confident from the start, as Clonduff led 0-3 to 0-1 with five minutes on the clock. A brace of points from Lucia McNaughton drew the sides level however, and in the tenth minute, Roisin McCormick – who hit a hat-trick of goals - raced through the middle and stuck the sliothar in the net.

The danger was already evident, as seconds later Katie McKillop was through for a second goal but she was denied with a super block from Jenna Boden.

Fionnuala Carr converted a terrific side-line point and after another goalmouth scramble in the Clonduff square, where both McNaughton and McCormick were denied another maximum by some good Clonduff defending, Orlaith McCusker made it a one point game 1-3 to 0-5. Traded scores between McKillop and Sara-Louise Graffin and frees from McNaughton and Paula O'Hagan kept the Antrim side a point in front, but on 25 minutes Carr delivered a long pass down the side-line for her sister Graffin who caught the sliothar superbly. She passed across to O'Hagan who drilled into the net.

The lead was short-lived however, as two minutes later McCormick soloed sweetly through the middle and fired her second goal home. The same player tagged on a brace of frees to make it a three-point game. Points from Carr and O'Hagan meant Clonduff trailed but just one, 2-7 to 1-9 at the break, but it could have been four had Yellas goalkeeper Cassie Fitzpatrick not made a fantastic point-blank save of a McNaughton shot right before the whistle.

The game was all square at the start of the second half when O'Hagan sent the sliothar over the bar from distance, but the next eight minutes were disastrous for the home side – even when Luughgeil were reduced to 14, with a player sent off.

It started when Annie Glynn hit what looked like a pointed effort goal-ward but the sliothar dropped, with Fitzpatrick unable to get her stick to it, into the net. Seconds later McKillop made it 4-7 to 1-10 and McCormick almost made it five were it not for another super save by the Clonduff netminder. But on 40 minutes a free in by McCormick dropped into the square where Caitrin Dobbin was on hand to slot home.

Clonduff were left reeling but the battled on until the bitter end with traded points between O'Hagan and Lynn before McCormick put the nail in the coffin with her third and Loughgiel's sixth goal to make it 6-8 to 1-11 and there was no coming back for the girls in yellow. Points were sent over the bar at both ends in the remaining minutes but Loughgiel had done their job and Clonduff can be proud of becoming county champions and reaching the Ulster championship for the first time.

Scorers

Clonduff: P O'Hagan (1-6,2f), F Carr (0-5,2f), S L Graffin (0-2), O McCusker (0-1)

Loughgiel: R McCormick (3-5,2f), A Lynn (1-2), K McKillop (1-1) C Dobbin (1-0), L McNaughton (0-3,1f), C McCloskey (0-1), O Laverty (0-1)