The Elk Derry Senior Camogie Championship: Group A: Bellaghy 4-10 Eoghan Rua 1-13; Group B: Swatragh 4-14 Lavey 2-7
TWO high-scoring home wins in Friday evening’s The Elk Derry senior championship mean that Swatragh safely join Slaughtneil in the semi-finals while Bellaghy take on Ballinascreen in one quarter-final and Lavey face Eoghan Rua in the other. Both quarter-finals are down for decision on the weekend of September 17/18.
There was never any doubt who would come out tops in Swatragh as the home side took the game to Lavey from the start and Cliodhna Turner’s long ball gave Dara McGuckin the chance to flick home the opening goal in the fifth minute.
McGuckin scored a second goal in the 21st minute after a fine run up the right wing by Player of the Match Gráinne McNicholl. That score put them ahead by 2-5 to a single point from Cáitríona Toner.
Lavey, however, responded well to the second goal and Aoife Shaw pointed three times inside the next five minutes. But Swatragh still led by 2-8 to 0-5 at the break with Máiréad McNicholl scoring five of their points.
Swatragh hit several wides at the start of the second half before McNicholl managed two points inside a minute. Lavey then got the first of two replica goals with Cáitriona Toner’s long ball in fumbled by the defence and Niamh Gribbin forced the ground ball home.
The second Lavey goal came from a high ball from Aoife Shaw that fell for Maria Rafferty to scramble home in the 53rd minute. However Aoibheann Mullan had already hit the net for Swatragh before that and Dara McGuckin completed her hat-trick in response to Rafferty’s three-pointer.
There was a first half hat-trick for Orlaith Hull in Bellaghy to help the home side into a 3-5 to 1-8 interval lead with Grace McMullan scoring the Eoghan Rua goal and Grainne Holmes landing six of the eight points.
Hull went on to score a fourth goal during the second half as Bellaghy stayed in the lead, although they were never quite safe enough until the final whistle.
Hull was Player of the Match with Leah Lennon, Laoise McErlean, Rachel Downey and Anna Cassidy also shining for the winners while Gráinne Holmes still continues to churn out the scores for Coleraine with good support from Maria Mooney, Eilis McNamee and Méabh Duffy.
Swatragh scorers: D McGuckin (3-1), M McNicholl (0-8, 0-5 frees), A Mullan (1-1), G McNicholl (0-2), D O’Kane (0-1), N McKenna (0-1).
Lavey scorers: A Shaw (0-5, 0-4 frees), M Rafferty (1-0), N Gribbin (1-0), C Toner (0-1), C Collins (0-1)
Bellaghy scorers: Ó Hull (4-2), A Cassidy (0-3), R Downey (0-3), A Lennon (0-1), E McErlean (0-1)
Eoghan Rua scorers: G McMullan (1-1), G Holmes (0-10), S Doherty (0-1), M Duffy (0-1)
