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Loughgeil became Antrim Under-18 Champions for the third time as they overcame rivals Ballycastle on Wednesday night. The fire power of Raquel McCarry who scored a personal tally of 6-06 proved to be the difference in a tightly contested final with both sides unwilling to give an inch.
Ballycastle started the brighter of the two sides and soon found themselves with an early lead from a well struck goal that took the Loughgeil defence by surprise. Loughgeil were finding it hard to break down the Ballycastle defence and it took a long range point from Louise McKeown and an Emma McMullan free to keep them in contention.
Loughgeil were struggling to deal with the influence of Rebecca Walsh and Emma Connor and it was only after they reorganized that they began to gain the upper-hand. Raquel McCarry led by example and went on a scoring spree which resulted in a six point lead for Loughgeil at half-time.
The second half began as the first half did with Samantha McKillen and Emma Connor pressuring the Loughgiel defence but some excellent defending by Una McNaughton and Meave Connolly kept the Ballycastle scores to a minimum. As the match continued, the Loughgiel forward line over-powered the Ballycastle backs and the constant pressure exerted by Racqel McCarry resulted in further scores and a comprehensive win for Loughgiel.
Some of
Fixtures:
Today (Saturday):
Dungiven vs Glenullin, Magherfelt 2pm (Intermediate)
Lavey 11 vs Bellaghy 11, Slaughtneil 6pm (Junior)
Ballinascreen vs Casteldawson, Slaughtneil 7.30pm
Tomorrow (Sunday):
Glen vs Slaughtneil 11, Swatragh 3.30pm (Intermediate)
Eoghan Rua vs Lavey, Swatragh 5pm (Senior)
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