Cushendall 1-13 Ballinascreen 0-2
Cushendall’s unbeaten run in the Under 16 Hurling League continued on Monday evening when they had an emphatic win over visitors Ballinacreen at Pairc Mhuire. Going into the game this was expected to be a tough challenge for the Ruairi Og, with both teams sitting on six points, but the home side were dominant from start to finish.
Ballinascreen opened well with a point from a Conor Murtagh free in the second minute, but incredibly they did not score again until Murtagh added another from play in the final minute of the game.
Fiontan McQuillan got Cushendall up and running in the fifth minute with a point from a free and by the 20th minute he had added a goal and two points more. Padraig McKillop grabbed one while Shane McKenna, Joseph McLaughlin and James McAlister also chipped in to help the Ruairis to a 1-8 to 0-1 lead at the end of a low scoring half.
The second half continued in a similar pattern with Ballinascreen defending well, but unable to make an impression up front. They restricted Cushendall to just five points in that second half (Shane McKenna, Matthew McCann, Padraig McKillop (2) and Joshua Schnell the scorers) but they could only manage one score of their own through Murtagh in the 58th minute.
This win puts Cushendall on eight points, four behind league leaders Rossa, but the Ruairis do have two games in hand.