Played in very mild conditions and equally good spirit, both sets of players will have enjoyed this first-of-the season workout. Though first-touch was suspect on many occasions, the striking was unexpectedly crisp while the workrate and competitiveness from both Ruairí Óg and St John's were commendable.

 

Both teams, St John's in particular, were missing quite a few first-team regulars but that meant there was an opportunity for some younger players to impress their respective managers at this early stage in the season.  With both sets of backs imposing themselves early on, scores were at a minimum.  However as the half wore on, it was Ruairí Og who started to put scores on the board with more regularity and Karl Mc Keegan picked off some very nice points both from breaking ball and support play among the forwards.  Meanwhile St John's were struggling to break down the Ruairí Óg rearguard action with the two Burke brothers at full back and centre half proving very influential.  Brian Mc Fall's free-taking was proving St John's main source of scores.  As the first half progressed the 'Dall created and spurned some very good goal-scoring chances before Dom Delargy fielded another high ball, took a step back and then crashed the ball to the back of the net.  The score at the interval was Ruairí Óg 1.07 to St John's 0.04

 

The second half began where the first left off with no let-up in terms of intensity.  Ruairí Óg were once again profligate in spurning goal chances after some excellent approach play with St John's looking more dangerous from play and registering two early minors.  However when the Ruairís claimed their second major, the contest turned decidedly in Cushendall's favour. And though the men in blue scored a goal midway through the second period, three more goals from the maroon forwards allowed management to make their full complement of changes.  The game remained competitive but Ruairí Óg players to their credit remained focused and made sure there were no 'wobbles' to ensure what was a comfortable victory in the end.  

 

Particularly pleasing about the victory was the way the team played with a sense of purpose from beginning to end.  Even a raft of changes in the second half did not cause a disruption in momentum or level of intensity.  It was nice to see Aidan Delargy make a meaningful contribution when he came on early in the second half but equally pleasing were the performances of Eoin Gillan in goals, Conor Grant, Paddy Burke, Ryan Mc Cambridge, Dom Delary, Mark Donaghy and Andrew Delargy.  Likewise some of our more experienced men played with great enthusiasm and 'bite', and set the bar high for the younger players. The result was hard-earned but even more satisfying was the effort put into the overall performance.

Team: Eoin Gillan, Conor Grant, Martin Burke, Sean Delargy, Ryan Mc Cambridge, Paddy Burke, Donal Mc Naughton, John Mc Manus, Aidan Mc Naughton, Karl Mc Keegan, Brian Delargy, Eunan Mc Killop, Mark Donaghy, Dom Delargy, Andrew Delargy

Subs: Eoin Campbell, Aidan Delargy, Seamus Mc Naughton, David Kearney, Dan Kinney, Paul Monaghan and Cahir Mc Naughton