Cavan Senior Hurling Championship Final Mullahoran St. Josephs 4-15 Ballmachugh 0-02 On Saturday evening last the final of the Cavan Senior Hurling Championship took place in Kingspan Breffni Park. Mullahoran took to the field as the kingpins of hurling in Cavan, indeed having retained the Eddie Brady cup since 1990; they currently hold the record for consecutive hurling championship wins in the country. Ballymachugh came into the match on the back of a well merited semi-final win against Woodford Gaels, and were looking to upset the odds and take their first championship title. The match was played under floodlights in blustery conditions with some light drizzle, which after the recent good spell in the weather, gave for greasy conditions for both teams to contend with. The game started in an uncharacteristic sluggish fashion, with both teams still getting used to the conditions and mistakes happening on both sides and it took until the fifth for the first score to be registered, a point from Edward Dalton. Dalton added another point soon after before a goalmouth scramble in the 10th minute brought the first goal, with Dalton finishing to the net. Dalton added another point from a free shortly afterwards to move the champions even further ahead. Gerard Clerkin then added a point in the 15th minute to give an indication that this was not going to be a one man show from Dalton. This flurry of scores finally woke Ballymachugh up, and after a sustained period of pressure they finally opened their account with pointed free from Eugene Hill. Mullahoran then finished the half with two goals, a superb long range effort from Phillip Brady and a 13 yard shot from Edward Dalton, and points from Dermot Sheridan and Anthony Sheridan rounded up Mullahoran's scoring for the first half. Ballymachugh completed the first half scoring with another pointed free from Hill, just before the whistle. Sadly, that was to be the end of the game as a contest, as that free proved to be the final Ballymachugh score of the night. Half Time: Mullahoran 3-06 Ballymachugh 0-02 Mullahoran raced out of the blocks once again in the second half and a number of points scored by Ronan O'Hagan, Phillip Brady and Anthony Sheridan along with a goal from Michael O'Connell only added to show Mullahoran's superiority in the game. This signalled the Mullahoran bench into action and a number of substitutes were brought into the game to get some match practice. The game finished out with a number of points from Mark McEntee, Ronan O'Hagan and a final point from Dalton to leave a very easy victory for Mullahoran. Full Time: Mullahoran 4-15 Ballymachugh 0-02 Man of the Match - Dominic Crudden It was unfortunate that the game had effectively ended as a contest before half time, as a 25 point gap at the end clearly shows that gap that exists between Mullahoran and the rest of the teams in the county. The game of hurling needs a boost in Cavan and it is regrettable that no greater competition can be placed towards Mullahoran as increased competition would raise the quality of the game in the county and allow Cavan teams to be more competitive in Ulster. Overall it was a very assured display from Mullahoran, who were missing star midfielder Paul Sheridan, and lost half forward Jonathan Dalton to injury in the warm-up before the game. A number of players staked a claim for the man of the match award with fantastic performances including Hugh Briody, Dermot Sheridan and Edward Dalton, however the award went to Dominic Crudden whose battling display at midfield set the foundation for the win and was well deserved. Next up for Mullahoran are the quarter finals of the Ulster Junior Hurling Championship where they will take on Na Magha (Derry), in Ballinascreen on Sunday 5th October at 3.30pm. The team will be hoping to progress far in this competition and hopefully can bring an Ulster hurling crown to the county. Teams: Mullahoran - Darren Sheridan, John Fitzsimons, Anthony Sheridan, Sean óg Brady, Barry Dalton, Dermot Sheridan, Andrew Nelligan, Hugh Briody, Dominic Crudden, Phillip Brady, Gerard Clerkin, Ronan O'Hagan, Michael O'Connell, Mark McEntee, Edward Dalton. Subs: Andrew Donohoe, Damien Brady, Martin McArdle, Barry McArdle, Karl Reilly, Edwin Brady, Jonathan Dalton. Ballymachugh - Brendan Sweeney, Kevin Daly, Paddy Baxter, John Halton, Lonan McKenna, Alan Hawe, Michael Halton, Padraic Sheridan, Michael Hill, Killian Smith, Eugene Hill, Donal Harten, Shane O' Reilly, Jamie Leahy, Barry Harten. Subs: Eugene Daly, Brian Sheilds, Mark Nolan, Alan Donohoe Scorers: Mullahoran: Edward Dalton 2-04, Phillip Brady 1-02, Michael O'Connell 1-00, Anthony Sheridan 0-02, Ronan O'Hagan 0-02, Gerard Clerkin 0-02, Hugh Briody 0-01, Dermot Sheridan 0-01, Mark McEntee 0-01 Ballymachugh: Eugene Hill (0-02) Referee - Phillip McDonald Tweet

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