Having suffered what can only be described as a demoralising 12-point defeat to Cushendall in the first leg of the Championship quarter final, going into the second leg on a sunny Sunday evening at Cushendall the hurlers faced a mammoth task. Having not performed at all in the first leg the goal for the second leg was to regain some pride with a good performance at the least.

St. John's senior hurlers

Cushendall started as they did in the first leg and worryingly for the travelling St. John's supporters racked up a 1-4 to 0-1 score line in the early stages. When this was followed up by a second Cushendall goal things looked even more ominous. At this stage the St. John's defence, especially the full-back line, was under immense pressure with county star Karl Mc Keegan beginning to dominate the game from midfield and supply low ball into the forward line. To make matters worse ten minutes later a driven sideline ball from the aforementioned Mc Keegan went directly to the St. John's net having slipped through Ciaran Cunningham's grasp (this was to be Ciaran's only mistake as he went on to have a great game). Having built-up a 3-4 to 0-3 score before half-time the game was more-or-less over, however before the half -time whistle the Johnnies tagged on a goal from a Brain Mc Fall free and another point to leave the score at half-time 3-05 to 1-03 to Cushendall.

Having weathered a Cushendall storm in the first-half the Johnnies defence went in for a much-needed break at half time. St. John's started the second half a bit brighter by scoring a few quick goals from minor Simon Mc Crory and veteran Paul Montgomery, and a few well taken points from Gerard and Brain Mc Fall brought the score back to 3-10 to 3-06. St. John's had brought a massive lead down to a few points but now the common theme of the game seemed to develop even more, the amount of 'dubious' decisions by both referee and home lines men that began from the first thrown-in. As every time St. John's gathered any real momentum or put a scoring flurry together Cushendall went up and gained some 'handy' frees. These decisions had gradually antagonised the St. John's players over the course of the game and was a major factor in the dismissal of Ronan Heenan after a sideline melee with about 15 minutes to go. With the loss of Ronan, one of St. John's more impressive players, the St. John's challenge all but collapsed. Cushendall went on to tag on another two goals and some more points to finish the game off.

Having not performed to their potential in either of their games against the Dall St. John's can only really blame themselves as yet again their slow starting in the first quarter of games cost them dear. Having shown glimpses of the form they can produce over the two games a lot of players must take a good look at their own performances if such problems are to be rectified. With the championship a memory for another year the focus of the team should be on cementing a place in the top section of the league for next year.

St. Johns: 1. C. Cunningham 2. C. Gannon 3. M. O'Neill 4. C. Clarke 5. G. Cunningham 6. R. Heenan 7. L. Knocker 8. C. Mc Fall 9. N. Reynolds 10. G. Mc Fall 11. S. Thompson 12. L. Mc Curdy 13. N. Grego 14. B. Mc Fall 15. P. Montgomery
Substitutes: S. Mc Crory for N. Grego, H. Kennedy for C. Mc Fall, N. Mc Callin for G. Cunningham

Manager: Liam Donnelly
Mentors: Fergal Collins, Brendan Mackin, Paul Collins, Brendan McQuillan, Michael Gannon