Dr McKenna Cup, Group A
Antrim 1-9 Donegal 0-15
Antrim followed up their win over Down on Tuesday night with another impressive performance against Donegal today in Portglenone but it wasn’t enough to claim another win in this year’s McKenna Cup.
The division 3 new boys kept the result in question right up to the final whistle and it took two points from Jamie Brennan and Paddy McBrearty deep into injury time to finally kill off the Antrim challenge as Declan Bonner’s men made it into the last four.
Paddy McBrearty was in exceptional form for the Tír Conaill men, kicking seven points from play in a virtuoso performance that proved the difference between the teams as the victors were just able to find their scores a little bit easier.
Indeed McBrearty proved the difference between the teams in the end but the Antrim management will take a lot of satisfaction from their two McKenna Cup performances and the fact that they have been able to give game time to so many of the panel in competitive action in the last week.
The home side will regret the number of chances they missed over the 80 minutes, hitting the upright twice in the opening half and missing a late scoreable free to leave them trailing 0-5 to 0-2 at half time.
Antrim’s were back on terms early in the second half when Conor Murray’s delivery saw Donegal goalkeeper Shaun Patton carry the ball over his line, but while Antrim got on terms on a couple of occasions in the second period, they were unable to hit the front and when chasing a leveller deep in stoppage time trailing by one, they were hit for a pair of late points that wrapped up this game.
Donegal’s Paddy McBrearty curls over one of his seven points against Antrim despite the efforts of Antrim’s Paddy McBride
Antrim owned the ball from the throw-in, going through the phases and recycling against a packed Donegal defence as they probed for an opening and they were rewarded after 90 seconds when Tomás McCann fired over.
However, it took a further 28 minutes before the Saffrons would raise another despite owning the ball for long stretches.
Donegal were content to absorb the pressure, sometimes playing with 15 behind the ball and break at pace and from their first break, Paddy McBrearty sent over the equaliser.
Caolan McGonigle galloped through to take a pass and kick Donegal into an eight minute lead, but they too were finding it difficult to break down a well organised Antrim defence where Michael McCann and Rickey Johnston were calling the tune.
Donegal were just that much sharper when they did get on the offensive and McBrearty kicked his second when cutting in on his left and combined with Peadar Mogan before splitting the posts to help the Tír Chonaill men into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead at the water break.
Antrim upped the tempo upon the resumption of play, but they were finding it difficult to get into the scoring zone although a couple of efforts did drift wide.
Donegal responded and Caoilan Ward’s curled shot from the left appeared to have drifted wide, but it was adjudged to have crept just inside to extend the gap to four, but Antrim pulled one back as they turned the ball over and Jamie Gribbin raced clear to score and leave it 0-5 to 0-2 at half time.
Antrim captain, Peter Healy drives forward from defence
The Saffrons could not have had a better start to the second half as one of their three replacements at the break, Conor Murray, sent a shot in that dropped short and looked a straightforward gather for Patton, but the Donegal goalkeeper appeared to lose the site of the ball and it crept over the line as he tried to gather.
The Donegal response to this was quick and precise as they rattled off a pair of scores in quick succession from Charlie McGuinness and Conor O’Donnell as both sides began to empty their bench in what was a procession of substitutions in the second period.
Antrim remained in touch throughout as the sides began to go score for score with a Tomás McCann free cancelled out by one from McBrearty, while Odhran Eastwood’s pointed free was replied to by one from play by the elusive McBrearty after Donegal has their best chance of a goal when Ciaran Thompson raced through, but sent his rasping drive well wide of the target.
When Kevin Small kicked a beauty of a score with his left boot on the left of goal just before the water break, Antrim trailed by just 0-9 to 1-5 and they were back on terms early in the fourth quarter when Eastwood placed Dermott McAleese who squeezed his shot between the posts from a tight angle.
However, just as before, Donegal always seemed to be able to find a reply and they hit the next three points from McBrearty, Jean McKelvey and Michael Langan to lead by three with eight to play and this gap remained as the game ticked into stoppage time after Ryan Murray’s free was cancelled out by McBrearty who fired over from deep after taking a pass from Michael Murphy.
Antrim quite simply refused to admit defeat however as Eastwood converted a free and then Conor Murray dropped a shot over to leave the minimum in it, but the Saffrons just couldn’t get their hands on the ball as Donegal retained possession and, Jamie Brennan raced clear to fist over before McBreaty slotted over to seal victory.
A disappointing result in the end but it perhaps shows just how far Antrim have come in the last year that they can mix it with teams from a higher division and the real test will come at the end of the month when they travel to Enniskillen for a division 3 league opener against Fermanagh.
Substitute, Conor Murray fires over an Antrim point
ANTRIM: M Byrne; P McCormick, R Johnston J McAuley; P Healy, E McCabe, D McAleese (0-1); K Small (0-1), M McCann; R McCann, P Shivers, P McBride; R Murray (0-1 free), T McCann (0-2, 1 free), J Gribben (0-1).
Subs: J Laverty for R Johnston (30), D McEnhill for J Gribben (HT), C Murray (1-1) for P Shivers (HT), S McGarry for M McCann (HT), O Eastwood (0-2, both frees) for T McCann (45), J McCann for P McBride (48), M Johnston for K Small (55), B McCormick for P Healy (59), D McCormick for R McCann (59), E Hynds for R Murray (68), R Murray for D McCormick (70).
Blood sub: O Eastwood for R Murray (40, reversed 45)
DONEGAL: S Patton; C Ward (0-1), B McCole, O Doherty; T McClenaghan, E Ban Gallagher, E O’Donnell; C McGonagle (0-1), J McGee; P Mogan (0-1), C Thompson, S O’Donnell; P McBearty (0-7, 2 frees), C McGuinness (0-1), C O’Donnell (0-1).
Subs: P Brennan for B McCole (HT), J Brennan (0-1) for S O’Donnell (45), M Langan (0-1) for J McGee (47), J McKelvey (0-1) for E Ban Gallagher (47), O McFadden-Ferry for E O’Donnell (47), A Doherty for C O’Donnell (55), M Murphy for C McGuinness (55), E Doherty for C Thompson (68)
REFEREE: Niall McKenna (Monaghan)
